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One Friday evening in January, I went to the lone, independently owned coffeeshop on my side of town to do a few hours of work. When I got there, though, I found out that the coffeeshop was going out of business. What happened next was a stirring brew of passionate leadership, meaningful work, community mobilization, with a little new social media to sweeten things up. Read More
What a great story!
This is a great story, and very inspiring! Kudos to you and your community for pulling together like that!
A wonderful example of a
A wonderful example of a meaning driven community endeavour. When a business becomes more than just a profit driven engine it can make everyone feel like their humanity is being respected.
Thank you for sharing this uplifting story.
Coffee is just my way of saying "let's chat"
What a wonderful and heartening story!
I also spent much time in coffeeshops working, talking, spending time with friends or family. Sometimes, I'll ask someone to meet me for coffee and am surprised when they tell me they don't drink coffee.
For me, the coffee itself is irrelevant, it is, just as this article shows, the community found in a coffee shop that is most important.
I wish every business could
I wish every business could be saved this way! Then we would not need government involved to save free enterprise. What an inspiration!
Sweet
Thanks for sharing such a sweet story of your community coming together to save a neighborhood gathering place.
One of my entrepreneurial dreams has been to create such a place where people can come together to eat, drink, and connect. Solo business people especially need places to come and work and be around others. If I were the coffee store owner, having the community come together like this would change just not my business, but my life. Sounds like a lot of lives were changed in the meaning-making process! Hats off to all of you.
That is a great story. I'd
That is a great story. I'd be prepared to pay double for the coffee if it meant the establishment's longevity.
Sometimes a coffee is not just a coffee.
coffee and community
Per this story, you should read the chapter in Adam Gopnik's excellent collection of essays, Paris to the Moon, about exactly the same sort of community-building (French style...which is to say with lots of red wine and strike threats) around a restaurant in Paris.
Paris to the Moon
Love that book! Great story, too. This one turns out a little better, though, huh?
What an incredible and
What an incredible and wonderful story. I think of all my mini-escapes to coffee shops and smile. :)
Beautiful.
Michael, thank you so much for sharing this wonderfully uplifting story.
coffee shop
After 6 months of being unemployed...i am pursuing my own lively hood - opening a coffee shop in one month!
The community is approx. 600 people. I came across your article looking for equip, shelving, ovens (all with to high of a price tag). I think my fellow townfolk are ready to support me and something totally new for the area. Your article gave me some new confidence (not the SBA).
Not an easy business
Hi Mary Jo,
I hope you have great luck in starting your coffeeshop. If I could offer you some free advice, I'd say two or three things will be important to your success. In such a small community, you'll need most of everyone to be a customer of some sort or other, so making sure that you provide what they need is extremely important. Doing some early market research may be key, as may connecting with existing community groups to make arrangements to host their events. I'd also say that one thing I've noticed in community-based businesses is that when you need something, really need it, ask your community. Many times it's the act of responding to a business's needs that creates a key sense of community.
Best of luck!
Mike
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