THE NEW DEAL CAFE IS FACING CHALLENGES AND NEEDS YOUR
HELP URGENTLY!
CONCERNED MEMBERS MEETINGS THIS SUNDAY APRIL 29TH AT
7PM AT THE CAFE and AGAIN ON MONDAY APRIL 30TH AT 7PM
AT THE CAFE.
OFFICIAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MONDAY MAY 14TH OR TUESDAY
MAY 15TH AT 7PM AT THE CAFE…YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED IN
THE NEWS REVIEW OF A DEFINATE DATE.
If you love the Cafe, then please take this appeal to
heart. With an uncertain future, the Cafe urgently
needs YOUR help to survive.
For over 10 years now, the Cafehas been providing
tasty food, live entertainment, a supportive venue for artists and
musicians, fun events/festivals and a warm gathering place for those
living in and around the Greenbelt community. Now this treasured
neighborhood gem needs the immediate support of its
community so that it can continue to exist as the
“communal living room” of Old Greenbelt and the heart
of the historic Roosevelt Center.
As most of you know, the Cafe underwent an expansion
back in the fall of 2005. This expansion proved successful and allowed
the Cafe to offer more seating for diners and musical
performances, additional events and the overall
improved comfort for its patrons. However, over the
past year, the Cafe has been facing increasing
financial challenges due to the rising costs of food,
fuel, utilities and additional rent. Business has not
increased at a rate consistent with those of the added
expenses, and as a result, the Cafe has not been able
to offset the cost of operations, thus it has been
slowly losing money.
The bottom line is that the Cafe needs your help RIGHT
NOW to make ends meet the next couple months, as well as in the
future to facilitate the changes necessary to turn it
into a successful cooperative business.
Currently, the Cafe’s expenses are outpacing its
revenue at such an increasing rate that the Cafe has been forced to use
much of its available line of credit just to meet the most basic
operation costs, including payroll, utilities and food
purchases. The Cafe Board, Committees, Staff and
Volunteers have been working hard to fully evaluate
and address this dire situation, but it is now
imperative to put an urgent call for assistance out to
the entire community of Greenbelt and all Cafe
enthusiasts.
The Cafe could benefit significantly from additional
daily sales of just $225. On average, this would mean increasing
business by 25 – 30 orders per day. Sustaining this
type of additional business for at least one year
should allow the Cafe to meet its current monthly
financial burdens and begin to address its
liabilities.
So, what can you, as a Cafe enthusiast and/or
Greenbelt community member, do to help? Several things:
1. BECOME A MEMBER or RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP.
2. PATRONIZE THE CAFE at least two or more additional
times per week.
3. Make a DONATION to the Cafe…the suggestion box slot by the front door is always open!
4. SPREAD THE WORD. Tell your family/friends/colleagues about the Cafe and bring them here so the Cafe may benefit from
an influx of new customers.
5. HOLD YOUR GROUP MEETINGS and EVENTS at the Cafe.
There is plenty of meeting space available, especially
during daytime hours, and event space/catering
services can be purchased for very reasonable rates.
6. COME TO THE NEXT MEMBERSHIP MEETING and bring your
suggestions. An official membership meeting is
currently scheduled for MONDAY, MAY 14th at 7pm in the
back room of the Cafe. Full details will be
publicized in the Greenbelt News Review and at the
Cafe. Arrive early and have dinner there before the
meeting.
7. GET INVOLVED and VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME. The Cafe
needs your ideas, solutions, resources and help for
efforts such as the “big cleanup” and
organizing/staffing fun events such as the Green Man
Festival.
Greenbelt is a rich, diverse community, and Cafe
patrons and community members are its best resources.
This is YOUR community gathering place. Please do
what you can to help.
The Cafe will also be looking into ways to decrease
its current spending and maximize the effectiveness of every
dollar it earns, but the most urgent matter right now
is to increase revenue/donations as quickly as
possible to keep the Cafe afloat while other solutions
are being devised.
On a closing note, the Cafe would like to thank ALL of
its former/current members, customers, donors,
board/committee members, employees, volunteers,
performers and associates for all the patronage,
support, time, resources, art and passion provided to
this community landmark over the years.
The Cafe would never have survived until now without
all of your efforts. It is our hope that the Cafe and
its traditions and all it has to offer will continue
for many years into the future, and we thank you all
for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Peter May on behalf of the New Deal Cafe Board,
Committees, Staff and Concerned Members
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