She’s getting a latte love. A Brooklyn coffee shop owner feared she’d be put out of business after learning a competitor planned to open up shop next door — then, her teary-eyed video went viral.
Rachel Nieves, the co-owner of the Williamsburg cafe Buddies Coffee, took to TikTok to express her concerns over keeping her business afloat due to rent increases and a java competitor opening directly next door.
“It just feels like you just can’t win, like the small people can’t win,” she said in the tearful video, which scored over 6 million views in a matter of days.
“It sucks,” she continued, adding that the “coffee shop is my life” and part of her mission to keep the Puerto Rican spirit alive in Williamsburg, a historically Puerto Rican neighborhood.
Empathetic viewers heard her cry — and New Yorkers showed up at the door.
TikTokers vowed to stop by the next time they were in the neighborhood or city, while others promised to swing by the very next morning to support the small business. Videos posted online show a queue of patrons snaking down the block — even in the pouring rain — in what has been called “the TikTok effect.”
“To see a lot of people down the block talking about coquito lattes in line, wanting to support Rachel and Taylor, it was just really amazing that people can rally so quickly and so enthusiastically for small businesses when they need help,” local resident and Buddies Coffee regular Allison Dowd told The Gothamist.
“You are awesome. I’m coming to support,” wrote singer and local Brooklynite Joe Jonas, who posted a follow-up the very next day as he headed to grab a cup himself.
“Be a buddy,” he said in the clip.
The Post has reached out to Buddies Coffee for comment.
Now located at 150 Grand St., Nieves and her co-founder, husband Taylor Nawrocki, began Buddies as a coffee cart during the pandemic before opening their brick-and-mortar cafe, building their entire business from scratch through hard work and grit.
The cafe’s coquito latte, which became a viral hit — as highlighted in the New York Times’ profile on small business owners — is once again resurfacing as the beverage du jour and is already selling out.
In subsequent videos online, Nieves expressed her immense gratitude for the droves of supporters showing up at her door.
“I’m going to keep showing up and working hard, and maybe a wonderful thing will come out of this,” Nieves said in a follow-up video on Wednesday.
“I mean, a wonderful thing has already come out of it. So many wonderful people have shown up and shared, and just thank you.”
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