An 18th Ave coffee shop is calling out for its customers and fans to help as it scrambles to raise the $10,000 its owner says he needs to keep the cafe open. Here is part of a message from Tougo owner Brian Wells — the rest is posted at our sister site, Central District News UPDATE 10:35 PM: We’re posting the entire updated message from Tougo below. You can stop by on Thursday starting at 10:30 AM to talk with Wells and support the effort.
Good day facebook friends, family, and community supporters.
As you all maybe aware, Mom and Pop coffee houses do not make much money, and in fact more often than not make no money at all. Tougo Coffee Co. is one of them. It’s more about trying to provide a place to call home outside of the home. A coffee house that welcomes all and acts as a place for community gatherings. To encourage, support, inspire, and be inspired.
There is some confusion with the city regarding taxes for our business and we are working with them to sort it all out. They are very wonderful to work with and we are doing everything we can to get our beloved shop reopened as soon as possible.
We are asking each of our friends in this difficult time to dig deep and make a donation of any amount or the equivalent to your weekly visits coffee consumption or more if you are able too.
Tougo Coffee Co appreciate all the kind words from our community and it’s really heartfelt. This is very, very humbling to me on a number of levels as the past year has been one of trying for sure. Some of you know exactly what I mean :-) but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
I am confident that we can all enjoy our beloved Tougo Coffee Co. in the next couple of days with all the kind words, support and encouragement.
Sincerely,
Thank you.
[email protected]If you want to make a donation we have a paypal account that we will make the link available later today.
We Will provide French Press Coffee for the get together.
10:30 am at 1406 18th Ave… Music provided by the Aaron English project. We hope to see you in the morning.
I can think of 10,000 other charities that could use my “donation”. How exactly are you going to start making money when you’ll be giving away coffee to all your regulars the week after you open?
Business plan=fail
this is probably the first time anyone’s heard of them. They should have done some advertising to drum up business instead of doing it now to fundraise themselves out of the hole.
What exactly are you talking about “giving away coffee”?
Actually, I think the post is aimed at all of us who live in the CD who *have* heard of them. They participate in neighborhood events, encourage children and their parents and babysitters along with book/study groups, and all kinds of other worthwhile community-friendly things to happen there. We often run into friends and neighbors there. That and Cortona Cafe which Brian helped open are just two of the places like this in the CD and I for one am donating.
If you’ve never heard of them, perhaps you’ll drop by after they reopen and see what a warm, friendly place it is. If you are a tax attorney, maybe you can help Brian out in that way or if not, maybe you’ll make a new friend. :)
Vanessa, just because you’re out of the loop doesn’t mean people haven’t heard of them. Most people that venture away from Broadway to 14th have heard of them (as well as tons of people within those boundaries).
I adore Cafe Tougo. They have great coffee and a great space. The child-encouraging atmosphere means I steer clear on the weekends, but I am glad that there is a space so child-friendly for people with kids who want to hang in a coffee shop.
I hope they are able to stay in business
Hey – if you go to the full story, Brian says he will give free coffee for a week to people who pony up cash to keep them afloat.
Why do they owe the city $10,000? That’s what I really want to know.
If I open up a business and it fails, can I ask for public for donations to keep it open?
Chances are they’ll be in the same mess a year from now.
Try opening up a business, wiener.
fact: lots of businesses fail.
who doesn’t love the idea of a home away from home and for community gatherings, but it’s hardly something i’d call a business plan.
if you’re underwater and have closed your business, your problems began years ago.
close up shop, learn from your mistakes, get a new job, save some money, open up again with an improved business model.
but hey – if asking for charity is what you’re into: more power to you. but you’ll get none from me.
vivace, for example, is a local coffee shop that has a fantastic model. victrolla, vita, stumptown(portland), and many other coffee shops do have successful models without charitable subsidies.
WAIT I HAVE IT!
failing capitol hill businesses should lobby local government to create a “business food stamp” program.
that way, you and i can (and other, successful businesses) can keep their failed business models afloat with our tax dollars. they can just apply for “business food stamps”.
thoughts?
If you’re a bank you can ask for millions and even billions!
I love Tougo! It’s a great place run (and frequented) by friendly folks. Hope they can get this sorted out because it’s one of my favorite shops on… whichever hill it’s on (it’s sort of in the DMZ between neighborhoods right there).
Hear, hear.
I sure hate how the internet allows for people to make negative comments they’d never say in person, on topics that don’t concern them.
As a fellow Capitol Hill business owner, I think it’s perfectly acceptable for this coffee shop owner to reach out to their customers asking for help. We’re in the toughest business atmosphere in 70 years. And as the chain coffee shops expand, it’s harder for the independents to exist. But these places provide an important place for local communities. And not every local place’s value can be judged on how much profit it makes. If Tougo gets the $10,000 from their community, then they are doing something right to motivate people to donate. More power to them, I hope their community steps up.
To you naysayers – may you become good enough and strong enough people to pour your life savings and energy into a business that is high risk, offers little financial return, but builds community.
Mienart,
This may come as a surprise to you – but I am a fellow capitol hill business owner. I’ve built my business over the past 10 years off my blood and sweat.
And I find this appalling.
He didn’t pay his taxes. And it’s likely that he didn’t keep a close enough eye on his revenue or expenses.
And it’s not as if he didn’t know how challenging the biz model he chose was. He acknowledges it in his appeal.
Business to me is business. It’s not glamorous. It isn’t always fun. And it doesn’t always reward.
I love community and shared spaces, don’t get me wrong. But there are many shared spaces in Seattle – many coffee shops that do pay taxes and aren’t asking for charity.
I cannot even come close to supporting his appeal. I have worked days nights and weekends on my business.
Would I say what I wrote to his face? Probably a toned down version. I’ll admit it.
Umoved – then it seems like you should have some empathy. At least enough to keep your negative comments to yourself. So you and I, both successful small business owners on Cap Hill. Yay for us. I’ll buy you a beer and we can swap stories. I say props to you. But I definitely have some empathy for Tougo. It sounds like they are good people doing good work in their community, who made a benign mistake. If the customers that do love the place value them enough to help them out, then good for Tougo. That’s how community should work, Right? What beef do you have with them that you feel the need to tear them down publicly? And that’s a question for all the negative commenters on here. Live and let live.
unmoved – please share the name of you business so the rest of us can dance on its grave when it inevitably fails.
Looks like they’re for asking money to help pay their tax bill.
It’s not like the landlord has raised rent, insurance rates have gone up, or a customer left them with a huge bill they didn’t pay.
No, they just haven’t been paying their taxes.
And they have the audacity to ask for donations?
@mienart
If the community decides to have a “tougo bailout” and they can organize it – by all means go for it. Their position sucks. But they caused it. And it isn’t my responsibility to fix it.
I’m glad your business is successful. I know how hard it is. I feel like the grumpy old capitalist on this blog. Well, somebody has to be. I’m an empathetic person. I love small businesses and I actually help them out in some advisory ways.
Not paying taxes and asking others to pay them is not ok in my book. Begins and ends there. I wish them the best, but failure isn’t a bad thing, and it often brings valuable lessons.
@Sean
No thanks, I’m already the crumudgeon of the blog. But I’ll tell you what – if I make a mistake that causes my business to fail, I won’t ask you to pay my bills. Fair?
Unmoved – I must have missed the part where someone said it was your responsibility to fix anything.
I get what you’re saying. I just wonder what your motivation is in saying it. Just thought you’d make someone else’s day a little suckier?
Amazing the dialog this has created. The alternative is that they just close shop and all the folks who liked them walk up one day to a locked door. Is that better than giving loyal customers a chance to keep it afloat (and hopefully give the owner a wake-up call to be more careful)? I’ve had small business I like disappear, and had I known they were in trouble I might have been more loyal (that said, I probably wouldn’t just donate money)
this will be my last comment – getting a bit late.
our society has welfare systems to ensure that people who fall through the cracks or on hard times get the help they need. could be food stamps, could be welfare, DSHS, etc etc. these are vital programs that must be supported, and actually – expanded with more funding.
there are so many charities doing great things in the world, it’s almost uncountable. a monetary contribution to them makes a real difference.
tougo coffee shop doesn’t fit either bill. we don’t need social welfare for failing businesses. and they aren’t a charity.
$10,000 is a lot of money. and it’s a band-aid. how many months of operating capital do you leave in saving in case of a rough time? 6 months? would this $10k bill sink your business? it wouldn’t sink mine. i leave a cushion of money in the bank in case business slows down. it’s just a smart thing to do.
if 10k in back taxes can put them under, there should be no real confidence they know how to run their business.
let’s say they do raise 10k. then what? will they change their model? or, more likely, will they just be postponing their eventually demise? perhaps the donation would be better given to a charity than a business. i have never heard of a business asking for donations.
last point: failure isn’t bad. let them fail. let it sting. let them heal, let them grow from experience, and come back stronger the second time.
so my suggestion to readers: let them fail. it’s a bitter pill they need. then, encourage them to try it again, and we’ll cheer them on for their fortitude. and, perhaps that story of the comeback will create big fans of them – like me. i’d love to support someone who failed, learned, and tried again. but i will not support someone who wants charity to run a business.
thanks for reading.
So if he gets $10k, does this just bring him back to having $0? Can he run his biz on $0?
Also, what if he raises less than 10k? Does he just pocket the cash and it won’t open back up again?
Also, how will he file this in his taxes? Misc income? He is in tax trouble now and I’m not sure how the donations will be recorded.
Why doesn’t he sell gift cards or something creative? Sounds like he’s just asking for a handout to me.
I have been a patron of Tougo many times and have enjoyed my experience but find this 100% appauling. Every coffee purchase I made Tougo charged me tax on…. tax that was intended to be paid to the city and apparently was not. Now, because the owner spent the money that didn’t belong to him on something else he expects me to bail him out? And what happens if he doesn’t raise the 10k does he take what he did raise and go on vacation? Its not like he hasn’t misappropriated funds before. If he does get bailed out what happens next year when he doesn’t pay his taxes?
I am all for supporting the underdog but I would rather see a responsible business owner in business there. Regardless of the turn out, I will never spend my money there again.
I live a few blocks from Tougo and enjoy having them in the neighborhood but asking for help from neighbors in the CD seems a bit unimaginative. … I’m sure Brian can work something out with the city, maybe he can shrink back down to one storefront, maybe his new landlords will cut him some slack for a few months? Perhaps he has tried all of this but if he had it would be nice if he let us know he has tried everything and this is his only option.
I wish him luck
I’m aware of the business, but only in the context of “Seriously? They named it what?!”
Just from eavesdropping I think he named it after his son.
Brian did a great job with Tougo. He impacted the community wisely, got to know the neighbors, and helped them get to know each other. However, he then made the mistake of thinking that he could carbon copy this by expanding too quickly with more shops in other hoods. In this economy, you need to look at what you’ve got and maximize your resources wisely. One coffee shop doing well is a great thing. Two or three coffee shops, and you spread yourself, and your money to the breaking point, and then something’s got to give. This is the biggest single mistake business owners make, and they make it over and over again.
I completely agree.
The owner of the business states that there is some “confusion” with the City as far as his tax liability goes. That makes it sounds like he is not to blame…that it’s the City, or his accountant, or…whomever…anyone but himself. How about taking some personal responsibility? I don’t think the City would have revoked his business license if it wasn’t perfectly clear that he had simply chosen not to pay his taxes. This is a crime. I have no sympathy for him whatsoever.
I would further say that the chances of him raising $10,000 are slim to none.