New coffee shop at restored A.G. Gaston Motel adds ‘healing place’

One of Birmingham’s founding civil rights sites, the historic A.G. Gaston Motel, celebrated the next step of its restoration Tuesday with the opening of Alicia’s Coffee in its main building. Coffee shop founders Naimah Alicia Elmore and Rashad Harrell said they are committed to community service and fostering meaningful connections through their Black-owned business. “Certain things you cannot talk about in church, certain things you cannot talk about in school, but you can inside of a coffee shop,” Elmore said. “It is really a healing place, a safe place for people of all ages and races.” The motel, built in 1954 by Gaston, a Black businessman and millionaire, was a thriving business and a meeting place for civil rights leaders. It recently underwent an extensive renovation process and reopened for public tours. Alicia’s Coffee was selected by The City of Birmingham’s Historic Preservation Authority. “We’re happy to have Alicia’s Coffee here in this sacred space,” said Mayor Randall Woodfin, who was in attendance at the grand opening. “This coffee has a mission, that mission is to serve communities not just through coffee but through acts of community service. There is no better space to live those words than right here....