"Los Angeles’s prominent LGBTQIA+ coffee shop Cuties has closed. Owners for the Heliotrope shop in East Hollywood, which had been hailed as a safe gathering space for Southern California’s queer, transgender, and other communities, say simply on Instagram that “our organization does not bring in enough revenue to pay for our space.” They add that they have “been accumulating debt to our landlord... [but] continuing to accumulate debt in an environment that shows little promise of operational safety in the near future is unwise.” The HelMel address, which opened in 2017, was turned back over to the landlord on August 1, and Cuties will return to life as an underground coffee pop-up with a big online presence. What’s more, co-founder Virginia Bauman says that they are turning over ownership entirely to longtime manager Sasha Jones, naming her CEO of the company and transferring equity in the process. “This brand began with two white folks. If this project is to continue to fulfill its original values, it comes with ownership and leadership, with both centering Blackness.” For now Cuties will continue to host events, listening sessions, and informational panels on Instagram and elsewhere, and fans can continue to support via Patreon." - Farley Elliott
