LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Riot Cafe is set to open next week on Monday, Feb. 15. Its concept was inspired by the protests against Breonna Taylor’s death and police brutality, which brought thousands of people to Louisville’s downtown to march in 2020.
“So Riot Cafe is a community center, social justice cafe,” explained Owner Olivia Griffin, who was spotted by Spectrum News 1 on several occasions at the protests handing out food and water to support protesters.
Riot Cafe’s location, at the corner of W. Chestnut and S. 4th Street in downtown Louisville, is only a 10-minute walk from the hub of the city’s 2020 protests at Jefferson Square Park, which many activists now call Injustice Square Park.
Behind Riot Cafe is The Limbo Bar, which Griffin also owns. She said the tiki bar served as a safe space for some protesters.
“Because we were so close, they could bike here in 30 seconds. Whether they needed a break or they were running from the police, we were kind of a secret hidden gem in downtown to help out whoever needed help,” Griffin said. She added that some of those protesters started referring to The Limbo Bar as "riot bar," which led to the idea of Riot Cafe.
Griffin originally wanted to expand The Limbo into the space where Riot Cafe currently is. The space offers large front-facing windows that Griffin said could have attracted tourists walking by, but the protests changed that idea.
“My whole mentality shifted, and I realized it would be better for me and the community if I could turn this into a resource for underserved and underprivileged communities,” Griffin told Spectrum News 1.
The for-profit cafe’s purpose is to support people of color (POC), women, and the LGBTQ community. Griffin has many ideas on how to do that, such as selling Black and women-owned products in the cafe’s bodega to highlighting artists from those communities the cafe aims to uplift.
As an entrepreneur with three businesses now located in the same building, Riot Cafe, The Limbo, and her hat shop, The Mysterious Rack, Griffin also plans to focus on supporting underserved communities trying to start their own business in the service industry.
“So we’re really just here to serve multiple different communities in need. Whoever is in need, and we meet, and needs assistance, we’re going to help them out,” Griffin said.
Griffin said the cafe’s name may make some people uncomfortable, but it’s meant to start conversations.
“The way that I’m viewing the word ‘riot’ is the beginning kernel of real change,” Griffin said.
“You know, even though the riots that happened downtown broke windows and buildings that I rent, ultimately, there was no extreme violence and what it resulted in is actual social change for the POC community.”