This company centers Black community in its coffee shops

When Amanda-Jane Thomas and Shanita Nicholas were brainstorming a name for the business they wanted to start together, they got inspiration from a word they saw in the “Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows,” an art project-turned-book by video maker Jack Koenig.

“‘Sonder’ is the realization that everyone around you is living a life that's as beautiful and complex as your own,” said Thomas. “When we saw that, it really just hit the nail on the head of what we wanted to really be.”

The pair originally met while working as corporate lawyers, and they knew early on they wanted to start a business that centered Black community. For Nicholas, coffee made a lot of sense.

“I enjoy the coffee world,” said Nicholas. “I think that that has always been an area of looking at a product that is kind of global, that can be utilized in these different ways.”

They launched Sip & Sonder together in 2017, opening their flagship cafe in Inglewood, CA. Since then, they’ve added two more locations (including a franchised store in Downtown Disney, located in Anaheim, CA) and a roastery; starting in 2020, they’ve become one of the few nationally-distributed Black-owned coffee companies.

“I think it's an industry and an area that is so connected to our our background and the African-diasporic connection,” said Nicholas. “I think in the showing up, we have a chance to start becoming bridges.”

“Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal spoke to Thomas and Nicholas about how they started their business and what it means to operate a Black-owned coffee company in the economy today. To listen, use the media player above.