Coffee With Strangers

This week we're at Urban Hang Suite to celebrate Kelli and team on the two year anniversary of UHS. Through getting started to a global pandemic and racial protests and riots outside their front door, UHS has stayed open and more importantly, solidified itself as more than an a coffee shop.

This week we're catching up with CWS alum AnnMarie Grohs. AnnMarie was one of the first true strangers we had on the show. Back in 2015 Boho Studios had been open for about 18 months and had only one location. See what's changed in that time and how the pandemic has had an impact.

Kelli's at Urban Hang Suite to grab drinks with artist Hamilton Glass. Ham's art has already graced some notable buildings in Richmond, now his Mending Walls project is putting artists together to do the same while tackling the civil injustices of our time. Season 11 is presented by Chesapeake Bank memberfdic

After stints in the NFL and a successful career in the Arena Football League, including a 2005 American Bowl championship with the Richmond Bandits, Nate Daniels decided to put roots down in Richmond and begin working with the next generation of professional athletes.

Kelli's in Shockoe Bottom and along the James River to experience notable points in the River's contributions to Richmond's history as well as visit with Justin Doyle from the James River Association on the health of the River and how it impacts our city.

This week we're catching up with CWS alum Melody Short. We had Melody on the show back in June of 2017 and, wow, a lot has changed for her since then. She's launched the Richmond Night Market and recently launched the Jackson Ward Collective with Rasheeda Creighton and Kelli. Despite the change in careers over the three years, her commitment to serving her community has remained central to who she is and what she does.

Kelli's at Triple Crossing downtown to grab drinks with Eric Jackson. Originally from Portsmouth, Eric's been in Richmond just over two years and already had an impact on the craft beer scene and been central to sharing the Black message among the craft beer industry.

Looking for something more relevant to offer her students for summer reading, Melissa Face, a teacher and writer, assigned The Hate U Give. The parallels between Angie Thomas' 2017 fictional book and present day Richmond though are clear.

Kelli's in Jackson Ward to visit the area where Bill "Bojangles" Robinson grew up, check out The Jefferson Hotel where he was discovered, and visit his monument in Jackson Ward celebrating his life.

Kelli and Matt are back at Marcus-David Peters Circle to visit with past guest Ashley Hawkins of Studio Two Three to hear what they're doing to re-contextualize Monument Ave.

Kelli's on the southside to grab drinks with Scott Wayne at Canvas, a destination for meaningful virtual or in-person meetings and events which Scott's owned since 2017. Kelli and Scott talk monuments, how to move Richmond forward and all that makes it magical.

Kelli's visiting Marcus-David Peters Circle to experience the scene and share a message about season 11 of Coffee with Strangers. This season is about intention. Sharing the stories of people, places, business and culture in Richmond who are working intentionally to make this city inclusive. Stay tuned.

Kelli's downtown on Broad Street to grab coffee with Ledbury co-founder and CEO Paul Trible. Paul's originally a Newport News guy who after finishing business school in Oxford, at the start of the recession, decided to open a luxury men's shirt company in Richmond.

Kelli's in Scott's Addition to meet Joey Darragh of Vasen Brewing. Joey's the president and co-founder of Vasen. This northern Virginia boy spent time at Apple and Tesla before giving up the tech/startup life to move back to VA and open Vasen with his cousin.

Kelli's downtown in the studios of Spin 100 for coffee with Aliyah the DJ...AND...to hear from her dad, DJ Lonnie B how he's passing the torch to Aliyah.

Kelli's at Pop's to grab coffee with Paige Mudd. Paige just celebrated 20 years at the Richmond Times-Dispatch where this girl from Delaware has worked her way for intern to Executive Editor.

Kelli's at TopGolf to grab coffee with TopGolf's marketing manager Amber Drew. Amber's the face of the area's newest entertainment spot leading a team that creates moments that matter for everyone who comes through.

Kelli's at Blachard's Coffee to grab coffee with Reba Hollingsworth. This Texas girl is more than morning anchor on CBS6, she's also an entrepreneur with a few tricks up her sleeve, or should we say her leg?

Kelli is at Pop's to grab coffee with Lisa Sims. Lisa's the CEO of Venture Richmond the downtown organization behind some of the most exciting events and festivals in RVA.

Kelli’s rollin' into Pop's to grab coffee with Cole & Charisma. Cole & Charisma are creators and hosts of the Roll with Cole & Charisma YouTube channel bringing awareness to disabilities and promoting accessibility in Richmond and beyond.

Kelli’s in Shockoe Bottom to grab coffee with Rachel DePompa. Rachel's an investigative reporter with NBC12 and host of the How We Got Here podcast. When she's not busy covering injustices or shacking sticks she's cheering on the Capitals and exploring RVA with her family.

Kelli’s at Pony Pasture to have coffee with Nathan Burrell. Nathan is the superintendent of the James River Park system, keeping the park ready for the two million visitors a year who come through.

Kelli’s at the Spin100 studios to have coffee with Aliyah Battle. Known as Aliyah the D.J., Aliyah’s the daughter of DJ Lonnie B but at 15 years old, Aliyah’s already making a name for herself.

Kelli's riding around with Church Hill with Becky Crump to learn more about how this girl from Matthews, VA came to Richmond and how she founded Mindful Mornings and The Giving Wall, two movements having an impact on Richmond's social good scene.

Kelli's riding around with Church Hill with Becky Crump to learn more about how this girl from Matthews, VA came to Richmond and how she founded Mindful Mornings and The Giving Wall, two movements having an impact on Richmond's social good scene.

Kelli and Matt give an update on Season 10.

Kelli's walking down Broad Street to have coffee with Alex and Meryl, owners of

Kelli is at Pop’s to grab coffee with Megan Wilson. Megan’s better known as Sweet Sauce, her blog that covers style, travel, fashion and dope spots for all those things in Richmond...so it was about time for Kelli to caught up with her for coffee.

Kelli is at Pop's to grab coffee with Josh Wright. Josh is...wait for it...the owner of Pop's not the mention the chef, cook, baker and all around mastermind of Pop's, except for when his mom puts him in line.

Kelli's getting picked up at Urban Hang Suite by Matt and Lance Lemon...yep, Lance as in, her brother Lance! She has no idea this is happening though. We roll cameras through the whole surprise and then visit with Lance on the drive over to Chesapeake Bank to say hello to those great folks.

Kelli's at Pop's for coffee with Candace Burns. Candace is the evening anchor on CBS6 but there's a lot more to this girl from Michigan than breaking news and basketball.

Kelli's at Pop's for episode 100 of Coffee with Strangers to grab coffee with...wait for it...Kelli Lemon. Kelli's a social entrepreneur in town and as of the taping of the episode was voted second in the city to most embody the spirit of RVA.

Kelli's at Pop's to grab coffee with Ted Elmore. Ted's the president of the Bridge Park Foundation, the non-profit with plans to reconnect communities that are separated from the City Center.

Kelli's at Pop's to grab coffee with Todd Nuckols. Todd's the Executive Director of Lighthouse Labs, the startup accelerator that's helped put the RVA startup community on the map and earn some national attention.

Kelli's at Pop's grab coffee with Yewande Austin. Yewande is a social entrepreneur whose work is spreading change from Richmond to Nigeria. She runs the Global Institute for Diversity and Change, and the Change Rocks Foundation which produces soci-economic empowerment programs around the world.

Matt's at Urban Hang Suite to have coffee with Faith Wilkerson. Faith's the owner of Unlocking RVA, the full service event planning and promotions company she started three years ago to help people find out what's going on around RVA. She's also an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond and great friends with Kelli, which we why we had LikeTheFruit sit this one out.

Kelli's at Pop's to have coffee with McKenzie Payne. McKenzie is the founder of Mac's Smack, the socially responsible small batch balms inspired by nature made right here in Richmond.

Kelli's at Pop's for grab ☕️ with Damon Jiggetts. Damon is the Executive Director of the Peter Paul Development Center in Church Hill. His 9-5 is all about helping families & children in the East End and his 5-9 is about seeking solutions for the city.

Kelli's at Pop's to grab coffee with Miranda Anderson. Miranda's originally from Utah and only been in Richmond a couple years but a couple years in and she's already a part of Richmond's creative scene.

Kelli’s at the Urban Hang Suite to grab coffee with Alexandra Hicks. Alex is an accountant by day but in her off time is the founder and operator of Nerd Squad, a local nonprofit dedicated to boosting literacy and cultivating of love of reading.

Kelli's at Pop's to grab coffee with Brian Marks. Brian is the founder of Bonfire, the platform that allows users to raise funds for their organization or sell custom apparel and co-founder of Belle Isle Moonshine. Both companies are Richmond-based but have reach across the world.

The Evelyn D. Reinhart Guest House offers an amazing service to families who have loved-ones in care at St. Mary's Hospital. Imagine having a loved-one injured or needing treatment hours away from home and you don't have the resources to stay in a hotel the whole time to be by their side at the hospital. The Reinhart Guest House is that home away from home for families who come to St. Mary's.

Kelli's at Pop's to gab coffee with hip hop musician Michael Millions. Michael's been part of the Richmond hip hop scene for almost 20 years and has no plans of slowing down. His work has been covered by every major hip hop publication, except Rolling Stone (but that's coming). He's got a dope hidden gem for Richmond pizza and so much more.

Kelli and Matt sit down for a quick update on how the team is coming with episode 100.

Kelli's the Diamond to grab coffee with Todd Parnell, otherwise known as Parney. Parney's the Vice President and COO of the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Over the past 9 years he's been a huge part of bringing baseball back to RVA and making Squirrels baseball something for everyone.

Kelli's at Pop's to grab coffee with Dorrie Smith. Dorrie's a gym owner, fitness trainer and body builder who'd been working at VCU until 2017 when she went full time into fitness.

Kelli's downtown at Pop's to grab coffee with Jesse Vaughan. Jesse's a filmmaker known for his work on In Living Color and having won 29 Emmys but when he's not in LA or on set, he's on campus at Virginia State.

Kelli's in Carytown to grab coffee with Amy Black. Amy's been in Richmond for 20 years and has been tattooing for 18 of those. Today she's got a full schedule of appointments ranging from full back or arm designs to mastectomy tattoos for breast cancer survivors.

Kelli's downtown to grab coffee with Herman Baskerville otherwise known as Big Herm. Herm's the owner of Big Herm's Kitchen & Catering on 2 Street in the heart of Jackson Ward and if you saw her article in Boomer magazine, you know what a staple Big Herm's is to Richmond's southern soul food scene.

Kelli's at Pop's to grab coffee with Scott Garka. Scott's the president of Culture Works, a non-profit helping brand Richmond as a regional arts & culture destination that the world is noticing.

Kelli's downtown at Pop's to grab coffee with Raymond Hawkes. Ray's a Virginia Union grad the evening traffic reporter on CBS6 who despite his evening shift has mastered the dinner break and still live Richmond.