A new name on the window of what was once Kin Coffee in Downtown San Luis Obispo has several community members wondering if the spot is still tied to its previous owner, who was repeatedly accused of sexual assault.
“Whether or not it [Kin] exists is not the question; it’s whether the previous owner is still involved/profiting,” Instagram user @whereiskait commented on the new business’s Instagram page.
In April 2022, Kin proprietor Julian Contreras and his friend Nate Abate, who owns Nate’s Barbershop in Atascadero, faced sexual assault allegations from more than 40 women. He had opened the coffee shop on Higuera Street with his brother, Christian, in 2019.
Now called Glo Coffee Co., the café maintains the décor and ambiance of its predecessor. A fictitious business name statement filed with the SLO County Clerk-Recorder’s Office on Nov. 23 shows that Glo Coffee is registered under Maria Antonia Meyers. The document stated that the shop opened on Dec. 1.
Previous New Times reporting found that Meyers is Contreras’ mother, who registered a limited liability corporation with the California Secretary of State’s Office called California Coalition LLC, that also registered Taft St. Coffee. Kin Coffee’s second location near Cal Poly changed its name to Taft St. Coffee after the allegations surfaced.
Meyers told New Times that Glo Coffee is not involved with Taft St. Coffee or Contreras.
“The company is brand new,” she said. “If the community wants us, everyone that wants to be here is welcome here.”
Meyers, whom the business calls the “Shop Mama” and “Toni,” told New Times that she purchased the store from the “old owner” after her culinary stints at Kin Coffee.
She invited a New Times reporter to the coffee shop for a conversation, where she requested that the paper not write negatively about the business after being asked about her relationship to Contreras—she did confirm that Contreras is her son.
Glo Coffee Manager Anicah accused the reporter of “twisting” Meyers’ words while transcribing the conversation onto a notepad.
Meyers then asked to read her quote. When shown the notebook, she grabbed it, tore off the page, and demanded that New Times not report on Glo Coffee.
Anicah and Meyers both later apologized to the reporter via separate phone calls and returned the ripped page to New Times.
After the interview, Glo Coffee issued a statement via an Instagram story.
“The previous owners of our shop location are not involved with Glo Coffee in any way. Toni is the sole owner who’s [sic] only goal is to run her own café and give a home to the incredible staff at Glo Coffee Co,” it read. “This is a NEW business. All that we ask is that you give these kind people a chance to survive and not hold them accountable for the past that they had no control of or part in.”
The company repeated the statement as a comment under one of its posts. Community members deliberated under that comment, and one person questioned Glo Coffee’s social media practices.
“Why do you keep deleting simple questions if there’s nothing to hide?” Instagram user @lophie asked after some of their posts were deleted from the comment thread.
A comment left by another community member was also deleted.
“Oh the lengths loving mothers will go to in order to protect and harbor their criminal sons … ,” @gracelandproject wrote.
As of Dec. 14, Glo Coffee disabled the comments feature on its Instagram page.
SLO County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Tony Cipolla told New Times that the office investigated the allegations against Contreras and turned its findings over to the District Attorney’s Office. The DA’s Office said it’s looking over the documents.
“The DA’s Office did receive reports from the SLO Sheriff’s Office in early December of 2022 with regards to an investigation of suspects Carlos Julian Garcia Contreras and Nathan Daniel Abate,” Chief Deputy DA Lisa Muscari said. “We are presently reviewing the voluminous supplements and will make a filing decision soon.” Δ
This article appears in Dec 15-25, 2022.
Just would like to add that “Nate’s Barbershop” has attempted to rebrand also to “Cardinal Barbershop”
Same business owners as before.. basically same story as above.