Rachel Taber

Berkeley’s 1951 Coffee Company will open a free-standing coffee kiosk in the Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza in January 2019.

1951 Coffee Company, a nonprofit organization that hires refugees to facilitate integration into the community, is opening a new location at the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union on Aug. 13.

During the “Refugee Resettlement Experience” event, cafe employees simulated for the customers what life is like for recently settled refugees.

Two years ago, Ali Fayazi had never had a cup of coffee. Now, as cafe manager for 1951 Coffee Company, he has at least one cup a day.

Berkeley’s 1951 Coffee Company has been awarded the "Opportunity for All" grant by the Starbucks Foundation, allowing it to expand its barista training program for refugees to other cities in the United States.

Multiple Bay Area businesses have responded to President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration executive order in the past few weeks.

Ordering coffee along Berkeley’s campus is an everyday act for thousands. Though this upscale coffee shop at 2410 Channing Way, which opened Sunday, has a familiar menu and seating, its eight baristas from seven different countries set it apart.

The idea for 1951 Coffee Company — which officially gained its nonprofit status last year and takes its name from the 1951 Refugee Convention at which the United Nations first set guidelines for refugee protections — had been brewing for some time.