Help Save Glitter Bean Café

Updated July 2024

Your favourite queer worker owned and operated cafe needs your support!

Nested on the corner of Carlton and Spring Garden Rd (Kjipuktuk, Mi’kma’ki), Glitter Bean Café Co-op serves much more than signature glittery-rainbow-lattes, tasty treats and sweet times.

Founded in 2018, Glitter Bean provides employment and community space that affirms the dignity, wellness and joy of queer, BIPOC and equity-deserving communities. We are collectively/democratically owned, governed and managed by our workers who are queer and pushing from the margins. We are also unionized with SEIU Local 2 to further secure our labour rights. Our quaint and cozy cafe has become an essential third space for Kjipuktuk’s queer community as a go-to destination for first-dates, study dates, birthday parties, drag shows, clothing swaps, craft nights, artisan pop-ups, book launches, movie screenings, teach-ins, community debriefs and more. We share our space with three rad community organizations: Zealous, Seed and Spark Bookstore Co-op and Community Fridge Hfx. Our little business is unique and strives to be values-based, heart-forward and relational.

The COVID-19 pandemic was hugely challenging for cafes (and small businesses generally), and we are no exception. We faced major financial losses which brought us to the brink of bankruptcy in Spring 2022. We shirked this fate by devising and executing a recovery plan with support from our allies - SEIU Local 2, Canadian Worker Co-op Federation, and Just Us. But our debts and operating losses caught up to us once more in Spring 2023. This moment was compounded by our equipment crapping out, the cafe falling into disrepair and exhaustion. So in July, 2023 we humbly turned to you - our beloved patrons, communities, and allies, through this gofundme. You came through in a BIG WAY! and we will be forever grateful. With your initial $25,000 in donations, we were able to:

Your support put wind in our sails and we could take a deep breath. But little did we know there was another threat looming around the corner. In September 2023, our accountants discovered a $24,000 debt to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Have you ever had your stomach drop to your feet?! We learned an error had been made in our GST/HST account over several quarters leading to refunds rather than remittances. You don’t want to be in CRA’s dog house - we were in a BIG pickle once more! We couldn’t service this debt until January at which time it bloomed to $27,000.

Relief came in January 2024 when SEIU Local 2 agreed to provide us a considerable loan to pay a portion of our CRA debt. We then devised a more forgiving repayment plan with CRA (and SEIU) over the course of a year.

Now July 2024, we are chipping away at our depts (which is daunting in barely break-even months!). Buoyed with your continued support towards the next $20,000 of our fundraising goal, we can:

This isn’t a sad story! Where there is glitter, community, and workplace democracy there is hope! WE ARE STILL HERE! You carried us with your beautiful supportive spirits, generous donations and patronage. Sales have increased 8% over the last year and continue to climb. We have embraced a more distributed and participatory leadership model and built confidence and fluency in business management among our workforce. Vibes are GOOD!

We believe this momentum will continue and with your sustained support, our debts will be paid and we will see the longevity of Glitter Bean! We hope to continue growing just and joyful collectivities with and alongside you.

How can you help save the Bean?

In the words of Angela Y. Davis, “It is in collectivities that we find reservoirs of hope and optimism.”

In gratitude, love and solidarity,

Glitter Bean worker-owners