Instagram story viewer> @tble.co> Posts

TOMMYBLE

@tble.co

2K

followers

1522

following

always welcome @reinnesplace

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

WE DID IT! THANK YOU SO MUCH.

$40,000 raised.

this is all for your reinne. we can finally open our coffee shop 🤍

i’m so emotional looking at this. overwhelmed in the best way. feeling everything all at once. because of you, reinnes place is no longer just a quiet idea i carried with me. it’s becoming a real place we get to open our doors to.

hitting our goal means we can finally make this last push. it means building, refining, and bringing this space to life exactly the way it was always meant to be. rooted in care, warmth, and intention.

thank you for believing in this from the very beginning. thank you for showing up, for supporting, and for keeping reinne’s spirit alive in ways i never could have imagined on my own. you’ve given me the gift of continuing her story through something meaningful and shared.

i can’t wait to welcome you into this space. to finally share it with all of you.

from the bottom of my heart, thank you. taken in Long Beach, California by @tble.co

3

181

10 months ago

we aired on the drew barrymore show!!!

i don’t think there’s a version of me from a year ago that would’ve believed this moment was possible. what started as something small, something i was still trying to understand myself, somehow found its way onto a platform like that. i’m deeply grateful to @drewbarrymore , @sunnyanderson , @helloross , @restaurant_depot and the @thedrewbarrymoreshow team, along with everyone behind the scenes, for the way they held our story with so much care and intention. that meant everything.

what stayed with me most wasn’t the moment itself, but what came from it. $20,000 was gifted to us, and it really made me reflect on this entire journey. there were so many points where we didn’t know how things were going to work out, where we were stretched thin, where we needed support. and the truth is, we were met with it. again and again. because of that, it didn’t feel right to keep this just for ourselves.

reinne’s place exists because people showed up for us, so this felt like an opportunity to do the same for someone else. we’re going to pass a portion of this forward to a few individuals in our community who are building, or dreaming of building, their own coffee cart or pop up. we’ll take you on a small shopping spree to get what you need, and share any knowledge and resources we’ve gained along the way. we’re here for you. this journey has never been about keeping things to ourselves, it’s about creating something that can extend beyond us. and truthfully, i believe this is exactly what reinne would’ve wanted. if you know someone who could benefit from this, or have someone in mind, please send them our way.

on another note, we just passed our final health inspection today, with one last inspection left to go. we’re incredibly close now. i know a lot of you have been asking about an opening date, and i promise it’s coming soon. we just want to make sure everything is right before we welcome you in.

thank you for being part of this journey! share more soon toodles! taken in Long Beach, California by @tble.co

3

201

5 months ago

“it’s in these big and tiny corners of my life that i miss her every day.”
– grief is love

that quote has been sitting with me recently, and today it hit harder than usual. the last few days have been overwhelming in ways i didn’t expect, and i felt called to share more of myself. this video was hard to make, but i made it because this means everything to me.

reinne’s place was built for her. but it was also built as a place to hold grief, to honor love, and to keep a promise to move forward even when it hurts. this project carries so much of who she was and who i am still becoming.

i also want to share something important. kickstarter is an all or nothing platform. if we don’t reach our full goal, we receive none of the funds. every dollar only matters if we make it all the way there.

we are so grateful for how the community has shown up these last few days. it has truly carried us forward. but we still need help. right now we are about 30% funded. 13k out of 40k.

if 300 people a day for the next 9 days give $30 each, we hit our goal. that’s how close this is. it might feel like a big ask, but i believe deeply in this. and more than anything, i believe in what can happen when people come together around something that matters.

i know times are hard, and i don’t take any of this lightly. if this story resonates with you, if this space feels meaningful, every share, every comment, every interaction helps more than you know.

this is me being honest. i need help.

thank you for seeing me.
thank you for holding this with me.

we’ll see you bright and early tomorrow for our first run club with scrubs & strides to raise mental health awareness for healthcare workers.

kickstarter link in bio.
#kickstarter #wicked #grief #forgood #loss taken in Long Beach, California by @tble.co

3

81

10 months ago

we launched our kickstarter yesterday with nothing but hope, and in less than a day the support has been overwhelming. we are so thankful for this community that continues to show up for us in ways we never expect but always feel deeply.

putting yourself out there like this is nerve racking. asking for help. trusting that people believe in what you are trying to build. but every pledge, every share, every message has reminded us that we are not doing this alone.

whether you have contributed, shared the link, or simply sent a few kind words, it all means more than you know.

here are a few of our favorite photos from this journey so far. thank you for being here. thank you for believing in us. thank you for helping us take the next step.

find the link in our bio to read our story!
29 days to go <3

xoxo,
tommy taken in Long Beach, California by @tble.co

3

15

10 months ago

needs your help!

we have something to share.

for everyone who missed fleeting, this is for you. so many of you told me you wished you could have been there, and i know this isn’t the same, but i wanted to bring a piece of that night to you. this post highlights the major works that were featured alongside the short film.

people are still thanking me for the experience and for my vulnerability, and i never really know how to respond to that. i didn’t create fleeting to be praised. i created it because sharing my story has always been the heart of this journey. yes, i am building a coffee shop, but it has always been about something deeper. something human. something that lets people feel understood, seen, and connected.

what moved me most that night were the conversations about wanting to help bring this vision to life. a few of my regulars and day one supporters asked how they could be part of this. the idea of crowdfunding had crossed my mind before, but i never wanted to ask for help. it’s something i’ve always struggled with. but hearing it from them made me pause and really think.

i thought about how many hands this idea has already passed through and how much care has gone into it from the community we’ve built so far. it made me realize how much bigger this is than me. so here i am, finally allowing myself to ask for help in making reinne’s place real.

from the beginning, we bootstrapped everything. we’ve faced hurdle after hurdle, and opening a business has shown me just how hard this truly is. costs rise, delays happen, and nothing about this process is simple.

so the kickstarter comes from a place of honesty and hope. not desperation. this is an opportunity for anyone who believes in this vision to help us make the final push. your support has already meant the world, but if you’d like to be part of building this with me, the link will be in our bio.

this is our shop. our place to gather. and i can’t wait to be behind bar, sharing it all with you.

again thank you for everything <3
love, tommy taken in Long Beach, California by @tble.co

3

37

10 months ago

fleeting, a short film

wow. still trying to find the words.

last night was something i’ll hold onto forever. hundreds of you all came through in one night, and every single person brought something meaningful into that space. the conversations, the tears, the hugs. it was all a reminder of why i started this.

it was such a pleasure talking to each and every one of you. whether we shared a quick moment or a long conversation, each interaction became part of the bigger picture of what fleeting stands for. every story, every emotion, every quiet pause added to the heartbeat of what we’re building together.

so many people thanked me for my bravery, for sharing my story, but the truth is, i should be the one thanking you. thank you for allowing me to build a space where this kind of honesty can exist. thank you for showing up with open hearts and reminding me that vulnerability can be beautiful.

every tear, every laugh, every shared silence felt like the foundation of reinne’s place being laid right in front of me.

fleeting will be open for viewing saturday and sunday from 8–4pm. come by, slow down, and take it all in. by @tble.co

3

38

a year ago

in honor of reinne’s birthday, we’ve got some exciting news

our gallery event fleeting, is less than a week away, and we’re so excited to share it with all of you.

fleeting began as a passing thought, something small that found me on a quiet drive home a few weeks ago. somehow it became something real. something that felt like it needed to exist.

i’ve always wanted reinne’s place to be more than a coffee shop.
it was meant to be a foundation, a space for stories to live and breathe. mine and reinne’s just happens to sit at the heart of it. the rest is shared.

curating this gallery has been one of the most vulnerable things i’ve ever done. i wanted to give everyone a chance to slow down, to sit with us, and to look closer at the memories that shaped reinne’s place and who i am.

as much as this show is personal, it belongs to everyone who shared a piece of themselves. you’ll see their strength, their memories, their hearts on the wall beside mine. we’re grateful to hold this space together.

this is your chance to experience reinne’s place in its most honest and unfiltered form. not the polished version, not what’s coming next but what it truly is underneath it all.
raw, intimate, and real.
come slow down with me. feel the weight of what’s been built, and everything it took to get here. this is something you don’t want to miss.

in a few weeks, we’ll open our flagship location, but fleeting marks the beginning of that journey. it’s a celebration of memory, love, and the quiet moments that made everything possible. i hope this gives you a little more of her, even just a glimpse.

her mom shared nearly twenty hours of old vhs footage with me, so i turned it into a short film not to define her story, but to honor the feeling of it.

thank you for being here, for helping me share her, and for keeping her here in every small, fleeting way.

opening night november 7 from 6pm–10pm
fleeting short film promptly starts at 7pm
open viewings november 8 and 9

share more very soon!

love, tommy taken in Long Beach, California by @tble.co

3

23

a year ago

rip reinne lim • october 2, 2022

three years later and somehow this year feels heavier than the past. i’ll be honest, it’s been really hard. grief has a way of showing up when you least expect it.

but what i do know is this: she would’ve loved what we’re building for her. every bit of kindness, every person who’s shown up, every little baby step, it’s all a piece of her still moving through the world.

for those going through it right now, come on by, we’re here for you.

our flagship store is finally under construction. soon, we’ll open her place to everyone. until then, you can still find us at her temporary home @opengallerylb.

thank you for holding space for her memory and for helping me turn loss into something filled with love.

share more soon <3

love always,
tommy taken in Long Beach, California by @tble.co

3

94

a year ago

its been awhile… but hi i’ve got a life update

a little over two years ago, i lost reinne in a tragic car accident, and since then, i’ve quietly set out to open a coffee shop in her memory. truthfully, i wish i had taken the leap sooner, but grief is a strange thing. people asked if i was still going to do it and when things kept falling through, i took the time i needed to rebuild, physically, mentally, and emotionally. to figure out what this dream really meant to me.

over the last two years, i’ve poured myself into learning everything i could about this industry. not just as a barista, but as someone who wants to do this with intention. i spent countless hours asking questions, failing, learning because i didn’t want to build just another shop but to create something that reflects everything i believe coffee can be.

after the accident, i reflected on my time behind the bar, that although being a full-time barista, chasing creative work, and dropping out of college might not align with traditional asian american expectations, it gave me the community that saved me and it’s how i met reinne to begin with.

what surprised me most was who showed up. the people i served, worked with, laughed with behind the bar, they stood by me through the darkest time of my life and i knew i had to do something with that. something honest, something lasting.

fast forward to now, the opportunity to open a shop presented itself. everything started lining up in a way that didn’t feel like coincidence. it felt like reinne was looking out for me, like she knew i was finally ready, and made sure the pieces were there when the time was right.

reinnes isn’t just a coffee shop. it’s a space built out of love, loss, healing, and hope. it’s the kind of place i wish i had when i didn’t know where to go. somewhere that reminds you you’re not alone. it’s not just a just a business, but a way to honor reinne, share my story, and to create something meaningful from pain. i want it to feel like reinne’s place, like you’ve stepped into her living room and she’s the one inviting us in.

so im excited to finally share that @reinnesplace is coming to long beach, ca!

share more soon <3 taken in Long Beach, California by @tble.co

3

229

a year ago

jetlaggin’ on my vietnam post (1/2) taken in Vietnam by @tble.co

3

12

3 years ago

throwback to @cuffingseasonparty ladies night 🧍🏻‍♀️ taken in Los Angeles, California by @tble.co

3

2

3 years ago

more than friends for @cuffingseasonparty x @tfti.la by @tble.co

3

12

4 years ago