Meet Cheryse Terry | Cafe owner & Archivist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cheryse Terry and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cheryse, how do you think about risk?
Risk is required for success. To me, What’s the worst that can happen, If your plan don’t work out you can go back to the drawing board and do what you know until you can start again.

What should our readers know about your business?
I own Archive CLT, a cafe dedicated to the preservation of Black history and culture in Charlotte NC. I’m so proud of the intergenerational relationships and community that has been discovered at Archive. I have managed to bottle of the vibe of the sweetest parts of your grandma’s house and serve it to you along with specialty lattes, locally blended teas and house crafted refreshers. Nothing about this process has been easy. I have always considered myself a creative, I created at my leisure and only the things I was led by, owning a brick and mortar requires a level of consistency, dedication and risk that I had not prepared myself for. I learned that having a solid mentor, team and delegation will make business easier to manage. Because of a fire that claim a major part of my childhood home and all of my family’s physical memories, I have now dedicated my life encouraging everyone to digitize and preserve their family history which ultimately makes up the larger history. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to do that daily with customers.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Here in Charlotte I would take them to Archive CLT for coffee then breakfast at Uptown yolk which is owned by a Black, James Beard nominated chef, I’d museum hop to the Harvey B Gantt center, The Mint museum and the Bechtler. Then I’d book a little photo sesh at The Frame which is a dope natural light photography studio then head out to camp north end to Dupp and Swatt + BLK MRKT. For a late lunch I’d check out 3rd and Fernwood then get drinks at Puerta.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My late mother Yvonne Burton is the center and purpose for not only my existence but my why. I’m forever inspired by the love she showed everyone and her creativity. “The Choice of Weapons” by Gordon Parks was my life changing book, a story of resilience, I saw myself in his story and was able to find hope.

Website: https://www.archiveclt.com

Instagram: archive_CLT

Image Credits
n/a