Owner of Woke Breakfast & Coffee had no idea the name would be so fraught

When Carmen Quiroga opened her new restaurant last month, she had no idea she would find herself in the middle of an American culture war.

Quiroga, who is originally from Mexico, opened Woke Breakfast & Coffee with her husband in Coventry, Conn. When choosing the name, he said he was trying to make it feel fresh after drinking his joe.

“When you wake up in the morning…the first thing you want to do is drink coffee, it’s like waking up, right?” Quiroga told As it happens hosted by Nil Koksal.

He said he didn’t realize the term “wake up” had a different, more politically charged connotation. Then he saw the comments on Facebook.

“I feel sad [about] people who don’t support my business,” said Quiroga. “I don’t know anything about controversy.”

History keeps waking up

The term “awakening” started in the 1930s, when it was mainly used by black people to describe the awakening from the reality of oppression and racism in the United States.

According to the history of the word by Vox’s Aja Romanoone of the earliest examples of its use in pop culture is in the lyrics “stay woke” in the Scottsboro Boysa 1938 protest song by Blues musician Huddie Ledbetter about a group of black teenagers accused of raping two white women.

The word saw a huge resurgence after the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Miss. Since then, it has been used frequently by activists and artists, including rapper Childish Gambino in a 2016 song. red boneswho repeats the refrain: “Stay awake.”

In recent years, however, it has also become a term of derision, wielded by right-wing figures to disparage what they see as a left-wing agenda that places too much importance on the identity of the oppressed.

Republicans in Florida have branded a new law that limits what schools can teach about race as the “Stop WOKE Act.” And in an event in January, the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, expressed his disdain for the “wake up ideology” and said: “Florida is where the wake is going to die.”

But Quiroga knew nothing.

He and his family thought the name was cute and short, easy to remember. In addition, they can create a logo with an egg in place of the O.

The diner’s disc is: “You wake up and make the right choice.”

It took four months of work to get the restaurant ready, Quiroga said. But when he announced the grand opening on Facebook, he was surprised by the response.

“[People wrote]: ‘I will not go there. I don’t support people who choose that name’ – and many, many things. I didn’t read too much because I just wanted to cry at the time,” she said.

He said he and his family considered changing the name, but decided it would be too much work and money. The logo is already on menus, mugs, branding and storefronts.

“So I said, we’re going to do it the way we know how – just work hard and try to make the best food possible,” he said.

Backlash, and happy ending

Negative comments filled several local Facebook groups, according to the Washington Post and ctpost.com. CBC has not seen these comments, as most have been deleted by moderators.

The Coventry CT Republican Town Committee Facebook group addressed the backlash in a post on January 22.

“While the name at first may set off alarm bells for some conservatives, it is clear that the owner has never made a political statement,” he said.

“We strongly discourage negativity towards this business or hard-working, entrepreneurial owners – or we support chatter impulsive boycott. Sometimes, words can mean only what they always meant.”

The group did not respond to a request for comment.

Despite the rough start, Quiroga says the story has a happy ending.

When news broke of his reaction, the community rallied to his side. They had so much business in the first few weeks that they wanted to hire additional staff to keep up with demand.

“When I opened it and saw so many people waiting outside, I was very happy,” he said. “People look at me and say, ‘Oh, we’ll support you. Don’t worry. We’ll be here every day.'”

Lisa Thomas, chairwoman of Coventry City Council, is among Quiroga’s supporters.

“This restaurant is filled every day with people who embrace and welcome him. But it’s important that he chooses a city to do business and move his family to,” Thomas said in an emailed statement.

“This story shouldn’t be about comments on local social media groups. It’s about Carmen choosing our town for a new business and the community’s excitement to finally have a breakfast place with good food and coffee in town. These types of small businesses are a critical asset to our community. .”