Boon Boona Coffee — Restaurant in Renton

Boon Boona is a big lie, a joke. It is a farce, a sham, a scam. It purports to be an African affirmative environment inclusive of all kinds of people, but it is the opposite; this is a mirage. It only goes skin deep. You can be black or brown, as long as you fit into the strict mold of behavior dictated by white people to make them alone feel safe and superior; only white culture and imperatives are permitted here. Straight, dignified, black conscious men are not welcome, even though there is a huge map of Africa on the wall. The degrading, clownish caricatures on the logo, depicting what are meant to be East African faces illustrate the image of Africa that is promoted. Couldn't it have been more majestic, more regal? Everything is catered to the sensibilities of white people, especially white women with a feminist agenda. It is a place set up to give white people the feeling they are doing something exotic and "ethnic", to give them a reprieve from boring whiteness. The authenticity is very shallow, a veneer, since it only serves the purpose of entertaining and appealing to the ego of white patrons and employees. It is not a place where African people or Native people can gather and express themselves except through the narrow confines of what is acceptable to white people. Boon Boona is African in name only, just like the owner. He does not even own himself, let alone the business, though he may make plenty of money from it. He is a puppet, facilitating exploitation of his own African identity for the benefit of white domination and profit. His business decisions are dictated not by an empowering Afro-centric vision, but by the other businesses next to his, and the building owner, who together with the City of Renton -which represents the white descendants of those who stole this land from the last of the Native people who lived here - selected Boon Boona as an instrument for the gentrification mission. Boon Boona is not about coffee; it is an experiment of social engineering within the over arching goal of gentrification in the Renton downtown core. It is only intended for some people and not for others, though there is no sign on the door stating so. You are just supposed to get it by the way you are treated, overtly and subtly as an interloper, as an other, as out of place. The owner is the pet of white people, they can rub up his head, and since he is happy to play the role of subordinate boy for them, any black man that comes in the door has to agree that white people can also treat him this way, or that black man has to leave. Even the white girls that are supposed to be his employees have him on a leash. Particularly the one that considers herself a master barista will stand there at the counter not doing anything while he rushes out to clean up after any group of black or African people that come in, as though he should not expect his white employees to clean up after "his" people. It is shameful. These same girls will be there gossiping and giggling about customers they do not like, while dishes are piling up and tables are waiting to be cleared, so that the African woman coming in on a later shift has to do the cleaning when she gets there. If not her, then they send one of the males on the team; the men obey. This is a regular maneuver on their part. They are extremely petty, unprofessional, mean, power hungry and small minded. The place is very filthy. We saw on more than one occasion one of the employees from the plant shop next door come in to get free coffee and he let his dog wander inside the enclosure where the coffee roaster is located and then behind the counter where food was being prepared. The owner saw this and said nothing. Why was my presence there considered so abnormal and such an offense? It was clear that there was an issue with my person, my voice, which exudes unapologetic straight black consciousness; my very identity was too loud. I experienced constant pressure to modify who I am. I was not welcome there from the moment...

I absolutely LOVE this coffee shop and the owner who I’ve met a few times now! The coffee is so unique, all of the syrup and toppings are typically made in house which makes them taste so much better. The atmosphere is great, plenty of seating, outdoor lighting and it’s in a great location as it’s snuggled between several amazing shops. My fiancé and I have been going for about 8 years now… HOWEVER, the last few years the workers have not been the greatest… I hate leaving reviews and rarely do so, I’m definitely the type of person who will drink something I hate and pretend I love it just to be nice but I can’t ignore it this time. If you’re a regular you know, their homemade whipped cream is the best and worth the up charge of .75 extra per drink. The last 5 times I’ve been there over the past 6 months they have been out of whipped cream… this has also happened in the past, however, not as frequent. Sounds like I’m being unreasonable or an odd thing to complain about, right? Wrong 🥺 Every single time they’ve been out of their amazing whipped cream they charged me for it after saying they would double check they had some, then when I go to pick up my coffee from the counter they tell me they’re out. I have begged them to TRIPLE check before charging me and each time they say they do… and somehow they’re still out when I go to pick up my coffee… :( I still love they’re coffee but sad that they offered no solutions when I voiced my compliant.. if anything they looked at my fiancé and I like we were crazy for saying something to the worker at the counter so he would stop charging people for it. Again, frustrated because I begged him to triple check as this was the FIFTH TIME it’s happened as of recently and he said he would, charged me, and then it happened again. I wasn’t frustrated or mean, just disappointed…Plus… please just make more whipped cream… PLEASE!😭 I would wait the extra time but they never offer. Great place if you don’t order they’re whipped cream or have an issue with your visit because there’s no solutions when your visit doesn’t go as expected. I guess I’ll just stop ordering the whipped cream because they’re coffee is too good to stop going… sad that they can’t just fix...

Coffee isn’t unique. The service is meh. Atmosphere is awful. I had the orange blossom latte. It was fine. Tasted like a honey latte you would get anywhere around here. I didn’t dislike it, just wasn’t wowed. When they take your order they don’t ask for a name so when they called out my latte, a guy two spots BEHIND me in line took my drink. He ordered oat milk with his so he was probably upset when he didn’t get it. His fault for stealing my drink, I suppose. My biggest complaint is with the atmosphere. When you walk in they have all the tables and chairs stacked off to the side and have roped off a section from the door to the counter for the line. The sign on the door asks you to keep your mask on at all times. There is plexiglass almost to the ceiling. Ummm, we are about to go into Phase 4 and to walk in here you would think we were still in Phase 1. I got vaccinated in February because it’s my duty to protect myself and others from COVID. I am all for wearing masks and taking precautions but this coffee shop was terribly uninviting. They seemed to not even want you to sip your coffee before you leave the building. It was also incredibly hot inside. The service was so slow so I was in a full sweat before walking outside to cool off in the 79 degree weather. Given that there was absolutely nothing special about it, I will...