The Johnie’s Coffee Shop at Wilshire and Fairfax housed the nonprofit Community Solidarity Project, which provides aid to people in need. (photo by Edwin Folven)

Change is coming to the former Johnie’s Coffee Shop at the northwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue.

The Community Solidarity Project, a nonprofit that has used the vacant coffee shop as a hub for activism and community-serving programs for 10 years, is preparing to clear out within the next month. The Community Solidarity Project supports grassroots groups and local nonprofits through the distribution of essential items such as water, groceries and household supplies. The organization collects donated goods and makes them available to people in need and organizations that provide assistance in communities.

The Johnie’s Coffee Shop building is owned by the Gold family, which previously owned the 99 Cents store chain before selling it in 2011. The family also owns the vacant 99 Cents Store and Sizzler buildings on Wilshire Boulevard just west of Fairfax Avenue, where graffiti has been removed and a temporary wall has been installed in front of the former retail store.

Rosalind Jones, of the Community Solidarity Project, said the Gold family granted the organization permission to utilize Johnie’s Coffee Shop – which is also known as Bernie’s Coffee Shop due to it serving as a campaign headquarters for Sen. Bernie Sanders during his 2016 presidential campaign. Jones said the owners have not divulged to the nonprofit what they are planning to do at the site, but said it is connected to changes coming to the Miracle Mile with the opening of the Metro D Line subway project. The subway line opens to Wilshire/La Cienega on May 8. Calls to the Gold family seeking information were not returned.

“The Community Solidarity Project has been using Bernie’s Coffee Shop as a home base. Right now, we are putting the process together of looking for a new space to do mutual aid operations,” Jones said. “We are still on the hunt for a new home and focusing on the costs. Things are moving really quickly.”

The Johnie’s Coffee Shop building was constructed in 1956 and first housed Romeo’s Times Square and then Ram’s before becoming Johnie’s in 1966, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy. It was designed by architects Louis Armet and Eldon Davis. The building, which stopped functioning as a restaurant in 2000, was designated as a historic-cultural monument by the city of Los Angeles in 2013 based on it being a prime example of 1950s Googie-style architecture. The historic designation precludes major alterations from occurring at the site.

In 2016, the Gold family allowed the coffee shop building to be transformed into Bernie’s Coffee Shop. A cartoon image of the U.S. senator from Vermont painted on the side of the building remained for years afterward. The Community Solidarity Project refers to the site as Bernie’s Coffee Shop, and Jones said it has been a special place for the nonprofit. Jones credited Michelle Manos, co-founder of the Community Solidarity Project and Bernie’s Coffee Shop, as an inspiration for the operation. The Community Solidarity Project periodically held events at the site, and plans to hold a final open house on April 18 at Johnie’s as a going away party. Jones encouraged people to follow the Community Solidarity Project on Instagram for more information about the April 18 event.

“It’s been a hell of a ride,” Jones said. “Ten years has been a long time to have a free community space, and we are grateful for that. April 18 will be our last event at the open space. We would love to see anyone who wants to stop by.”