$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE
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“If everybody pulled together, if there were substantial donations, if there were time, we need to show that we are a sustainable business model,” owner Jeff Ramsey told CHS Thursday afternoon as he confirmed the closure over a list of financial challenges including around $40,000 in unpaid rent.
It is not getting any easier to dig out from underneath. New monthly rent charges will continue to accumulate but there won’t be any shows to help put a dent in the cost. And there are other debts that have piled up including $10,000 in unpaid taxes to the state.
Ramsey says Cafe Racer has spent much of the past year sorting out a transition of its model from for-profit all ages club and bar to a more sustainable arts organization. It began working with non-profit advocacy and financial sponsorship organization Allied Arts to help raise funds but the campaign quickly accelerated from transition to emergency — and, now, to last hope.
“Our mission is to have a safe space for people of all ages to come together and create, explore and share art and music of all genres in a welcoming, community setting in the heart of a Seattle neighborhood where music and art are embodied,” the pitch for donations reads.
CHS reported here in September of 2019 as Cafe Racer opened in the 11th Ave space neighboring art bar Vermillion that had previously been home to Barca for 20 years. Cafe Racer’s move to the Hill was a triumph over tragedy. In 2012, a gunman shot and killed four people inside the cafe and its then-owner was planning to shut down until a community effort formed to keep the cafe and music spot open.
UPDATE: Cafe Racer’s then-owner Kurt Geissel wants to clear up one element of the historical record around the venue. He says he never considered shutting the cafe down in the aftermath of the shooting until finances dried up years later. “I, and many in the community worked very hard to make sure that the love that was in that place continued,” Geissel said. “And one thing that I’m very proud of, is that it worked and I hope that it will continue.”
Years later as Racer was struggling financially, Ramsey tells CHS he decided to take Cafe Racer forward to help preserve its place in the Seattle music scene and make Capitol Hill its new home.
Ramsey says the mission for Racer will never change.
“We serve marginalized communities, underserved communities, and give them a platform to share their art,” he said Thursday.
Cafe Racer’s landlords have been “fairly kind, fairly understanding” in the situation, Ramsey said, with a “just business” approach to Cafe Racer’s plight.
“They would have loved to see us succeed,” he said.
We’ve reached out to the family ownership behind the building to ask more about the situation and will update if we hear back.
There has been more help from the city. The Office of Economic Development has provided access to marketing and consultants and has the cafe lined up for a possible grant-funded loan that could help it dig out. A city Nightlife Business Advocate has also been part of trying to help Cafe Racer stabilize its finances with new sources of revenue.
Federal Paycheck Protection Program loans helped Racer bridge some of the challenges of the pandemic.
And there are supporters of Cafe Racer who want to help with efforts to find new investors and more.
The pieces just haven’t come together fast enough, Ramsey said.
“Ten people have lost their jobs,” Ramsey said. “It’s a very challenging position.”
(Image: Cafe Racer)
Still, Cafe Racer isn’t done yet. The search for new investors continues. Some of the work with the city could soon bear fruit. But other routes like the National Independent Venue Association and Small Business Administration’s “Save Our Stages” grant efforts can’t help, Ramsey says, now that the doors at Cafe Racer are locked.
The financial equation hobbling Cafe Racer isn’t limited to 11th Ave. While the neighborhood’s live music venues mostly withstood the challenges of the pandemic, the financial challenges facing Cafe Racer are also chasing the rest of the Capitol Hill clubs. And there are plenty of examples of similar clubs in similar cities that haven’t been able to keep up.
Ramsey says scrambling just to open for one more month isn’t what any of this has been about. “What we are trying to do, what this has been all about as we worked toward becoming more of an arts organization, the concern was the big picture,” Ramsey said.
“I’m concerned about integrity. Having everybody give to stay open one more month, that didn’t feel good to me,” he said.
With Cafe Racer’s doors now locked and the stage quiet, his tune has changed — but ever so slightly.
Some combination of the neighborhood, the city, and the world giving Cafe Racer a few more months to get through the end of the year, Ramsey said, would be the time needed to sort out a new, more stable future for the venue. We’ve reached out to the city’s Office of Economic Development to ask more about what it can do to help but, so far, have not heard back.
“We are trying to find a larger, long term solution,” Ramsey said.
Cafe Racer can be found at 1510 11th Ave. You can learn more at caferacermusic.com. You can make a tax-deductible donation to help here.
$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE
🌈🐣🌼🌷🌱🌳🌾🍀🍃🦔🐇🐝🐑🌞🌻
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.
Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month -- or choose your level of support 👍
This is all very confusing. So from what my Google fu can tell, Cafe Racer is a for profit business. The current owners (in their own words, on their website) say they bought it.
The link in the article goes to the “Allied Arts Foundation” which says they support the arts in Seattle and is a registered non profit.
So you’re donating to a non profit so the non profit can give to a private, for profit business?
Some clarity here is needed. The business clearly is not sustainable (40k behind in rent!) and I’m not convinced the city needs to be giving grant money to what is functionally a bar with a stage.
I believe they have either converted to a non-profit (or are in the process of doing so):
“Ramsey says Cafe Racer has spent much of the past year sorting out a transition of its model from for-profit all ages club and bar to a more sustainable arts organization.”
Either way… there’s no-profit. With profit, there wouldn’t be a problem. Either the space gets help to survive, or dies, and at this point the community has to decide.
Personally, I see the value in having a bar with a stage that’s focused on the product (art) and not profit. It may be the only one left.
They are saying the business model they want is not sustainable as a for profit operation and they’re trying/struggling to transition to a non profit model centering their community work. That’s not a simple, quick process especially for a business operating with expenses and limited revenue. They have somewhat broad support for this goal it seems. But they also are in a bind.
So they have a group, allied arts, that is helping them transition into becoming a non profit. Fiscal sponsorship is normal. How should this business make the transition according to you?
The article is delicately saying the landlord has restricted their access to the building for unpaid rent but is allowing some grace and space for what comes next. It’s not that complicated or shady. A lot of art and music spaces are figuring out how to exist and pay rent and operating expenses in this new economic climate that is chewing people up. I wish them well in their journey to figure it out and hope they find the support they need. They aren’t the only ones in the area getting creative with how to stay open. I hope they are able to make things right with their debts and start a new journey with a better foundation in place.
“How should this business make the transition according to you?” “It’s not that complicated or shady…” Geez! Dunno if this is defensive (like did burned out cafe owners or staff write this?) or mean!
I’m a customer of Cafe Racer & fan of their blacklight art since they were located in the U District. As such, I had a lot of the same questions as Jonathan. Thanks so much for answering them?!
While there was much love and support from the community to help and keep Cafe Racer open, I never once had a thought of closing after the shooting. No one was going to stop the love that place was. And hopefully, will continue.
“bear fruit” not “bare fruit”:)
Thanks. Fixing. Mushroom season so should have had 🧸 on the mind
Cool, now have the owner get back to me about my remaining pay / tips.
These owners are not skilled or educated in running a Bar / Restaurant. One is a DJ and the other is a Flight Attendant. They both had dreams of running a non-profit hippy love shack but cannot seem to grab the business side. paying bills, rent or payroll. Great location and space should be taken over by a professional asap.
I bet if they charged $8 more for everything on the menu they could appeal more of the average #caphill bar-goer.