By Chanda Temple
Over at Alicia’s Coffee in downtown Birmingham, Al Green’s “For the Good Times” plays on Spotify.
As Al croons about the whisper of raindrops softly blowing against his window, owners Naimah Alicia Elmore and Roc Harrell have their own good time in serving food and beverages.
Orders for smoothies, Cuban coffee and hot coffee roll in.
The whir of the blender and the chatter of patrons fill the air. People settle into the booths lined along a wall that has stood the test of time.
If walls could talk, it would share how Birmingham’s first Black millionaire, A.G. Gaston, built the building in 1954 and called it the A.G. Gaston Motel to give Black travelers a place to stay while traveling through a segregated South. Now refurbished, a portion of the motel serves as the home to Alicia’s Coffee. The rest of the facility stands as a tourist attraction, showcasing a gallery of Gaston artifacts, the original courtyard and motel rooms, including a room where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. stayed during the 1960s.
The space that houses Alicia’s Coffee today is where motel guests once checked in, while another part once served as the entrance to the motel’s ballroom.
Roc Harrell waits on Rev. Hosea Agee, who takes a bus every morning just to visit Alicia’s Coffee.
The city’s past hangs heavy in the air, along with scents of roasted coffee grounds and cinnamon. Meanwhile, Naimah and Roc interact with customers just like how Green’s voice sounds: smooth and steady.
“When you walk into Alicia’s Coffee, you are greeted just like on ‘Cheers,’ ” Naimah said of the popular 1980s/90s NBC sitcom. “We do know your name, and most times, we remember your beverage.”
