MIDTOWN TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A Tallahassee cafe honored Dolly Parton following her death this week by creating a special drink and donating all proceeds to the children's literacy charity she founded.
Black Dog Cafe in Midtown Tallahassee unveiled a rose and strawberry hibiscus tea with oat milk — pink, in true Dolly fashion — available the day after she passed. The cafe raised $300 from the drink, which will go directly to the Imagination Library.
Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995. The program sends free books to children under the age of 6. It was a tribute to her father, who could not read.
Barista Bianka Lorenzo said she and the cafe's owner, Hannah, were together when they heard the news.
"Me and the owner Hannah, were sitting the legend just talking and we got the news and we were both very distraught. Honestly, the entire team was very distraught, even the baristas on staff because like Dolly Parton is that icon…so obviously we felt like we had to commemorate her and all the good that she's done," Lorenzo said.
Lorenzo said the drink was designed to reflect Parton's spirit.
"And we felt like it just gave that Dolly Parton energy of being light, pink, a little bit fruity, and that floridness which I feel like fits femininity," Lorenzo said.
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