Summary: Following the sudden closure of Elmwood Cafe in Berkeley on Friday, the coffee shop’s owner Michael Pearce issued a statement admitting his business failed in its attempts to rectify a 2015 incident of racial bias and he planned to relinquish ownership of the location. In the statement, Pearce didn’t directly say whether the shop’s closure was a result of the backlash against his business, but he did mention the Bell incident.
