We are reaching out to you, the Cafe Racer community, the arts community and the Greater Seattle community, to join us in keeping the beloved Cafe Racer music venue, art bar, and home of Iconic Seattle, alive!
Our Story...
In 2017 after returning from a year abroad, we learned Café Racer was closing. Though we had no money, we were determined to bring Café Racer back. Together with Café Racer founder Kurt Geissel, and local recording studio owner Dennis Tevlin, we were able to reopen Café Racer on a shoestring. It was truly a miracle.
In March of 2018 we reopened Café Racer with a mere $3,000 in the bank. There was no room for errors or emergencies. Though we lacked finances what we had in abundance, was faith and hope.
As the care-takers of Café Racer we understood and understand it’s importance. We understand the importance of small music venues. We understand the importance of the arts. We understand the importance of open access to a living memorial. We understand the importance of having community gathering spaces. We understand the importance of supporting local breweries and distilleries. We understand the importance of safe spaces. We understand the importance of great food at affordable prices. We understand that Café Racer provides this and so much more to so many.
In the beginning of reopening Café Racer we saw and felt so much support. Hope, faith and your patronage kept Café Racer going. However in April of 2019 we had the slowest month to date. With minimal funds in reserve we began to fall behind. This slip, though stressful felt manageable. We were able continue to pay staff, vendors and work out payment arrangements for the rest. We believed in the more financially robust winter months we would be able to catch up.
However, in a cruel twist of fate, before winter even arrived, we were faced with the trauma of Mr Ramsey having a traumatic fall.
This is when we came face to face with the reality that though we had saved Seattle’s Café Racer, we had done this grossly underfunded. We had no room for error and definitely no buffer for emergencies.
What we have realized is, that just like Jeff’s healing, Café Racer needs the love and support of the community to get to a place of health, sustainability, and long term success.
Café Racer is on life support and will shut down without your help. We understand that we cannot keep Café Racer alive and thriving on faith and ourselves alone, this is going to take a village.
What we need is Your support, Partners, a MasterMind Group, and $100,000.
We understand that $100,000 may seem like an overwhelming number, but we know that each dollar counts towards keeping Café Racer alive. Please participate at whatever level you feel called. When we first opened we had many people reaching out to support us. Now is the time to join us and to be part of preserving Café Racer.
With the $100,000 we will be paying back rent, back taxes, making necessary repairs and upgrades as well as keeping a reserve for low months and emergencies.
$20~this level of participation is open to all
with this level you can proudly display your support of Café Racer with an exclusive, I support Café Racer sticker.
$50~this level of participation is open to all
with this level you can proudly display your support of Café Racer with an exclusive, I support Café Racer sticker and mug.
$100~this level of participation is open to all
with this level you can proudly display your support of Café Racer with an exclusive, I support Café Racer sticker, mug and t-shirt.
$1,000~this level of participation is open to 50 supporters
with this level you can proudly display your support of Café Racer with an exclusive, I support Café Racer sticker, mug and t-shirt, as well as attendance to a VIP thank you party at Café Racer. This VIP party includes Café Racer catered food, beer and wine while listening to local bands.
$2,500~this level of participation is open to 20 supporters
with this level you can proudly display your support of Café Racer with an exclusive, I support Café Racer sticker, mug and t-shirt, as well as attendance at a VIP thank you party at Café Racer. This VIP party includes Café Racer catered food, beer and wine while listening to local bands. This level also includes a special sit-down dinner and hosted bar, prepared and served by the Café Racer family in gratitude of your participation.
$5,000~this level of participation is open to 10 supporters
With this level you can proudly display your support of Café Racer with an exclusive, I support Café Racer sticker, mug and t-shirt, as well as attendance at a VIP thank you party at Café Racer. This VIP party includes Café Racer catered food, beer and wine while listening to local bands. This level also includes a special sit-down dinner and hosted bar, prepared and served by the Café Racer family in gratitude of your participation. Also at this level, participants will be able to join 3 years of quarterly MasterMind meetings for Café Racer. These meetings are where the ‘meat & potatoes’ of the business happen. You will be able to add your voice to decision making, learn about the finances and future of Café Racer. You will truly be helping steer Café Racer into its future.
$10,000~this level of participation is open to 5 supporters
With this level you will purchase a share of Cafe Racer. You will be part of a very smaller ownership group and have all the privileges this affords and a share of the profit when we reach those goals! You can proudly display your support of Café Racer with an exclusive, I support Café Racer sticker, mug and t-shirt, as well as attendance at a VIP thank you party at Café Racer. This VIP party includes Café Racer catered food, beer and wine while listening to local bands. This level also includes a special sit-down dinner and hosted bar, prepared and served by the Café Racer family in gratitude of your participation. Also at this level, participants will be able to join quarterly Master Mind meetings for Café Racer. These meetings are where the ‘meat & potatoes’ of the business happen. You will be able to add your voice to decision making, learn about the finances and future of Café Racer. You will truly be helping steer Café Racer into it’s future.
Thank you for taking the time to watch the video and read the details of this campaign. Please donate anything you can today and share this with your friends and family!
Much Love and Gratitude from all of us at Cafe Racer!
Cindy & Jeff
