76ers Insiders Special Edition | Buy Black Program Recipient Lizette Apy

this year's By Black Program with the seventy Sixers. She's the owner of Thundermug Cafe in East Falls, and we're so excited to have you on the podcast. Learn more about Thundermug and hear all about your journey. Sozette, welcome. Oh, thank you, Lauren. I am so excited to be here. Well, we're so excited to have you. I guess we should just start obviously. The Sixers are what bring us together here today. So what's your relationship been like with the Sixers?

Are you a fan? How long have you been in Philadelphia? What do you make of this team? I'm a fan. I've been in Philadelphia going on eight years seven eight years, and from the first year of being here up until the pandemic, so I guess it's been two years. Went to the game games twice a year. So love the seventy Sixers. Love the excitement, love the fans, love the enthusiasm. It's very similar to being a Bulls fan. I'm originally from Chicago. It's very similar, same type of kinetic, frenetic,

wonderful fan energy, loyal, super loyal fans exactly. I was with the Bulls before I joined the Sixers, so I've had gotten to see both fan bases. I prefer the Sixers. I'm biased, but I wanted to ask you that sort of segues nicely. Can you tell us a little bit about how you came from Chicago to Philadelphia and then how you ended up starting your own business. I came

to Philadelphia from Chicago by way of my daughter. As a matter of fact, my job was actually phasing out, and she called me one day and she said, you know, I'm never moving back to the Midwest. And she was doing an AmeriCorps program here in Philadelphia, and she said, Mom, I think you'll love Philly. She's like, it reminds me a lot of Chicago. She was like, and she knew she was boring to law school in DC, and she said,

you know, why don't you come visit look around? And you know, for her, Philadelphia is like a third home for her because she lives in DC now. And I came and I fell in love. It was everything I thought it would be. Everything she described it to me. Very it had that very similar Chicago vibe, and as Lauren you can attest to, it really does have a very similar Chicago vibe. And I just fell in love

with it and I packed up and moved here. I find that people in Philadelphia and Chicago are really authentic and aren't really trying to be anyone else. I was raised in the South. I was raised in Houston, and there are a lot of beautiful things about being from the South, but people aren't quite as like open about who they are or about what they care about, like people who are really passionate and really open about it.

And I really enjoy that about Philadelphia. I was gonna say, it's I think that's what where I draw the similarities. It's kind of the passion. You know, Chicago has sports teams passion, Philly has the sports team's passion, and they're both big cities, but you still get that since deer small town vibefe so to speak, well to me. Something that creates the vibe of Philly are small businesses like yours,

and I'm passionate about I live in Old City. I have not been to Thundermug Cafe yet, but it's jumped immediately to the top of my list. So I'm hoping that you can tell me about the business. Tell me about Thundermug, how it came to be, and what people can get when they come there. Okay, thunder Mug. It wasn't always named Thundermug because I didn't have an actual

name for it in my head. But I had worked my way in high school and college by way of cafe route, not necessarily fast food, but by way of cafe route. Small owners, you know, who had their hand in every aspect of the business, and something about that you know you feel really invested. You know the owner. It's not like working for McDonald's and you know you have no idea who owns this McDonald's or you know the higher ups in corporate. Small businesses have always appealed

to me. I've worked large and small businesses and I just never lost my passion, my love for working in that cafe environment. I think it's because I like to make connections with people, and you really do start off someone's day, So that's that's kind of I've always been inspired by that. So it's been a very long love affair with cafes, working in them, going to them, and as I got older, raised my kids. You know, I

helped my daughter through law school. I was kind of looking at myself one day and I thought, oh, my gosh, okay, you're an empty nester. This is kind of it. You know, you can either make this dream happen or you can just say oh to everyone. I used to have a dream, and so I just decided, you know, my job is ending, why not? Just why not? And and almost two and a half years later, you were still thriving. I love

that for you. That's always something that I preached to people when they asked me about my job and what I do, Like, I very much followed my passion into this job. So when I meet other people that did the same thing, I'm just like very excited to hear that. But especially someone that raised children like You've seen and done so much more in your lifetime. Than I might ever accomplish. Plus now have opened a business, and I'm

really inspired by that. So that's not a question. I just wanted to let you know amazing and what I'm hoping. So this is another little look into our podcasting community. We almost always record podcasts and do our podcast in the morning, and I always talk about my morning coffee. It's like I cannot function without a morning coffee, and I think a lot of our listeners are the same way. So how would you describe, like what you get? I know that everything is super high quality. What are you

passionate about on your menu? What can people expect when they come into the cafe? We have really great coffee. First and foremost, A lot of people that come in our ice coffee is hugely popular. I know it's winter now, but we have some diehard ice coffee fans who come in every single day and they're like, I don't know what you all do to this ice coffee, but it is absolutely amazing. So, first and foremost, I know it's not iced coffee season, but we do have amazing coffee.

Our pastries, people nine times out of tend grab a pastry. We have gluten free, we have vegan. We have authentically French pastries. We have just you know, we're growing, so our menus growing. We also on the weekends we sell key should We sell handpies, which people absolutely love. We have my pastry. I have a pastry chef that I partner with, so she and I come up with ideas and it's a collaborative. You know. I'll say, hey, Amy,

can you do this? And one hundred percent of the time she tweaks my idea because I'm at home cook. She's a professional pastry chef, and she tweaks my idea and I she just she impresses me every single time because you know, I sit here and I think pretty good cook, you know, and then she comes back with this tweak which just takes it right over the moon.

And so we have something for everyone as well as an amazing team of people that we work with, so, you know, just good vibes and like you said, I really take it personally that I am sometimes the first person that people see that's to start their mornings. And you know, it's really important that people, you know, have a wonderful exchange, you know, when they come in. We're always smart and it's always genuine And I always tell my staff, my team, I say to them, you know,

I hire people based off of personality. You can teach people, you know, basically anything, but you can't teach people to be nice. You can't teach people to be kind, You can't teach people to be genuine. And that is that is what you'll get when you come in. Not only will you get a great cup of coffee, you will encounter a teammate who will remember who you are, remember your name, make you a part of our community. It's just it's it's a really good small town kind of

feel in the big city. That's so great to hear. And you sort of led me into my next question. When I was reading about you, you described the coffee shop as a safe and inclusive space, and I'm curious why those words safe and inclusive are so important to you when it comes to building a business, because those words mean a ton to me and a lot of people. You talk about the community in your shop, so why is that something that's such a priority to you. It's

a priority because it is a safe space. We love everyone I you know, and that's important to me because we accept, we love, we genuinely love everyone and along with Like I said, someone to be part of our team, they have to not only feel safe with us, you know, I want them to provide the sense of you know, inclusion and in warmth to the people that come through our doors. So you know, if you if you have a problem with me not having a problem with anybody,

you know, then I don't know. If you know, then I don't know if you'd be hired. But we just include I just like everyone, I don't, you know, we don't Being an African American woman, being a black woman, discrimination you know, has been my life, you know, So I you know, I can't change who I am, and neither can anyone. No one can. So that's why inclusivity, you know, and loving everyone is so important. It's tantamount.

This is getting to like a deeper space. Then I thought maybe we were going to go, But it all kind of ties together to me. When you talk about sometimes you're the first person that someone sees in the morning. The idea that if you're that first person, you're going to be someone kind and inclusive and accepting, I think is really beautiful. And I also think of people that might be coming from a more difficult home environment or

coming off of a difficult night shift. The idea that they can come in and see someone that's going to be open and accepting. I can only imagine how much that means to your customers, and I'm excited to come and be one of them in the coming days. So I wanted to ask you about the Buy Black program. My understanding. First of all, huge congratulations I know of is apply, So I'm really excited to hear that you

were the winner for this year. So I think, if I'm not mistaken, one of your employees actually found the program and told you about it. So do you mind letting us know how you found us and then how the process has been. My teammate, yes, Ryan, he was watching Sixers game and he saw it, and what really stood out to me is and he texted me the details. He said, we should apply for this. So I like that his wording, his verbiage was weak, you know, because

I always say, you know, we are a team. You know, I don't work you don't work for me, you work with me. And so the fact that he was so excited and I looked into it and then I got super excited. So that's how it all came about, and you know, when I heard back from you know, Lexie, you know, we were screaming, and I'm like, oh my goodness, Oh my goodness. So it's um. It was just I was really touched that even when he sent it to me, he said, we should apply for this because I invest

in them and they invest in me. So that was that was how this all came about. And then it just kept progressing and escalating and we just kept getting more and more excited. That's obviously such a huge indicator or though of the community that you've created and how well you've done it, sort of starting out with this

dream and creating a reality for yourself. I'm curious about people that are listening to this, or maybe people in your life, people in my life that want to either start a business or want to start pursuing something but are maybe afraid to take the leap or haven't taken the leap yet. Do you have any advice to people that might be in that situation, a situation sort of

like yours was a few years ago. Well, as you pointed out in the very big you know, a little bit ago, I always believe in following your passion and as they say, if you follow your passion, it will never lead you astray. And so first and foremost, if you have a passion and you are able to follow it, just do it. And I know that sounds lofty because there's a lot of hard work and saying Okay, I'm

gonna follow my passion. Then you've got to plot it out, then it comes in you know, the business plan and things like that. But you know, that's what's really important about this program. It's all in partnership. I'm super excited because not only is this program does is it highlighting you know, my black owned business that is surviving and thriving still actively during a pandemic, but it's also kind of serving as a beacon of hope for future black entrepreneurs.

You know, like there was a large number of black owned businesses that did close down, but for those of us that survived and stayed open, it's now more than it's more important now than ever to really come together as a community and to let you know, future black owned businesses know you can do this. And just with this partnership, this will enable me to be a resource for these new young black business owners that are yet to come and you know it was daunting. You know,

all of us businesses had to pivot. You know, we kept having to pivot. And you know, you know when you if you ask me, you know two and a half years ago, you know, have you thought of everything that could happen with opening a business? Pandemic was not on my list, But it just it just showed me, you know, what I was made of. And and in any business that you own or open or start, you have to have the strength and the courage to get up every morning and invest in it, pandemic or not.

And my best advice is to you know, get out there, do it. Partner with people, find a community. The community will all actually find you. I can't tell you how many black owned businesses that I've reached out tour that have come into the cafe and we've just discussed things and that I've become friends with, and you know, I've asked them, they've asked me, you know, where do you

see opportunities for growth? You know? And through it all, we've all helped each other and we're all trying to build an even more solid community, not only for ourselves but for future businesses to come into and That's what's really tantamount about the Buy Black program. Not only is it, you know, helping black businesses stay in business, it's also giving us the tools to help, you know, teach other people how to stay in business, and that builds a community.

You've mentioned now. Community it's a word that has come up explicitly or implicitly when we talk about Chicago and Philadelphia and business owners and black owned businesses and business businesses that closed in the pandemic and businesses that stayed open during the pandem So to sort of bring it all full circle, I'm wondering what your community means to you and what your businesses, or at least what you aspire to have your business's role be in your community community.

You know, it's really interesting because I m a couple of weeks ago I got stricken down with bronchitis. And right before I got bronchitis, well not right before, but before I got bronchitis, a new customer came into me, came into the cafe and she was sitting down and you know, she had been in there for a couple of hours just and she was getting her coat and she was about to leave, and she said you know, this is the first time I've ever visited this cafe.

She said, it will not be my last, she said, you know, and it really touched my heart because she said, you know, you know about ninety percent of your customers and she said, you've loved done every one of them. She said, every one of those customers walked out loved on, with a smile on their face. You and your staff, you just love when your She's like, I'll definitely be back. And that just meant so much to me to you know, I just I'm a community person. That is just who

I am. Um, and I was. That was such a hearts felt compliment. I was just really like wow, and I didn't even it was something I didn't even know that I was doing, but something she had pointed out. And the fact that the words she used were you loved on every single person that came in and building a community. You know, for me, it just means to be connected, you know it, you know, to be involved, to know everyone that you know and and to help out.

You know, there's a community refrigerator in East Falls that you know, we we donate to. I spearheaded a Christmas tree lighting for the East Falls community, you know. I you know, with the East Falls Development Corporation, we did a wellness fair, you know, at right after COVID so everyone could see all of the resources, you know. So community involvement, you know, yes, it does help people get my name out there as well, but it also it

also makes people feel like, we like this community. You know, we want to stay in this community. We want to spend our money in this community. You know, we want to send our kids, you know, to this cafe, to this restaurant in the community. It's not just about one, my small little cafe, but it is about the community at large and everyone involved. I think it's funny things. You open the conversation talking about how this all started

when you became an empty nester. But it's very it's very clear to me that you are not an empty nester. It seems like you mean a lot to a lot of people. I'm so excited to come visit you. It's been such a pleasure to get to know you, Lizette, So thank you for your time. For everybody that's listening. Lizette's cafe is Thundermug Cafe, the winner of this year's By Black Program. You can find her in East Falls.

I'm going to come find you in East Falls, and if anyone that's listening wants to come with me, we can make it a group thing. I'm really excited to hopefully meet you in person in the next couple of weeks. This has been heartwarming for me and I'm really glad that we got to have this conversation. Oh, thank you so much, Lauren, and I look forward to seeing you. Yes, we're gonna see you very shortly, hopefully at a Sixers game. And stay safe, stay healthy. Can't wait to come visit.

Thank you so much, Lizette, Thank you, Thanks as always for listening to the seventy six Ers podcast Network. Thanks to Lizette for coming on the show, sharing her story, and sharing her time with me. If you're not already, to make sure you're following the seventy six Ers Insiders podcast,

made for in depth Sixers content all season long. Plus, make sure you're following the seventy Sixers podcast networks newest podcast, The Bike Niang Theory with George Niang and Lauren Rosen for organic, depthy conversations between George and his Sixers teammates. I think you guys are going to love it as always. I'm Lauren Rosen. Thanks again to Lazette, and thanks to you for joining us.