Cxffeeblack, a Black-owned coffee brand reclaiming coffee’s African origins, has entered partnership with Castle Retail Group, the Memphis-based, family-owned business behind Cash Saver, High Point Grocery and South Point Grocery.
The collaboration represents more than business — it’s a convergence of two families from different communities in Memphis, both shaped by the land, both committed to investing in the future.
With the partnership, Cxffeeblack products are now available at South Point Grocery and soon will be at High Point Grocery and Cash Saver locations. Cxffeeblack will also serve as the wholesale coffee provider for the in-house coffee shop at Castle Retail Group’s upcoming location, South Point Grocery at Silo Square in Southaven, Mississippi.
At the heart of the collaboration is a deep respect for history and a shared belief in the power of hard work. Rick James, owner of Castle Retail Group, sees it as a continuation of his family’s legacy — a legacy rooted in labor, dignity and the land itself.
“My grandfather and grandmother worked the land,” James said. “They farmed in Arkansas, lived in a one-room shack with a dirt floor and paid the people who worked alongside them in Booker T. Washington half-dollar coins as a sign of respect,” James recalled. “They knew that the people in the fields with them were equals, even when the world didn’t see it that way.”
Those same coins — minted between 1946 and 1951 to honor the journey of an African American leader from a slave cabin to the Hall of Fame — have now reappeared in a new context, as James and his family join forces with Bartholomew Jones, founder of Cxffeeblack.
“We’re doing what we can with what we have, just like our ancestors did,” said Jones. “My grandmother picked 600 pounds of cotton a day in Alabama. My great-grandfather found ways to own his labor in Arkansas. And now, we’re reclaiming coffee — not just as a product, but as a legacy.”
Beyond placing Cxffeeblack on grocery store shelves, Jones said the collaboration represents an investment in the next generation. By making Cxffeeblack the wholesale coffee provider for Castle Retail Group’s in-house coffee shop at their upcoming location (South Point Grocery at Silo Square) in Southaven, this partnership ensures that Memphis-grown Black coffee culture continues to expand.
“This is the kind of partnership that can change a city,” James said. “Too often, we let barriers divide us — race, neighborhood, history — but at the root, our stories are more connected than we think. We’re all tied to the land, to labor and to the pursuit of dignity. That’s what this is about,” Jones said.
Taylor James, vice president of Castle Retail Group, thinks this partnership should give confidence to others thinking of investing in Cxffeeblack. “We not only believe in the business potential of Cxffeeblack, but we believe in their mission and their importance in the city of Memphis. We hope other folks join us in investing in an independent, locally owned business,” he said. For more information, go to https://wefunder.com/cxffeeblack/.
