Where Skoden will move is yet to be determined. Co-owner Natasha John is actively looking for new space, be that one of their own, another residency inside an existing Valley business or shifting to a mobile pop-up model, as Skoden did last year before landing at For the People.
“We’re considering a lot of different angles just to stay afloat. My biggest concern is the livelihood of people that work at Skoden,” says John, who hopes to keep the coffee shop in midtown or central Phoenix.
The coffee shop originally launched on the Navajo Nation, and the queer, Indigenous, femme-led coffee collective made its Phoenix debut in December. Skoden’s menu includes espresso drinks, Diné tea and pastries made by Indigenous bakers.
Skoden co-owner Natasha John stirs a paper cup of Diné tea, which was harvested outside of Gallup, New Mexico.
Sara Crocker
One of the reasons for Skoden's move is that For the People is set to close in May. Co-owner Shawn Silberblatt confirmed he and Chad Campbell have decided to close the store and concentrate on their downtown Phoenix shop, dialog.
After Skoden opened, Silberblatt teased changes coming to the shop, with curated stores-within-the-store that would feature furniture, art and fashion.
"Really For the People is doing more of what the name implies – we’re giving four other businesses a way to incubate and share the space," Silberblatt said.
John says she was in talks to take over the lease for the building, located on Central Avenue near Medlock Drive, after learning For the People would close. She instead decided to seek out a new space that has more “infrastructure” for making and serving coffee and is more aligned with her and her team’s values.
“Being in this space would mean having to, I would say, renegotiate our values,” John says. “That’s why we want to be in a space that’s a lot more comfortable to who we are and true to who we are.”
While John declined to get more specific, the GoFundMe request notes the team's desire to "find a safer place of business where we can be our authentic selves and hold space for queer Indigenous joy, gathering, teaching events and more."
Skoden Coffee & Tea took over Kream Coffee inside For the People. It will leave the furniture and design store at the end of its six-month lease.
Sara Crocker
“We’re in solidarity with our Palestinian relatives, considering that we have very similar histories, and we just stand for human rights and basic human needs,” John says. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”
Skoden was flooded with online comments, DMs and negative online reviews. Staff also experienced harassment inside the shop, John says. The response escalated into an anonymous complaint made to Maricopa County’s Environmental Services Department, which oversees restaurant health inspections.
A complaint was also filed in the Civil Rights Division of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office in February, alleging discrimination based on race and religion. John says it stems from a customer who was “triggered” by seeing a Palestinian sticker on their cup.
Skoden posted the complaint, which alleges that a customer was “denied the full and equal enjoyment of (Skoden’s) services due to my race, white, and religion, Judaism.”
In its post, Skoden stated, “rest assured, we are NOT anti-white or anti-Jew.”
John says the case is ongoing and she had a meeting with a compliance officer regarding the complaint on April 9.
The co-owner and her staff have considered going back to “just making coffee.” But, John says holding space for people and causes they believe in will continue to be part of Skoden moving forward.
“We’re literally just trying to exist and be a space for our Indigenous relatives,” John says.
