Polarizing boutique owner throws in the towel
Virginia Highland coffee shop and boutique, Henry & June, will close for good on August 30th. The business, which opened just over two years ago, occupied one of Bill Hallman's former spaces at 784 North Highland Avenue.
Henry & June was owned by James "Jim" Chambers and his wife Camryn Park, or as so eloquently stated on the businesses website, "Henry & June is the lovechild of Jim Chambers and Camryn Park."
The boutique and coffee shop announced its closure via its Instagram account yesterday.
For those who may not know, Jim Chambers is the entitled grandson of Anne Cox Chambers, whose father created Cox Enterprises. Today, Cox Enterprises owns dozens of media and business properties including the AJC, WSB-TV, Manheim, Kelley Blue Book, AutoTrader and Valpak.
While Chambers claims it is in fact his wife who runs Henry & June, his poor behavior and the causes he supports have definitely impacted the business, in the most negative ways possible. (Chambers is also part owner in EAV Barbell, a gym specializing in weightlifting that opened this past spring.)
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| Jim Chambers and his wife Camryn Park |
According to his Twitter handle (@jccfergie), Chambers supports / is associated with the following groups / causes: #DontCallTheCops. Organizer. Marxist. Free Palestine. Sport. Weightlifting. Cannabis. Polyglot. Sex+. Proud Papa.
"K.G.", a former customer and Yelp.com user, left the following review on August 13th:
"I will not be a patron of this coffee shop anymore.
I'm not going write some scathing review because honestly the coffee is some of the best I've ever had but I just can't support this business any longer. I am a Police Officer's wife and I wont spend any more of my husband's (or my) hard earned money there when the owner's husband has called Police Officers "pigs" to their faces. I just can't and won't tolerate that kind of immaturity or disrespect. I'd rather walk a few blocks out of my way for a caffeine fix.
Whether you like it or not your actions and attitude outside of your business reflects on your business. Keep that in mind."
The incident the user is referring to is when Chambers was recently observed at the family friendly Grant Park Farmers Market walking up to cops and calling them "PIGS."
More recently it was also revealed that Chambers, while high on an unknown substance, "sleepwalked" naked outside of his posh Grant Park home before he was detained by Atlanta Police.
Chambers recounts the "ordeal" on his Facebook page:
Chambers' antics have made him a constant target of ridicule on the popular website reddit. The following are just two examples of some of the comments left on the site directed at him / about him:
reddit user "KomboSauce"
"Your house, your boutique, your activism, your place in this community, and everything about you is an effect of your privilege. You bought it all. And you're not even remotely grateful for any of it, because you use your privilege to support being an abuser. You hurt your family, you're hurting your neighborhood, and you're hurting our city. All without any consequence."
reddit user "imdabes"
"Someone should put a banner in his front lawn that reads: "Take whatever you want - we're marxists and we #DONTCALLTHECOPS"
Surprisingly, Chambers does frequently have dialogue with his "haters"as seen by one of his recent responses below.
"Above all else, leave Cam, and any movement, out of this. Leave Henry and June out; that's her shop, not mine. Come at me, come at my polyamory, come at my family's money, which I give away constantly, and to which I have VERY little access, because they don't like me much."
I can't imaging why Chambers' own family would not like him... or can I?
What are your thoughts on Henry & June and its closure? Do you think Jim Chambers is deserving of the ridicule he receives? What would you like to see open in place of Henry & June?
Please share your thoughts below.