May 13, 2010
Dear Awaken Cafe Community,
Thank you for your business and support over the last two years. I'm writing you today because Awaken Cafe is at an exciting crossroads as we prepare to expand our operations -- but not the way we thought.
The Past Two Years
On April 22, we celebrated our 2nd anniversary operating as a green espresso bar in the heart of downtown Oakland. We've hung on in a down economy, biding our time to expand the cafe to the larger, neighboring space.
Over the last two years, we've been featured in the East Bay Express, The Monthly, the Oakland Tribune, Diablo Magazine, and several of Oakland's best blogs. We've been nominated for and won awards including "The East Bay Express Best Cafe/Coffeehouse" and "Best New Business," as well as the Oakland Indie Awards "Greenie" Award. We've been reviewed 140 times on Yelp.com for an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. We've met the strict requirements to become a member of the Bay Area Green Business Program.
We've also employed and extensively trained several dozen Oakland residents, while supporting local, sustainable vendors. We've added to our menu of third wave coffee drinks: Organic Boxed Lunches, La Farine Toast, Cafe Fanny Granola, Taylor Maid Farms Bulk Coffee Refill Program, Live Jazz, and Organic Waffle Brunch on Saturdays! We've catered dozens of events -- large and small. We've attracted investors with diverse backgrounds and proven track records in their fields to successfully steer Awaken Cafe through the last two years. We've partnered with neighborhood arts and cultural businesses to spearhead the formation of the Midtown Oakland Arts District (web-site coming soon!), featured local and talented artists, as well as building strong relationships with the downtown Oakland community. And finally, we've helped vitalize and brighten our block of 14th Street and downtown Oakland in general. We are proud of our accomplishments and couldn't have done it without your support!
Our Future
Which brings me to our crossroads. At the beginning of the year, we learned that the owners of our building have moved to evict our landlord who we sub-lease our space from. After months of attempts to negotiate a new lease directly with the building owners, we've been unable to reach an agreement that will allow us to stay in this space and finally expand our business and realize the whole Awaken Cafe vision.
While unforeseen, we do see this as an opportunity to build the entire expanded Awaken Cafe vision in a new space in partnership with landlords who value the contribution that businesses like ours are to their building and to downtown Oakland. We hope to stay in our current space through the end of the summer and are in the process of trying to find our new home nearby. The new space will offer expanded hours, an organic beer & wine bar, an expanded menu, extensive seating, meeting and event space, evening programming, and the staff and products you already love at Awaken Cafe.
This transition, while exciting, will certainly have its challenges and place financial demands on our young business. In addition to fees for legal representation to protect our rights during our Landlord's eviction lawsuit, there will be expenses associated with designing, permitting, and building out the new space in a relatively short time period. And nothing would make more of a difference for us than your support.
How You Can Help
We're reaching out to our community to join us in making this transition a success! Specifically, we need your support with:
Identifying a New Space: We'd love for you to send us your referrals and ideas on nearby retail spaces. (2000-4000 square feet, former Restaurant/Cafe/Bar a plus but not necessary; green/sustainably run buildings also a plus).
- Other Contacts: We'd also like to connect with others who might be able to help in any part of the transition: city and county government officials, small business advocates and lenders, health department officials, restaurant design and build, green business advocates, etc.
- Pre-Paid Accounts: This will be an expensive transition and when you buy a Pre-Paid Account you vote for our success with your wallet. We're aiming to raise $15,000 through Pre-Paid accounts alone. Purchase online or in person at the cafe.
- Support Waffle Saturdays & Our Can Refill Program: We're serving an amazing Organic Belgian Waffle Brunch on Saturdays and we'd love you to make us a part of your weekend plans. And if you're brewing coffee at home, consider purchasing your beans at Awaken Cafe. They're organic, some of the best coffee beans in the world, and available in reusable cans. We'll grind them for you if you need and will help you select a seasonal single origin or premium blend that you'll love.
- Spread the Word: The more reviews, fans, and follows we get the more people learn about Awaken Cafe. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Review us on Yelp. Subscribe to our Youtube Channel.
We thank you for any support you many be able to provide. Please check in with us often and we'll keep you posted via this email list on any developments!
Sincerely,
Cortt Dunlap, Owner
Awaken Cafe
