An Interview with Preacher Lawson

By Liam Hennessey

To say that Austin’s Coffee is a cultural cornerstone of the various Orlando creative scenes would be an understatement. A hop and a skip away from Rollins College, Austin’s Coffee is exactly the kind of establishment that a college town like Winter Park does best. Opening some 25 years ago, Austin’s has spent its entire tenure being a bastion of free expression and artistic vision, helping the broader Orlando area to foster a cultural legacy beyond the looming corporate shadow of, as many of call him, “The Mouse.”

Unfortunately, and probably not to the surprise of many, this made the City of Winter Park rather apathetic towards the value that a place like Austin’s brings to the table. Austin’s Coffee has faced many campaigns of survival against Winter Park’s whims throughout the years, with this last struggle culminating in a final decision that the land Austin’s had leased from was to be made into a parking lot or extra turning lane. Why keep something so integral to your cities cultural identify safe? No, in a car infested area such Orlando and it’s surrounding satellite cities like Winter Park, what we really need is another turn lane or parking lot. They paved paradise, put up a parking lot indeed Joni.

This of course resulted in the community rallying together as they had many times before to try and save Austin’s from the antics of the city. While many had feared the worst after trouble finding a new location for Austin’s, they perservered, just at the last second. A new location was found mere days before the lease was set to expire. More importantly, per the topic of this article, Austin’s Coffee had found itself a new co-owner; Austin’s Coffee alumni Preacher Lawson. Getting his start at Austin’s Coffee doing comedy at their iconic improv nights, Preacher has since become quite a successful comedian, in the midst of a tour of his own while I chatted with him about his new role as Co-Owner of Austin’s Coffee.

Here’s what was said;

Liam Hennessey, TTS; For some of our readers nationally and internationally that might not know, you've been an alumni of Austin's Coffee. How would you describe the cultural impact that Austin leaves on the local scene? What would you say separates it from the rest of the pack? 

Preacher Lawson; I don't even know how to speak on that. That's the only thing I know about Winter Park is what Austin’s. I mean, there's obviously a lot of things going on there, but that's such a big influence. I mean, I started going there when I was like 20 years old, you know, and I'm 34. So, I don't know. It's like I've known people there that was like, you know, they're in high school, and they're married with kids now. And then there, you know, I've known people that like, you know, met each other. It's just like, I don't know. It just feels like a TV show, just like, you know, talking.  Like Cheers almost.    

Liam; So, Austin has been dealing with ongoing issues with the city for some time now, causing the crisis in the first place. How would you summarize what led to your stepping in to someone who isn't already familiar with the details? What was it that led you to step into that situation?”  

Preacher Lawson; “Well I’m cool with them; Craig’s been hosting the comedy open mics for about 20 years now. So that's a long run by them, and I knew they had an issue about it. They just called me and was like, hey, man, you know, could you help? I was like, yeah, if I could, if I couldn't, I wouldn't.”  

Liam; Yeah, of course.  

Preacher Lawson; But he just called me like he just explained to me what's going on. We need somebody. And I was like, sure. And then we came to an agreement. And I guess it's kind of cool to be a part owner of Austin's, but more of a silent (partner). I don't want to be like hands on. 

So, the other owners, it's more their shop. I just wanted to make sure that Austin doesn't die. I mean, it's been a part of so many people's lives. It's just some of the best sets I've ever had in my life has been at Austin’s. I mean, you know, you got Kam Patterson, that man was at Austin's coffee, went to Austin, Texas. You know, so often it's just like that. But like a lot.” 

Liam; Austin’s specifically got saved at its most dire moment just before it found its new location. What challenges came about when trying to get this done in time before the lease for the old location was about to expire? 

Preacher Lawson; I don't know if there was a lot of challenges. You know, I think that it wasn't going to be saved. And then they're like, I guess I was the hail mary.   

Liam; Yeah, it seems so. It seems so. I remember talking to some of the workers about it. I think it was the day that they found out that Austin's was saved.  I had a show there that night and I was talking to some of the people there. They were like, I just found out that we got a new location, like, just now. It definitely seems like it was a Hail Mary last second save.  

Preacher Lawson; Yeah, I mean, I never thought about it like that. Honestly, when they told me that told me Austin’s was going to close, I kind of was like, dang, you know, I guess I didn't even consider being part owner. And then, you know, Craig hit me up and asked me and then we kind of got it done. But it wasn't super frustrating. I don't think, not on my part. Maybe on them. They're probably stressed out. They're probably stressed out like crazy. 

Liam; All right. On to our next question. The city plans on taking the land Austin used to basically turn it into a space for parking. What do you think led them to replace a cultural cornerstone with just empty space?  

Preacher Lawson; “Yeah, I mean, they don't know Austin’s, you know, they don't know Austin’s. They're kind of just, you know, they're like, this works for us. You know, it's they want more space. And they were like, Austin's, this place is not important to us. I think about the community. I think people would know.” 

Liam; That doesn't surprise me.  

Preacher Lawson; Yeah, and I think people with money think about money.   

Liam; Yeah, it seems to come down to that sadly a lot of the times. 

Preacher Lawson; “Yeah, absolutely. I don't think people with money care about people.”   

Liam; Speaking of people, the Save Austin's movement has resulted in organized protests at town hall meetings, fundraisers, social media campaigns and more. What do you have to say to the community that banded together to help keep Austin's from shutting down? 

Preacher Lawson; I mean, I think it's kind of crazy. You know, I think it's like really cool. I mean, it's like things like this that makes the world better. I know it sounds super corny. I think people that like come together and like, you know, I think people that come together and protest, especially Austin's like, that's what you love. I think if I wasn't, I wasn't gone and I was in that area, I would like I've joined them. But like a town hall? I didn't know they were doing like town halls. I had no idea. None of that. I think that's beautiful, man. You know, I've seen this like, I guess it's kind of like a meme, and it's like a person with, it's just a person like making all these people argue and they realize that the people, I'm doing a bad job explaining it. But it's like, I think it's beautiful that people have came together and realized that they have a voice.  I mean, that's kind of crazy to shut it down for a parking spot, man. I mean, it's kind of like. 

Liam; “Soulless?”   

Preacher Lawson; Yeah, it's just really soulless. I mean, but they obviously don't care about people. They care about, like, their pockets. It is what it is.   

Liam; Sadly so, sadly so. So on my next question, you kind of already addressed this a little bit earlier when you said you were going to be more of a silent partner. So maybe this isn't the right question for you anyways. Maybe this might be for the other owners, but with the ever-increasing rise of inflation and the dwindling away of third spaces, what do you plan to do to maintain Austin's position as an affordable place to hang out for creative folks?   

Preacher Lawson; Yep, that's not for me. 

Liam; Nothing wrong with being a silent partner. Moving on to our next question. What do you think we can expect from the new Austins aside from a change location? Would you expect any significant updates or changes at all for regulars to expect? 

Preacher Lawson; I expect it to be Austins. I think it's going to look different for sure, but I think it's going to be Austins. I think it's going to be people's signature on the wall, people having bumper stickers everywhere, random drawings, graffiti. I expect the food to be good. I expect the performers to be excited, the audiences and the people that show up to be happy. I just expect a normal Austins vibe. I don't know anything as far as like the economy, but I know the economy sucks for everybody right now. Everyone's broke. 

Liam; It's sad to see. It's been rough. It's been rough out here. So now for some personal questions, Preacher. When not going out and about and saving local cultural institutions, you're also an internationally known successful comedian and America's Got Talent contestant multiple times over. Which accomplishment was the one that made you realize that you made it? And which achievement shines the most in your opinion?   

Preacher Lawson; It's so funny. I mean, I did so many things before America's Got Talent, but that was so big it swallowed everything else. So I think America's Got Talent is the biggest thing I've ever done. I didn't know how big that was until just certain instances. I remember one time I broke up with my girlfriend, and the next day I got Tinder. I was like, let me go ahead and get started, and then I got pictures from my ex. She was like, you already got Tinder? I was like, how'd they know? I didn't know how big it was. So I would say that's the biggest one. I don't know though. I do some TikTok videos that go viral in different places. I did a video, I did a set when I first moved to Los Angeles that went viral. It was a set in, where was this at? I forgot what it was, but it just went super viral in India. So I have a fan base in India because someone dubbed it over.   

Liam; Oh, wow, that's wild.  

Preacher Lawson; Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm going to Australia tomorrow. America's Got Talent's the biggest one, but I would say just random viral videos. I did a video of me being in the pool talking about hype. That got like 100 million views. 

Liam; That's insane. Yeah, talk about hype right there. 

Preacher Lawson; Yeah, it was a silly video. It was a video about, I said, ladies, you want to find out how tall your man is? Take him to the pool, because if I was 5'9", I'd be drowning right now. Then my brother was like, get off your toes, and I was like (Drowning Noises) and I just drowned, right? That was a joke. Everyone was like, I love you. It's all good. We still love you, short king, and I'm like, first off, I'm not 5'9", and second of all, if I was 5'9", I'd be a medium king. 

Liam; Medium king is good.  

Preacher Lawson; I'm medium king. Yeah, yeah, yeah.  

Liam; So before claiming Orlando as a hometown, you were fairly well-traveled as a kid growing up, going as far to have lived in 20 different cities before the age of 10. What made Orlando the place you'd call home?  

Preacher Lawson; Yeah, Atlanta was like home, and I'm from Memphis, but I just grew. I just felt comfortable there. When I was in Portland, Oregon, I'm black you know, so being in Portland, Oregon, I was the only black person in my school. People would remind me, they'd be like, “hey, you're black” and I'm like, yeah, I know. So I just didn't really fit in super there, and then I moved to Memphis, Tennessee, which is like, there's no white people there, and so I just was different. They were like, “man, you don't sound like us. You sound like Portland, Oregon.” You know what I mean? And then I just was like, anywhere I go, I felt uncomfortable. Now Orlando is one of the most diverse places on the planet. You got a bunch of people that went to Disney World and got stuck. Everyone is in Orlando, so when I went there, it didn't feel weird. I just was like, it just kind of felt like, oh, I'm home, baby, so I just was, I was grown. It felt like, it just felt good. I grew there as a comedian.  

Liam; I mean, that seems to make a lot of sense that you would find your home where a lot of other people would find their home, you know, traveling about and stuff. You get little bits of pieces of culture from every little place you come from. You go to a melting pot. That's got to feel great.   

Peacher Lawson; Yeah.  

Liam; All right, on to our last question. You've been known to be a passionate vegan, posting videos on your personal channel about various recipes and the moral factors that makes veganism an important decision for you. What led you to that lifestyle?  

Preacher Lawson; Yeah, I mean, I didn't want to be vegan. You know, I think that I just felt like it was, for me, the right thing to do. I mean, we're 1% of the world., so like 99% of people disagree. 99% of people think, this dude don't know what he's doing. That's weird. It's like he's doing a fad or whatever. They already have vegan options at Austin's, and I'm OK with that. If they didn't have any vegan options in Austin, I don't think I'd be OK. I don't think I'd be OK. But I don't need it to be fully vegan. I just need to be some vegan in there, you know? 

Liam; Yeah, vegan inclusive.  

Preacher Lawson; Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, no, I just found out, like, I mean, people love animals. I don't like animals a lot. I like cats. I think cats are dope. 

Liam; Cats have been growing on me as of late, which is unfortunate for me, because I'm allergic to them. I like them, but they don't like me.  

Preacher Lawson; I like them, they like me, and I'm allergic to them. And I don't care. I love cats. I've always loved cats. I think people in general, if they see an animal getting hurt in the street, they're going to stop it. So I just don't have to look at the animal. I don't see the animal getting hurt, but I know it's happening, so I just try to avoid it. You know? That's all it is.  

Liam; Yeah, you're trying not to participate in that system. 

Preacher Lawson; Yeah, I just don't want to participate in that. So that's all I'm doing. I don't think I'm better than anyone. I don't think differently of anyone that is a vegan. I mean, what I got to – that means I hate 99% of people? That's crazy. I just, you know, I had a dog, and before I had a dog, someone was like, would you eat a dog? And I was like, absolutely. You know what I'm saying? I eat a hot dog. I eat hot dogs all the time. Then I found out pigs are smarter than dogs, and I was like, that's crazy. I didn't know that part,and they're smarter than dogs by, like, a lot. Like, they're really smart. They're smarter than, like, three-year-old children.   

Liam; Yeah, they're pretty sharp animals, pigs.  

Preacher Lawson; I just thought that was weird, so I just stopped eating meat, but I was like a vegetarian, and then I was like, I'm going to try out being a vegan. Then I tried it out, and I was like, oh, this is pretty easy.  Like, my poops are great. They're fantastic.  

Liam; Great to hear that. Well, that is all the questions I had for you, Preacher. Thank you so much for chatting with us here at The Third Space, and thank you for helping to save Austin’s Coffee, for being an integral part of that movement.  

Preacher Lawson; Absolutely, man. I appreciate you.  

Liam; We appreciate you, Preacher. It was a pleasure talking to you.  

As Austin’s Coffee begins its new chapter, it seems clear that as its new co-owner, Preacher Lawson wants to reopen and resume right where things left off. I look forward to stopping by the new location and seeing how things pick up. As someone who’s thrown multiple shows there myself, I’m definitely glad Austin’s is here to stay.