Short Summary
The Sashay Cafe will be a place to go for great coffees and desserts as well as breakfast and lunch. It will also be an open dance venue for folks to come and dance at any time of the day. We hope to attract dancers of all ages and abilities as well as singers and story tellers. We hope to make it a true arts destination.
- Gary Desrosiers has been a Law Enforcement Officer for more than 35 years and an avid Ballroom and Tap dancer. Barbara Desrosiers has been a Registered Nurse for over 35 years and is an avid Ballroom and Tap dancer as well.
- Our campaign will give us the rest of the money we need to get the loans needed to build out and start up.
- Your contributions are vital to helping us get going.
What We Need & What You Get
We currently have $50,000.00 and we need $50,000.00 more to have the 20 percent down for the loan. We need a total of $500,000.00 for start up and operating expenses for the first six months of operation.
- Look at the cool stuff we are going to give you for contributing. Excellent coffee mugs, very nice tee shirts, personalized dance instruction, not to mention the gala dinner dance. All these things just for helping us open the most unique dance venue in Southwest Florida.
- In the event that we don't reach our goal we will still continue to work to open the business but with a larger loan which will impact our operating costs.
The Impact
- As ballroom dancers we find there is a shortage of venues to dance without committing to lessons or planned events. Our venue would be available at hours convenient to the social dancer, students and families. It would also be a place for musicians and story tellers to share their talents. This area is rich with students and art programs that could benefit from this venue.
- This is our first venture operating this type of venue. Barbara has restaurant management experience and Gary has personnel management experience.
- We have friends in the restaurant and dance industries providing input and assistance to help get this project off the ground.
Risks & Challenges
Our biggest hurdle to success, after getting the money, is getting the word out to the dance community. Although we have a very visible location our target market will be dancers. How to draw them in.....
- We are both charismatic and outgoing people which will work to our benefit. We are members of organizations and groups that cater to our target market and will work with these groups to create an environment that will meet both our needs and the needs of the community .
Other Ways You Can Help
We realize that some people just can't contribute, but that doesn't mean you can't help:
- Get the word out to the dance community that we need their help to get started. Especially our Snowbird friends who will be looking for just this kind of place when they come to Florida for the winter.
- Remember to use the Indiegogo share tools!