Thursday, August 25, 2016

Virginia Highland's Henry & June Announces Closure

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.)
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. 

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is the point of this article? You announce the shop closure, and then 3/4 of the article reads like a personal vendetta fueled by envy and infatuation. Who cares if his family has money? Jim is certainly polarizing, and there are many easy paths that he could take in life, but instead he chooses to build communities and create a context for people to have their voices heard. It sounds like you would rather keep those people silent and at the margins of society, or you're straight up jealous of his lifestyle, I'm just not sure which one it is.

jeff a. taylor said...

This should be good...

Anonymous said...

This dude is the biggest fucking cuck on the planet. What a joke..."Marxist." I don't think I've seen anyone as fraudulent as this beta male scrawny little bitch. Go back to NYC Fergie m'boy

jeff a. taylor said...

"he chooses to build communities and create a context for people to have their voices heard." ???

Like I said. Moar...

Anonymous said...

Hey anonymous #1 ... This is not ABC news ... Go back to your to your Facebook.

Ham said...

I don’t know for certain, but I suspect most patrons knew little about the owner’s bizarre behavior. I suspect the business is failing like most do simply because of incompetent management, bad location, high overhead and/or bad concept. Now, could the owner’s likely loose grasp of reality have had something to do with it? Maybe. He most likely loves his wife’s ideas and assumes everyone else will also, but apparently they didn’t.

Anonymous said...

respect to Jim Chambers getting the first comment in!

Anonymous said...

wanker

Anonymous said...

The first anonymous has lost a lot and it will take a while for facts and reality to sink in. If you can't take the heat stay out of the kitchen. This is a BLOG and the vast majority of us appreciate the insight and honesty served to us here. Thank You!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the info on the business closing. The rest of the commentary is completely irrelevent and unnecessary. Though he sounds like a bit of an ass, in the last 3 paragraphs of his Facebook post, he admits he's entitled, wealthy and privileged.

Anonymous said...

This gentleman is an embarrassment to the Cox family who are known well for their strong commitment to the community, the environment, and great contributions to society. It looks likes he has squandered his priveledge in the interest of "being ironic". It really is saddening how many people go out of their way to be ironic, as a means of drawing attention to themselves when all they have to do is contribute positively to society. I wish him and his wife all the best.

Anonymous said...

Jim is using his wealth and status to affect change he thinks is relevant, and it is, though his public profile doesn't necessarily paint him in a glowing light. He's been nothing but honest and up front when confronted with the ammo people try to use against him, which is more than I suspect most people can say. He takes a controversial but necessary stance, the entire point of which is that rich white people who are politically outspoken get blog posts and snide anonymous comments about them, while poor people of color go to prison or worse. I can't think of a better example of this disparity. To those who call him an ass or disagree with his politics (his lifestyle is none of your business frankly), get out of your chair and organize your own resources to make your voice heard for what you believe. If you don't have the spare time or money to do that, maybe now you can get some perspective on what it's like to be helplessly disadvantaged in our society.

Anonymous said...

Personally I knew nothing about the owner of Henry & June. I just didn't like it because the clothes were not my style. I'll pay a lot of money for designer clothes but these hipster-isn pieces sucked.

Anonymous said...

This whole thing seems like a feeble Attack on Jim w/e's character. Aside from a single Yelp review and some random Reddit hate mail, Where does the business aspect of this article start? This is strictly defamation of character. His personal life is of no consequence. Im not sure why youre angry with him, but this has nothing to do with the business. Furthermore, I fail to understand why his views would be offensive to anyone. This is America afterall,He should be able to do w/e he wants without protest. I see no laws broken, Or am I to assume the author is one of these so called " Haters ". <-- I can copy and paste as well

Anonymous said...

Anon 3:55 - this has nothing to do with race, it has to do with stupidity. Stupid views just to be different and draw attention, stupid choices to draw attention, stupid drug use, all a cry for help. When is tweaking out and drug use ever not stupid? You make so many assumptions and have no clue who I am. Peace.

devyn1 said...

This is honestly a sad attempt at journalism, or whatever it is you think you're doing with this article. It turned from a simple announcement of Henry & June's closure to paragraph after paragraph of tabloid-esque slander, and immoral defamation which reads like a personal vendetta against this man. It seems you have some deeply personal drawbacks with Jim, who has been privately funding several Black activist organizations for years now, and whatever that personal drawback is you are attempting to politicize it. Very strange and sad.

Anonymous said...

"privately funding several Black power organizations for years now"

This ad paid for by the campaign to anoint HiLIARY President, since our they are truly our First Black Family since our First Black President did nothing to help his own.

The voting booth will electronically record you are a Racist if you vote for Trump, if you vote for Hillary reparations await even the super predators will be released and exonerated. Red, Brown and Purple no more white and blue.

Anonymous said...

Did the ACA include a mental health industry overhaul to help elitist white liberals in need of long term psychiatric care?

#DONTSHOOTTHEMESSENGER It is public knowledge that this man is a lunatic and his friends and family are the ones selling him out. He puts himself out there for public consumption and all bets are off. This is probably one of the few times this blog is late to the party.

Anonymous said...

Eli, not so much b:c of your editorial but more so b:c what the subsequent posts have become, you might need to consider deleting the whole thread. - very loyal supporter and reader of TONETO

Atlantan99 said...

@Anon on August 27th at 3:27PM,

Thank you for your comment and for your readership. I agree that things have gotten a little out of hand in terms of the comments and the their tone, both pro and against either me or Chambers. After this comment I will close this post to further comments.

Thank you for your continued readership, I appreciaite it.

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