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Fox Theater Open, Awesome Lineup
 Check out their website for lineup, including Social Distortion, Michael Franti, CAKE, & Modest Mouse! (Photo is a digital image of a painting by Cleo Vilett which will be featured in our February Art Show!) Labels: arts, city of oakland, community, events, local, spread the word, www
Abstract City - NYTimes.com
Awaken Cafe in the Tribune!
 Oakland businesses face tough times with despair, ambivalence, hopeBy Sean Maher
Oakland Tribune
10/29/2008full article hereIn other quarters, however, some entrepreneurs report an upswing in how Oakland customers are responding to efforts to make their businesses special.
"It's going awesome, actually," said Cortt Dunlap, who owns the Awaken Cafe, at 414 14th St. "Since we opened in April, we've found that especially downtown there's a vacuum for independent, community-minded, sustainable business."
Dunlap said he and the business's co-owners discussed the project for years, hitting up friends and family to invest and working hard to get a sense of what neighborhood regulars would want in a new cafe.
"Before we opened, we had a town-hall style meeting; we did conference calls; put out fliers," Dunlap said. "We asked, 'What do you want in a shop like this?'"
The answer, according to Dunlap, was a call to show off Oakland's thriving artistic community, and a desire for "green collar jobs." Dunlap responded with an artist's gallery that cycles monthly and a strict green-product regimen.
"Green materials are between 5 and 15 percent more expensive, but it's what people want these days," he said.
Dunlap also said he took a page from San Francisco's Gratitude Cafe, offering friends and early customers a deal that makes them feel like surrogate partners in the enterprise.
"We said that if they buy a $1,000 gift certificate, we would give them a 25 percent value bonus on top of that," Dunlap said. "If they say, 'Hey, I can see spending a thousand bucks in this place over a long time,' it works for everybody. We keep track for them of what they spend and we know their face and their name. ... Everybody wants that 'Cheers' experience, you know?" Labels: city of oakland, media, small business, www
Small Business Survivors on insidebayarea.com
New Blog Postings from Sarah
 I'll be updating the blog weekly with news about Awaken Cafe. Check back regularly! Labels: staff, www
Urbanspoon on iPhone
 We're now listed on Urbanspoon which you can download on your iPhone to look for cool, nearby restaurants! Visit the page and review us or tell them you like us! Labels: spread the word, www
Oakland Is Fourth "Greenest City"
YouTube Videos: Latte Art
"Awaiting Awaken Cafe"
 A cool blog about Oakland called "Living in the O" has a post about us. Check it out! Labels: media, www
The Story of Stuff
 A friend of mine, Erica Priggen, produced this really great movie and passed it on to me: " The Story of Stuff". Since we're planning on selling stuff, it's good to look at our role in this system so that we can be responsible for reducing the impact of the stuff we consume and sell. Check it out and let us know what you think! Labels: community, green, sustainability, www
Review Us on Sustainlane.com
 We're out to spread the word about the Awaken Cafe and get the Bay Area excited for our opening! I was reading a new magazine and saw an advertisement for a Yelp-like service for sustainable businesses called Sustainelane.com! I created a listing and we'd love for you to review us and let 'em know you're looking forward to the Awaken Cafe! (You can also add your review on Yelp!) Labels: coffee, community, spread the word, www
Review Us On Yelp
 "Yelp is the fun and easy way to find, review and talk about what's great (and not so great) in your world. You already know that asking friends is the best way to find restaurants, dentists, hairstylists, and anything local. Yelp makes it fast and easy by collecting and organizing your friends' recommendations in one convenient place." Add your review of the Awaken Cafe on YELP. Let's tell the world what that we're looking forward to the Awaken Cafe before it is even here! Labels: spread the word, www
Blogger/Journalist Ryan Tate Weighs In
 We've been following journalist Ryan Tate's excellent stories in the San Francisco Business Times on the business of restaurants and the revitalization of downtown Oakland. I recently stumbled across a tongue-in-cheek posting he made on his blog "Covers" in response to the Tribune story about the Awaken Cafe. I wrote him a note introducing myself and telling him that I had evidence that the suspiciously named Friend of the Cafe Larry Biggie actually exists. Biggie must have noticed the link on the Awaken Cafe web site, and also wrote to him. Which prompted this posting from Tate. We think the exchange is pretty funny and like Tate's style! Let us know what you think! Labels: city of oakland, friends of the awaken cafe, media, www
"Oakland: There Is a Green There There"
 "Gertrude Stein famously said about her home town, Oakland, California, that 'there isn’t any there there.' Surely she would have a different opinion if she were there today and, in fact, many green urban advocates like us wish we were there." Read the story at treehugger.com here. "On the third Thursday of September 2006, in a college auditorium in Oakland, California, 300 people came together to launch a new movement: a campaign for 'green-collar jobs' as a path to economic and social recovery for low-income communities." Read the story in Yes Magazine here. Read about the Oakland Apollo Challenge here. Labels: green, media, www
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