“Landlord just popped a big, ugly surprise on us. We need to sell a bunch of $50 or $100 coffee cards to stay open. Immediately. Wanna help? If we don’t sell enough cards, we’ll refund your money…”
I reached out to owner Doug Davis to verify the situation. “I only just learned about this today at 3 or 4 p.m.” Davis explains. The shop’s landlords dropped off a letter yesterday when neither him nor his wife (and co-owner) Liz were working. “She was excited when she saw it today, she thought it was circus tickets or something,” he said. Not quite.
The shop, which has been serving coffee and small bites on the corner of Main and Murray since 2005, accumulated some debt five years ago. “We increased the lease and worked out a payment schedule… It was fantastic, actually. I’m not mad at [the landlords], historically,” Davis continues, “they have a legitimate claim, I just wish they communicated it better.” The shop has until Monday to come up with $10,000, or they’re done for.
They’re selling coffee cards on Friday and Saturday. Davis hopes that with the aid of a small loan and some help from the community that they’ll pull through. “We don’t take anything from the shop, I don’t know why we do it sometimes, but it’s a necessary part of our community and our lives. I’m optimistic….”
