In an art gallery in Long Beach, a makeshift coffee shop roars in the corner. Baristas call out orders over the hum of chatter. Magnetic mahjong tiles stick to the espresso maker. On the walls hang “Reinne Checks” where customers are invited to write notes to loved ones who have passed, past selves and even exes from years ago — grief and its many phantoms.
A joke that the coffee shop owner, Tommy Le, repeats often: “Coffee baristas are therapists who serve people coffee.”
A framed photo of Lim in the coffee shop opened by Le, who wanted to create a therapeutic space for customers.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Le turned his own personal tragedy and community-minded spirit into a place where customers can channel love and loss. Occasionally, customers burst into tears. Le — who founded the coffee shop in memory of his late girlfriend, Reinne Lim, in 2025 — welcomes it, even encourages it.
“At least once a day, someone comes up to me and starts crying. The fact that two strangers at one point, within 30 seconds, can feel that protection is beautiful to me.”
When Le first began dating Lim, he noticed she always gave spare change to unhoused people on the street. Why? Le remembers asking his girlfriend, whom he met while working as a barista. Raised by Vietnamese immigrant parents, Le was taught to be wary of strangers — generosity was ripe for exploitation. Lim dismissed that cynicism. “She didn’t judge people like that,” Le said. She lived openly, warmly, without suspicion.
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The couple planned to move to New York City together, each pursuing a creative path. Instead, in October 2022, Lim was killed by a drunk driver who struck their car head-on.
Le survived but was left in critical condition, undergoing multiple surgeries and months of intensive physical therapy. At 22 years old, a college dropout, he found himself grieving without a sense of direction.
“There was so much to process,” he said. “Not only losing a partner, but I think a lot of times, people don’t realize that I was driving.”
At Reinne’s Place, customers are encouraged to write “Reinne Checks,” messages to those they hold in memory.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Reinne’s Place owner Le holds one of his specialty drinks, “Mot, hai, ba … yo!” (the Vietnamese phrase for “cheers,” or “one, two, three, let’s go!”) and shows his tattoos honoring his girlfriend.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
While in the ICU, Le received “a couple hundred visitors.” Friends, family members, coworkers and even coffee shop regulars from his barista days came to offer support.
Le’s mother was stunned. “Who are all these people?” she asked.
“I was trying to tell my traditional Vietnamese mom that this is what I’ve been doing,” Le said. “It may look like I’m a college dropout working as a barista — but at that moment, it was a testament to all the years I put into being a barista. It was the first time in a long time that my mom understood me.”
In the wake of the tragedy, at age 25, Le created Reinne’s Place to honor the memory of his late partner.
Many of Reinne’s Place’s investors and business partners were regulars whom Le served as a barista. “They all saw how badly I wanted it,” Le said. “The beautiful thing about this shop is that it’s all backed by people I’ve served over the years.”
In the summer of 2025, an opportunity to open Reinne’s Place presented itself. Le secured a lease with donor assistance. “Organically, things just started falling in place,” he explains. “Weirdly, old customers were reaching back out to me. When I found the spot, I was like: You know what? I have to do this.”
Customer Julianne Nieh, of Vancouver, holds a Reinne’s Spanner drink with matcha and cream.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
An Instagram post that Le made memorializing his girlfriend and introducing Reinne’s Place went viral, prompting an outcry of support on social media. Le began receiving hundreds of DMs from people out of state and internationally, offering him encouragement. “I get so many interactions every day, I had to turn off the notifications,” he said.
The drinks served at Reinne’s Place have a unique Asian influence. Le is Vietnamese, and Lim was Filipino. The resulting menu infuses Asian flavors into coffee drinks. Ingredients include ube, matcha and banana fermented with jackfruit. “We have a whole plethora of things that we can explore within my culture — things I grew up loving, things that Reinne’s parents tell me about,” Le said. “It’s been a lot about honoring Reinne’s culture. …
“My number one goal was to encourage people to try new things and feel connected to these flavors.”
For Le, the coffee shop serves as a community space where customers feel free to grieve and share their experiences with loss. “When you come here, I want you to slow down. Take it in and feel what I’m trying to deliver — a sense of connection.”
The convivial atmosphere of the coffee shop can be attributed to Le, who romanticizes his time as a barista. He’s watched lives unfold from behind the bar. “That’s my favorite part — seeing families grow up, seeing kids and babies grow up. Seeing two regulars start talking, and then they get married,” said Le. “It’s a really beautiful thing when you start appreciating those little subtleties.”
Le says as a barista he has watched lives unfold. “That’s my favorite part — seeing families grow up, seeing kids and babies grow up. Seeing two regulars start talking, and then they get married.”
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Le enlists the baristas at Reinne’s Place as part of his broader community-building vision. “Coming over to someone’s house, an Asian parent always takes care of you,” Le said, who grew up in Southern California. He hopes to extend that tradition of hospitality to his coffee shop. “When you make a visit to a coffee shop, it makes or breaks your day.”
Le has also introduced the “Reinne-y Day Fund,” where a portion of every drink sale is donated to a cause once a month. It’s what Reinne would have wanted, Le said. “Every single public person she saw, she always gave them something.”
Reinne’s Place is located at Open Gallery, 3902 E. 4th St., Long Beach. A new permanent cafe is slated to open in spring.
The future home of Reinne’s Place in Long Beach.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)