Books line the walls. Records fill the shelves. Games lean gently onfloor to ceiling shelves. A couple laugh while playing chess. The smell of coffee is paired with an upbeat jazz tune. A quintessential coffee house experience, located on the corner of Garfield and C street in Parkland. The name is Notes’ Coffee Company, although that wasn’t always this place was called. The building has been many things, a bookstore, a pharmacy, another coffee shop, and a guitar shop to name a few. But Notes’ opened in February of 2018 and owner John Gore and his business partner will soon to be celebrating one year of business.
Owning a business comes with challenges. John Gore and his partner being the only two African American business owners in the area faced serious issues from the community. Shortly after opening, their store was robbed and derogatory comments were made to both John and his partner, including a customer calling him the ‘N’ word. John wasn’t sure he wanted to continue with Notes’. He spoke out on Facebook explaining how he was being treated and in the following days members of the community showed him an overwhelming amount of support.
Notes’ has a down to earth vibe punctuated by its many live shows. The weekends at Notes’ are lively, with Jazz filled afternoons to help you ease into Monday. On weekday nights you’ll see a talented soul rocking the open mic night or maybe an exceptional artist performing a comedy show. On a special occasion you might even see a chess tournament. Along with local entertainment, they have a killer menu and a stellar selection of coffee.
Notes’ is finding its niche in the Parkland community and many people are still unaware of its unique qualities. John plans to get more involved in the community by starting some Parkland centered projects. For example, they would like to include everyone in a gallery walk project where customers can take pictures of the Parkland area and have them displayed at Notes’. In response to the welcome he has recieved thus far, John says, “I think like any new neighbor on the block there’s always some hold back, they’ve probably seen people come and people go so they don’t want to invest too much energy in a new business until they stick around for a minute.” Fortunately, John intends to stick around.
