An Atlanta coffee company apologized for painting over a mural honoring beloved anchorwoman Jovita Moore. The mural was painted on the side of Bellwood Coffee shop in Grant Park after Moore died from an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2021.
Bellwood Coffee leased the building for its new location in Grant Park. The company painted over the mural with signage advertising the new location.
As the outrage spread on social media, the company’s owners offered to commission a new mural of Moore.
In a post on X.com, the company acknowledged knowing Moore’s story, but they had no idea how much the mural meant to Atlantans.
Hey, it’s us.
We knew Jovita Moore’s story, but we truly had no idea how much this specific mural meant to the community of Atlanta. Unfortunately, the windows in our buildout cut into the mural significantly. Seeing how much this mural meant to so many, we realize we made a…
— Bellwood Coffee (@Bellwoodcoffeee) May 1, 2026
Angry Atlantans left 1-star reviews for the coffee shop on Yelp and Google. Others called for a boycott of the coffee shop’s Atlanta locations.
X.com user @PulOutNWalkAwaY wrote: “I think it’s crazy you have so many locations in this city and no knowledge of the culture. We want you to commission a new mural. This is why you should research the city you’re trying to gentrify.”
X user @ashynoodles wrote: “I see that Bellwood Coffee spot f***ed around and severely found out. Atlanta does NOT play when it comes to Jovita Moore.”
User @VCTruth45 commented: “Ha…Atlanta native here. Seriously, block the noise. Cancel culture here is about to be off the hook. A better idea would have been to open your business in an area that isnt the hood.
X user @zthancock wrote: “Most folks have no clue how hard it is to run a coffee shop/restaurant. Yall need that visibility to thrive there. Murals like that aren’t meant to be there forever. If they were, they would be commissioned by the city on public property. The 1 star reviews are such BS.”
Your creative director didn’t think to check first? Seems odd pic.twitter.com/g3gKw1p4R3
— hondacivicduty (@THEamberadams) May 1, 2026