Nashville coffee shops create special LGBTQ+ Pride drinks
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The Elio at Matryoshka Coffee, an iced latte topped with peach cold foam. Photo: Adam Tamburin
Pride celebrations will take many forms this weekend in Nashville, but only one of them revolves around caffeine.
What's happening: Seventeen local coffee shops are participating in the city's second annual Pride coffee crawl. Baristas at each location have devised special drinks to mark the occasion, such as the Ring of Keys latte at Fido and the Ella Gant tonic at Crema.
- The event runs through this weekend.
Why it matters: Participating shops are donating a portion of their proceeds from the special concoctions to local outreach and support programs.
State of play: Matryoshka Coffee, a 300-square-foot "micro cafe," organized the crawl. Owner Abbey Chiavario tells Axios that the bruising year for LGBTQ+ causes has increased the significance of the event.
"It's not very celebratory this year because of all that's going on, but it's made it more special for the shops that decided to participate," she says.
- "I think the way that Pride Month has become politicized is a shame, but it is what it is. So when a local business chooses to openly support the LGBTQIA+ community it affirms that that cafe is indeed a safe place to be, and I think that matters greatly during any month of the year."
Pride Coffee Crawl participants
- Crema Coffee Roasters
- Dawn Cafe
- Dose Coffee & Tea
- Fido
- Flora + Fauna
- Frothy Monkey (Nashville locations)
- Guerilla Bizkits
- Hanna Bee Coffee
- Matryoshka Coffee
- Retrograde
- Steadfast
- Tempo
- Three Brothers
- Ugly Mugs
- Weak Coffee
- Yellow & Lavender
- 8th & Roast
The big picture: There will be plenty of ways to work off the caffeine buzz this weekend.
- The Pride parade will take place at 10am Saturday, starting at Eighth Avenue and Broadway and heading into town.
- The Nashville Pride festival will take place this weekend in Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park. It will run from 11am-9pm Saturday and 11am-7pm Sunday.
- Plus: The White House announced yesterday that First Lady Jill Biden will visit Nashville for the festival, per the Tennessean. She's due in town late Saturday afternoon.