Coffee With Strangers

Kelli's at pop's to grab coffee with Andrea Maradiaga. You may have seen Andrea around RVA at some notable restaurants and dope events, probably because she's been in the RVA restaurant scene for 12 and is the owner of Richmond PhotoBooth, you know, that dope thing at all the cool parties now? Yep, that's probably her. Born in the US and raised in Nicaragua, Andrea moved to Richmond by herself at 18 to attend VCU and brought the hustle of a third-world country with her to her business.

Kelli’s at the State Capitol to grab coffee with Governor Terry McAuliffe. The Governor’s nearing the end of his term so this was the perfect time grab some coffee and talk about what he’s enjoyed about Richmond, how he sells Virginia and what he’s got coming up next.

Kelli's in Carytown to grab coffee at Ellwood Thompson'swith Bert Arens. Bert's the Catering Manager at Ellwood's, a position she's been in for about six months, she's been in Richmond since the 80's though when she attended VCU. She was a big part of organizing National Coffee (with Strangers) Day but doesn't need much coffee herself, she's naturally got a ton of energy.

Kelli’s back at the State Fair of Virginia to ride the the Ferris wheel with Nate Marcus. Nate’s the founder of the website Occasion Genius. Originally from Boston, Nate was originally teaching Iron Chef classes when he moved to RVA, seeing the opening in the market for a site that listed hundreds of team-building and adventurous activities, he started Occasion Genius to help pair groups in RVA looking for something to do with businesses who can host them for dope events.

Kelli's at the Virginia State Fair to ride the Ferris wheel with Daryl Watkins of Creative Dog Media. Daryl's no stranger to an aerial view either so the Ferris wheel was a nature spot to talk. He took Creative Dog Media from a hobby to a recognizable business and one of the premier aerial photography companies in RVA. Daryl's lived all over Virginia and been in Richmond since 2005 and doesn't anticipate leaving soon either.

Okay, y'all, National Coffee (with Strangers) Day is Friday, September 29 at Ellwood Thompson's from 7am to 11am. It's going to be a great day, made possible by our friends at Blanchard's Coffee Roasting Company, Black Hand Coffee Company, Gearhart's Fine Chocolates, King Of Pops, Richmond PhotoBooth, and Triple Crossing Brewing. They'll all be on had with their amazing coffee products. With a $1 donation to The Salvation Army, attendees get their choice of a coffee product and a $5 donation gets attendees a custom Coffee with Strangers coffee mug and a gift bag with other coffee related swag in addition to the choice of coffee product.

Burned out from living the beltway loop life, Shannon Siriano Greenwood moved to Richmond about five years ago. She was part of a duo who opened a successful fitness studio in the Fan but when she began her family, she realized to fitness studio-owner-lifestyle wasn't what she was looking for as a compliment to motherhood. She sold the business but kept getting calls from friends asking for help growing their businesses the way she'd grown her own...

Kelli's off this week but we do have a few announcements. One, big thanks to our friends at Rise Biscuits Donuts for sponsoring last week's episode with Candice Smith. Be sure to visit Rise in Short Pump for some of the best dang biscuits and donuts around.

Keep an eye on the website and social media channels for more news about our International Coffee (with Strangers) Day on Friday, September 29 in partnership with Ellwood Thompson's. Come to Ellwood's from 7am-11am and experience coffee products from our amazing sponsors Blanchard's Coffee, Gearhart's Fine Chocolates, King of Pop's, Richmond PhotoBooth & Triple Crossing Brewing

Kelli's at Rise Biscuits Donuts in Short Pump to grab coffee with Candice Smith of NBC12. Originally from Roanoke, Candice came to Richmond to attend VCU, started interning at NBC12 as an editor and worked her way to where she is now, waking up at 3am to bring viewers the morning traffic and covering events around town through 12 About Town. She loves fitness, getting outside for paddleboarding or running the Libby Hill steps but loves herself pizza and donuts too.

Kelli's at Pop's to have coffee with Ryan Allen. Ryan may be better known though as his drag queen persona, Reann Ballslee. Ryan's been doing drag for 12 years and Reann's won homecoming queen titles and hosted tons of events around Richmond. Both Ryan and Reann love Richmond and feel celebrated and loved in RVA and Virginia.