{"id":27646,"date":"2021-12-03T11:36:04","date_gmt":"2021-12-03T19:36:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=30000023701"},"modified":"2022-02-10T15:22:04","modified_gmt":"2022-02-10T23:22:04","slug":"lgbtqia-vegan-coffee-house-wood-coffee-co-opening-on-10th-st-in-rose-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/lgbtqia-vegan-coffee-house-wood-coffee-co-opening-on-10th-st-in-rose-park","title":{"rendered":"LGBTQIA+ vegan coffee house Wood Coffee Co. opening in Rose Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a stretch of 10th Street in Rose Park, along the 2700 block between Ohio and Temple avenues where it feels like something\u2019s missing. Perhaps you\u2019ve driven along this urban swath once or twice. You hit a stretch of sporadically empty storefronts and you think something belongs here<\/i>.\u00a0But what<\/i>? Well, maybe that\u2019s just me. Every time I cruise along 10th I see this strip of buildings and I expect to see something filling in a space that makes me want to stop \u2014 but I\u2019m always let down. Until now.<\/p>\n

My head whipped around as I passed a brightly colored storefront that looks like amoebae floating aimlessly. Blues, pinks and yellows in blob forms against what was simply a white building weeks before. I excitedly stopped in my tracks, much too excitedly to those driving behind me I suspect, if the horns and hand gestures directed at me could be taken as an indicator, but I had to get look at what was going on here.<\/p>\n

That exterior was way too cool to be another succulent plant store, or hair salon.\u00a0 And then I noticed in the windows the signs that read: Coming Soon \u2026 another coffee shop! And above the door letters came into focus: Wood Coffee Co.\u00a0 And I thought to myself, this is what belongs here! It\u2019s perfect.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe strive to create a space for all, but truly highlight a space for LGBTQIA+ and vegan individuals to feel at home,\u201d owner Nolan Wood told me in an email. \u201cWe hope to be more than just a buzz word statement or idea, and [hope to] continuously evolve to bring the space to life in a way that holds up to our vision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nolan Wood, 31, is no stranger to the world of addictive stimulants. \u201cI spent the last 13 years in the world of corporate coffee. Starbucks\u2026 maybe you\u2019ve heard of it,\u201d he said. (And actually, yes I have heard of it. Home of 590-calorie coffee drinks, and pumpkin spiced diabetes \u2014 but I mean no disrespect. I\u2019ve met many people who are so unfortunate as to reside in a coffee desert, for whom Starbucks is the only coffee they know, and their love for it is pure.) But this isn\u2019t going to be anything like a Starbucks, Nolan\u2019s vision for Wood Coffee Co. has been percolating for years. Ten years to be exact \u2014 although it wasn\u2019t until five years ago that he actively began working to bring his vision to life.<\/p>\n

A transplant from Fort Worth, Texas, Wood landed in Southern California five years ago, and settled in Long Beach in the beginning of 2021, as he started searching out the perfect place to foster those with a socially acceptable addiction, and become their savior.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was trying to be strategic with finding a location that didn\u2019t have other coffee shops within a 10 minute walking distance, as well as something more neighborhood driven,\u201d Wood said. \u201cI only looked at a couple of other locations before I saw this one and it just immediately felt right.\u201d And I couldn\u2019t agree more.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a little note on coffee: How addictive is it exactly? Three cups. That\u2019s all it\u2019ll take. If you drink three cups consecutively over three mornings, you\u2019re physically addicted. Ever have a morning that you didn\u2019t get your coffee on time and you started feeling like you were maybe getting sick? A cold, a bug or something? Nope, that was addiction. Or rather, that was the beginning of withdrawal (which actually begins while you\u2019re asleep). Ever thought that you\u2019re not you without your coffee? You\u2019re not wrong. Caffeine raises your IQ and intensifies your cognitive function enabling you to focus and problem solve (according to: Caffeinated<\/i> by Murray Carpenter).\u00a0 And if you\u2019ve been drinking soft-drinks since you were a kid, then you haven\u2019t been\u00a0you<\/i> without caffeine for quite some time.<\/p>\n

In addition serving the greatest gift a plant ever offered the human race, extracted by various methods, and presented in a multitude of ways, Wood Coffee Co. will also be offering plant-based fare that will be serving items \u201cin their most natural form. Whether it be from farm to table or farm to cup,\u201d according to the website:\u00a0woodcoffeeco.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Nolan Wood enjoys one of his beverages at Wood Coffee Co., coming soon to Rose Park. Photo by Matt Miller.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While Wood Coffee Co. won\u2019t be roasting their own beans, they will be sourcing from Equator Coffee, a Northern California LGBTQ+ owned company, and will offer \u201can all vegan selection of pastries provided by The Good Good LA (a woman-owned all vegan bakery in Los Angeles),\u201d according to the website. And they plan to work with other local vegan businesses down the line to offer a variety of food options. The website also reads: \u201cWe are here to support and uplift marginalized communities through networking and collaboration (and coffee, duh). Our goal is to provide a space for all, while prioritizing a haven for the LGBTQ+ community.\u201d Wood Coffee Co. is slated to open in mid December. Follow on Instagram: @woodcoffeeco for updates.<\/p>\n

Wood Coffee Co.\u00a02728 E. 10th Street, Long Beach, 90804\u00a0562-434-WOOD<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nolan Wood said, \u201cI only looked at a couple of other locations before I saw this one and it just immediately felt right.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":71824,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[87,31988,827],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[31936],"class_list":["post-27646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","tag-coffee","tag-mattmiller","tag-new-business","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27646\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27646"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=27646"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=27646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}