Washington, DC -- Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) congratulated Hideaway Café in Winchester for receiving the LGBTQ-Owned Business Achievement Award as part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Dream Big Awards for 2021. This year marks the first time that the Chamber recognized a business with the LGBTQ-Owned Business Achievement Award.
“Congratulations to Victoria and Hideaway Café on this exciting and well-deserved honor,” said Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton. “What makes Hideaway Café so special -- besides their delicious coffee and friendly team -- is the way that giving back to the community is so foundational to who they are as a business. They’ve done remarkable work in supporting local youth programs, serving as a gathering space for community advocates, and providing a welcoming and inclusive space for everyone in Winchester. I’m so proud of the success Victoria and her team have achieved and look forward to continued good fortune in their future.”
“We already know the value LGBTQ-owned businesses offer our communities, and we are very excited to see the U.S. Chamber of Commerce introduce this as a new award category this year. It's extremely humbling to be the first awardee in this category, and it's certainly affirming that this important organization has made such efforts towards inclusion in the overall business community. We are excited to bring this recognition home for Virginia,” said Victoria Kidd, owner of Hideaway Café.
“Small business owners have faced challenge after challenge, yet the generosity, ingenuity, and determination of this year’s Dream Big finalists and winners prove that small businesses are, and will continue to be, the backbone of our economy and the fabric of our communities,” said Tom Sullivan, U.S. Chamber of Commerce vice president of small business policy.
Hideaway Café was founded in 2015. Its original location was a subterranean, tucked-away spot in the basement of the Old Post Office in Winchester, VA. The café reopened in its new home on the Old Town pedestrian mall in 2018. It is owned and operated by Victoria Kidd, an activist, speaker, writer, and entrepreneur with a history of involvement in her local community, statewide activism efforts, and global humanitarian causes. Her work focuses primarily on empowering people to make positive change in their own communities, and the café is a critical organizing hub for that work. To date, the business has raised and donated over $40,000 in cash and in-kind donations for area nonprofits since opening. Charitable efforts have ranged from leading a summer meals program for participating youth at the Kids Clubs of the Northern Shenandoah Valley (formerly the Boys and Girls Club) to organizing an annual food drive collecting over one ton of donations each year and facilitating monthly fundraisers for nonprofits across a wide range of service types.
More information on the winners can be found here.
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