Acadiana Coffee Shop’s Bold Statement on Competitor’s Closure Goes Viral

Any small business owner in Louisiana will tell you that times are hard with the increased cost of goods, utilities, and, well, everything. Keeping a business's doors open when it's run by small local families is incredibly challenging right now, which is why this post made by an Acadiana coffee shop hit home for so many people.

Word rapidly spread through the community that a locally loved coffee and ice cream shop is closing its doors this month. Brew and Scoop, located at 415 Creswell Lane in Opelousas, Louisiana, has been serving the community handcrafted coffee beverages and ice cream treats for over five years.

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Comments from the community have been flooding their page, wishing them well but begging them not to go after a local competitor made a post on Facebook addressing Brew and Scoop's unexpected closure.

Local Competitor Honors Business in Heartfelt Post

Java Square, another locally loved coffee shop in Opelousas, shocked the community with an unbelievably heartfelt message on social media. Subconsciously, you would think that when a competing business in the same industry closes, the others rejoice because now they will get their customers. However, as Java Square states in their message, "a business in the same industry closing down is not a happy occasion".

They go on to say that there are many coffee shops, one for every occasion, and that "no one is reinventing the wheel here". Java Square explains that  "their desire to be different is what made us the same" and they are saddened to hear of their closure.

This post also acted as a reminder for the community that "that if we don’t continue to invest in the businesses around us, we eventually won’t have local businesses or the influx of new businesses coming in."

Now more than ever its important to prioritize our locally owned business so that way they can stay open and our community can stay employed.

The Community Response

The post has gone 'small-town viral' as I like to call it, with hundreds of shares and comments expressing how moved they are by the post. Some were saddened by the news, some applauded the support and heartfelt sentiment, and everyone unanimously agreed that shopping locally is crucial for our economy.

The post reads:

Despite what people might think, a business in the same industry closing down is not a happy occasion. We are saddened to hear about Brew and Scoop’s recent decision to close. I grew my passion for coffee in a time and place where local coffee shops were the norm, each offering its unique twist on drinks. Let’s be honest, no one is reinventing the wheel here, but every shop had its own style and feel. There were shops for studying, for date nights, for cowboys, even for the emo crowd. The desire to be different was what made us the same.

While we are a small town, we were fortunate to have a variety of businesses that together created a community of coffee lovers. Brew and Scoop may not have been our next-door neighbor, but they were a city neighbor, and we always want to support our fellow neighbors. So today, we want to honor them.

Brew and Scoop, thank you for your faithful service to our city. Thank you for bringing joy to many by providing a place to meet, hang out, and enjoy some sweet treats. By contributing to our local coffee community. You were a blessing to many, and we hope and pray that your next chapter is prosperous and fulfilling.

In these last two weeks, we encourage everyone to stop by Brew and Scoop, show some love, get a coffee, ice cream, or both, and help give them the biggest close-out a business can have. This is also a reminder that if we don’t continue to invest in the businesses around us, we eventually won’t have local businesses or the influx of new businesses coming in.