WILLIAMSBURG — Anonymous Coffee is celebrating its move to a brand new location in New Town Saturday, Nov. 1.
Terrance Maigi first opened the business in 2023, having always wanted to open a coffee shop.
When he was first considering opening the shop, he had to take a six-month pause due to receiving a bipolar diagnosis.
“I was embarrassed and ashamed and couldn’t talk to anybody. I lost all of my confidence and didn’t want to do anything except for just hide. And then I just got tired of it, so I started doing a lot of research, reading, talking to my psychiatrist, and finally came to the realization that I could do this,” Maigi explained.
“There was a girl on YouTube — I watched her TED Talk. She had bipolar, just like me, and she articulated it so well. It sounded like she was describing me. So I said, you know what? She inspired me to step out. I want to do the same for others. I wanted to create a safe space for people to come and feel like they’re welcome, they’re okay. They don’t have to hide their diagnosis, they can be completely comfortable [in the shop],” he continued.
Anonymous takes its name from how anonymously people with mental and chronic illnesses live their lives. Maigi says it shouldn’t be that way.
He opened his original location in Norge. However, the business faced competition from Starbucks, which opened shortly after he first opened his shop. He said the community took care of him during those three years, adding it wouldn’t have been possible to stay open without their support.
With his lease coming up, Maigi thought about closing up shop, but serendipitously, he found a partner and was able to make the move to the new space in New Town, at the former Eleva coffee location across from Corner Pocket.
At the new location, Anonymous will maintain its mission to support mental health while also increasing its presence in the community. The shop will be offering free counseling sessions to help people start on their mental health journey. There will be a platform for people to anonymously share their stories, accessible via the Linktree page on the shop’s Instagram profile. Maigi hopes these stories will encourage or inspire others the way the YouTuber did for him. And, the business will still be supplying donations to the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Virginia.
The new location will be open the same hours it did in Norge — 7 a.m.-3 p.m., with extended hours on Friday and Saturday. The business is closed Sundays. MiA’s bakery will also be joining Anonymous in the new space, as well as a charcuterie chef.
For more information, please visit the official website or Instagram page.
