By Chanda Temple
Over at Alicia’s Coffee in downtown Birmingham, Al Green’s “For the Good Times” plays on Spotify.
As Al croons about the whisper of raindrops softly blowing against his window, owners Naimah Alicia Elmore and Roc Harrell have their own good time in serving food and beverages.
Orders for smoothies, Cuban coffee and hot coffee roll in.
The whir of the blender and the chatter of patrons fill the air. People settle into the booths lined along a wall that has stood the test of time.
If walls could talk, it would share how Birmingham’s first Black millionaire, A.G. Gaston, built the building in 1954 and called it the A.G. Gaston Motel to give Black travelers a place to stay while traveling through a segregated South. Now refurbished, a portion of the motel serves as the home to Alicia’s Coffee. The rest of the facility stands as a tourist attraction, showcasing a gallery of Gaston artifacts, the original courtyard and motel rooms, including a room where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. stayed during the 1960s.
The space that houses Alicia’s Coffee today is where motel guests once checked in, while another part once served as the entrance to the motel’s ballroom.
Roc Harrell waits on Rev. Hosea Agee, who takes a bus every morning just to visit Alicia’s Coffee.
The city’s past hangs heavy in the air, along with scents of roasted coffee grounds and cinnamon. Meanwhile, Naimah and Roc interact with customers just like how Green’s voice sounds: smooth and steady.
“When you walk into Alicia’s Coffee, you are greeted just like on ‘Cheers,’ ” Naimah said of the popular 1980s/90s NBC sitcom. “We do know your name, and most times, we remember your beverage.”
As soon as Dr. Crystal Stephens walks in, Naimah heads to the back to prepare her 20-ounce oat milk latte. It’s an order Naimah has been making for Crystal ever since she started visiting the coffee shop in February 2025, which is when the shop officially opened. (Crystal gets it every Friday before going to work at the downtown hospital.)
What brings her back every week? Naimah and the staff.
“It’s an atmosphere where you feel welcomed, and I’m not looking for anything else but just fellowship and community. And that’s what I get,” Crystal said. “They remember birthdays, graduation. I remember their birthdays. She’s met my children and their friends. Their friends have come. I send people here all the time.”
The shop is also big with tourists stopping in at Kelly Ingram Park and Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, which are around the corner and played significant roles in the civil rights movement of 1963. Also around the corner is the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, home to numerous artifacts from the movement.
Debbie and Dave Radie flew in from Oregon to visit family for the holidays in December 2025, and then they decided to take a historic tour of Birmingham. When they found Alicia’s Coffee, they appreciated being able to be in a space that was a part of history.
Then there’s 91-year-old Rev. Hosea Agee. He takes a MAX bus every morning from his Pratt City home to the coffee shop.
His order: black coffee, no sugar; a cherry danish; and a cup of water. He talks about what Birmingham was like in the 1960s, where racism ruled and police dogs were released on civil rights demonstrators just because of the color of their skin.
Those memories come flowing out of Rev. Agee just like the coffee and tea Alicia and Roc pour out for visitors, many of whom are eager to fill up on caffeine as well as the building’s history.
In its hey day, the motel attracted overnight guests such as Aretha Franklin, Duke Ellington, James Baldwin and Harry Belafonte. It also served as a venue for weddings and banquets and became a major meeting space for civil rights movement leaders.
King regularly stayed in Room 30, which became known as the “War Room.” There, he joined Birmingham’s Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and other civil rights leaders to discuss strategy for the movement. It was also in that room where King decided to defy a court injunction and be jailed alongside local protesters . Such a move led to his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” which he wrote on April 16, 1963.
It’s been reported that King went through various versions of the letter before he could get it just right. And in a way, that’s the way Alicia and Roc have worked on Alicia’s Coffee. They tweak things along the way as they work to get things right. Ideas hit them in the middle of the day and even the middle of the night. They take note of each concept, working on every detail, just like King did with his letter.
The motel eventually closed in 1986. By the 1990s, it had fallen into disrepair. But in 2017, the motel became the centerpiece of the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, which was established by President Barack Obama.
The motel was later slated to undergo a major overhaul. The exterior was updated, and part of the former ballroom was transformed into an exhibit that highlights artifacts from Gaston’s life.
A ribbon cutting to celebrate the changes to the motel was held in 2022, and the motel opened its exhibit space in 2023.
Next, the City of Birmingham envisioned seeing a coffee house established near the front of the motel. Businesses submitted bids in 2024, and the bid from Naimah and Roc was selected.
Naimah and Roc did a soft opening on Jan. 18, 2025, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. They officially opened on Feb. 25, 2025. They are open Monday – Saturday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. (The motel and its courtyard are open for tours Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. From the courtyard, people can look up to the second floor and see the door that leads to what was once King’s Room 30.)
To honor King’s legacy, Naimah and Roc created an iced coffee named Room 30, which is their top seller. The drink is made with raspberry syrup, white chocolate sauce, oat milk and two shots of espresso. It comes hot or cold. A portion of the proceeds from Room 30 go the A.G. Gaston Boys and Girls Club.
To highlight Birmingham high school football stars who’ve recently gone off to college with football scholarships, they have a line of drinks in honor of them as part of NIL deals. Parker High School December 2024 alum and Auburn University player Jourdin Crawford created The Blueberry Blitz, which is made with strawberry lemonade, blueberry lemonade, a dash of cane sugar with a strawberry garnish and blueberry garnish. Gardendale High School 2022 graduate Kelby Collins, who now plays with University of Alabama and went there in the fall of 2025, created the KC Sack Attack smoothie, which has mango, peaches, blueberries and cane sugar.
The beverages are just some of the 25 flavored offerings at the coffee shop, including the “Harlem,” released Juneteenth 2025 and named in honor of the change connected to the Harlem Renaissance. It features almond syrup, vanilla syrup, their cold brew, cane sugar, a cold foam on top, and a dash of cinnamon. There’s also a sugar-free option.
It tastes like a honey bun, and it feels like the heritage it was made to represent.
The motel’s history is what encouraged Birmingham entrepreneurs Theo Edwards-Butler and fiancé Justin Foster to have their engagement photos and engagement video made at the coffee shop and motel in 2025. She said their love story started in the heart of Birmingham, and they wanted to mark a large part of their relationship there, too. (Go here to see their video.)
“These landmarks not only symbolize our love for each other, but also our reverence for the legacy and impact of Black businesses,” said Theo, who is also founder of the Modern Green Book and collaborated with Alicia’s Coffee in 2025 to co-host the “Brown Sugar Set,” where a DJ played music once a month as the shop highlighted some of its mocktails. Naimah said they may bring that back in 2026.
Collaboration has been key for Naimah and Roc, who’ve done several other initiatives with community members.
- Every first Tuesday, Alicia and Roc host a Community Healing Session with a local mental health expert from 6 to 8 p.m. to allow attendees to share their feelings and get input from a professional. They started the effort in October 2025 after Naimah noticed so many people talking about being stressed out or even losing a loved one to suicide. Free coffee is served. The next one will be Tuesday, Jan. 6 with Crystal Mullen-Johnson of Birmingham’s Strive Counseling Services.
- They hosted a fundraiser in fall 2025 to secure enough money to grow their food offerings. Even though they did not meet their goal of $8,000, they raised enough to buy a griddle and other equipment to offer homemade French toast, scrambled eggs, grits, breakfast sandwiches and more.
- Award-winning entrepreneur Dennis Echoles of Amber’s Desserts provides freshly baked goods for the coffee shop.
- They’ve hosted book signings, and they plan to do additional book signings in 2026. In December 2025, they worked with Rooted Impact Consulting to present an event to help the homeless. They’ve also worked with Voltron Printing on store merchandise.
- At the end of January 2026, Naimah said a book swap will launch so that people can donate and pick up books that they like.
- They are planning to host a Men’s Coffee Talk with a clinical therapist, possibly in February. More details to come.
“This is why coffee shops are needed. They are a resource hub,” Naimah said.
“People want to be part of something that is positive and moving ahead, and that’s what we aim to do here at Alicia’s Coffee.”
Chanda Temple is an award-winning writer living in Birmingham, Ala. She blogs at http://www.chandatemplewrites.com. If you have a food story idea, email her at chandatemple@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram at @chandatemple.
Copyright © 2026, All rights reserved.
FacebookTwitterLinkedInPinterestShare