Coffee With Strangers

Kelli's in Scott's Addition to grab coffee, and cider, with Buskey Cider founder Will Correll. Will's a Virginia boy at heart, having grown up in Franklin before his family relocated to Memphis. He always knew he'd be back to VA though and when he was ready to open Buskey, he knew RVA and Scott's Addition was the right spot.

Kelli's grabbing coffee with Angela Patton of Camp Diva RVA and Girls for a Change. These two had coffee in late-July in front of a live audience as part of RVA Tech Week but Angela's story and passion is so strong, we had to have her back for y'all to hear about the work she's doing in RVA.

Kelli's grabbing ☕️ with Krissi Cecil, better known as Krissi Radio of 103.7 Play. Krissi was born and raised in Richmond, and actually went to a party at Kelli's parents house one time..Anyway, she grew up listening to Melissa Chase on the radio and now she gets to work with her, which is kind of like a dream come true for the girl from Mechanicsville. Krissi also has maybe the most unique side hustle we've encountered, selling fireworks.

Kelli’s at Pop’s to grab coffee with Anika Horn. Anika came to Richmond just two years ago, and never wanted to be an entrepreneur yet she’s totally who we think of when we think of entrepreneurs in the city. Everyday she’s biking around the city helping other entrepreneurs use their businesses for good. Originally from a small town in Germany, that still doesn’t have internet, she moved to RVA two years ago and felt at home within a couple weeks.

Kelli's downtown at Pop's to have coffee with Melody Short. Melody is the small business director at UnBoundRVA, a non-profit who helps low-income families and individuals change the narrative in their lives through the power of entrepreneurship. She's also an entrepreneur herself and mother.

Kelli's had coffee with six people so far in Season 6. So we thought we'd take a break for Memorial Day weekend and give y'all a mashup of those six guests and get back at it on June 5 with Melody Short. Enjoy!

Kelli's at Pop's to meet Dayal Baxani for coffee. Dayal walked the the couple blocks up from his store on East Broad Street. 707 Fine Clothing has been Dayal's family's business for 38 years, and Dayal's been at for 15. Over that time, Dayal's seen nearby clothing stores close as downtown Richmond changed. His family stuck with it though and is still there as downtown comes back around. Dayal was born and raised in Richmond, spent some time at VCU and loves all that RVA has to offer for his business and family.

Kelli's at Pop's to meet Rose Maghdouri. Rose is originally from Iran, she moved to the States when she was 17 and then to Richmond a few years after college. She was laid off from her job in international banking so she went back to school to buy some time until she figured out her next move. Richmond was calling though and she moved back but still couldn't find what she was looking for, until one day the light bulb went off in her head to open a yoga studio...

Kelli's at Pop's to grab coffee with David Bailey. David's a Richmond native and Church Hill resident. David's the founder of Arrabon, an organization that works with Christian communities to find solutions in an ever-changing world. David's a total stranger to Kelli but no stranger to the RVA dining scene and has suggestions across the board.

Kelli's grabbin' coffee at Pop's with Ross Catrow. Ross is the founder and former publisher of RVANews.com, which closed last year. Now he's a full-time advocate for RVA Rapid Transit, a group working to connect Metro-Richmond through a regional transit system. Oh, and he's the editor and curator of the popular Good Morning, RVA emails.