Groundswell Coffee in St. Paul is looking to create a groundswell of ideas.
Its co-owners, Seth McCoy and Tim Gilbert, want to get the community involved in the coffee shop’s expansion.
McCoy and Gilbert, who bought the neighborhood cafe in 2009, have been able to make the business break even, but in the economic downturn, “It’s been limping along,” McCoy says.
To turn it around, they've tried to restore “the feeling of a neighborhood place," which it had when it first opened. But their efforts thus far "have not been enough,” he says.
After giving it some serious thought, “We agreed that being on that corner was important and we needed to find ways to accentuate that,” he says. That, they knew, would take some creative problem solving.
That’s when they learned that the next-door Borealis Yarn shop was closing. They got the idea to take over the space to create a full-service kitchen, beer and wine bar, along with an art consignment shop. Today they’re trying to secure financing for the $150,000 project.
To raise up to half of that, they’re looking at crowdfunding or community-based capital.
Crowdfunding allows community members to purchase a small stake in the company, he explains. At
Northbound Smokehouse in Minneapolis, for example, “At a certain investment level, people could get free beer for life,” he says.
Similarly, Groundswell wants to offer a founders’ club membership for $1,000 apiece. A founding member could then get a free drink every day, he says.
In line with the owners' community values, the place will serve locally sourced food and drink and highlight artists and musicians from the area. “The Twin Cities has a vibrant local economy and we want to tap into that wherever we can,” McCoy says.
With the coming Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line, and in the absence of many commercial buildings of this sort in the neighborhood, “We hope to be a place where neighbors can get together,” one that’s also family-friendly, he says.
Groundswell plans to have a grand opening in May.
Source: Seth McCoy, co-owner, Groundswell Coffee
Writer: Anna Pratt