Rachel Nieves is the co-owner of Buddies Coffee, one of the few and newest Puerto Rican-owned coffee shops in Williamsburg.
Nieves told Eyewitness News that her dream started out with a couple thousand dollars and a coffee cart before opening and establishing her own brick-and-mortar shop on Grand Street. The coffee shop owner says she was considering the possibility of expanding her business to another location when she heard about a potential rent hike and neighborhood gentrification.
"It's just my hard work, and today I just got word that I might not be able to stay in the same lease because of rent increase, which is a reality for so many people," Nieves said in an emotional video posted to TikTok. "But not only that, right next door to me, they're putting a coffee shop, and I don't know if I sound like so stupid crying and complaining like this, but it just feels like you just can't win."
Not only did that video get millions of views, but Nieves' message resonated with countless people across the country. Just a day after she posted the video, Nieves says crowds of people started to line up at Buddies Coffee to have a sip and support her small business, including celebrities like Joe Jonas.
"They were waiting in line, and they brought music and they brought the whole party inside. So many people had shared that Williamsburg looked and sounded like how it used to," Nieves said.
In terms of the meaning behind Buddies Coffee's name, Nieves says it was a word often used by her partner Taylor Nawrocki, who helps run the business.
"Taylor skates, so he's like, 'Oh, I'm going to meet up with my buddies.' Like it's a word that he always used and it just clicked," she said.
Nieves said she was initially scared by the potential response after posting her video, even calling her friends to ask them if they thought she made a mistake. She says she wasn't trying to gain anything, but rather share a glimpse into the reality, whether good or bad, of what it's like to run a small business.
"I just felt like it was important to share a raw moment because I'm constantly posting my day in the life of like what it means to open a coffee shop," she said.
In the end, Nieves says her takeaway message from this viral social media moment is to never give up and that it's OK to express and be genuine with your emotions.
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