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Oral Histories

The SFA oral history program documents life stories from the American South. Collecting these stories, we honor the people whose labor defines the region. If you would like to contribute to SFA’s oral history collections, please send your ideas for oral history along with your CV or Resume and a portfolio of prior oral history work to info@southernfoodways.org.

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ORAL HISTORY

Kevin Pedeaux

CR Coffee Shop

Kevin Pedeaux began roasting coffee in 2009, and operated two coffee shops in the New Orleans area. He opened CR coffee house in October 2019. In 2020, he closed Auction House Market coffee shop.

When the pandemic hit, Pedeaux was forced to lay off his employees. He kept the coffee shop open and sold retail items like coffee, extra milk, and other goods. Pedeaux received federal funding as well as local assistance from the Krewe of Red Beans. The community response and support of his business was significant.

Date of interview:
2020-08-10

Interviewer:
Justin Nystrom

Photographer:
Justin Nystrom

Download Transcript Download Transcript 2

“

"The way it is right now is really tough on a business like mine cause it’s a tough decision. I don’t wanna have that conversation, I don’t wanna be that guy. I’m very thankful for people coming in to purchase coffee. So, then it becomes, if you saw that on Twitter, somebody asks well when I come to your store, so you don’t want me to use cash. Well, no, not necessarily, since we’re going through the procedures here, you know more cash is better than more credit cards right now, but if everyone could agree not to, and be good with it . . . The pandemic has pushed everything five years into the future." - Kevin Pedeaux

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