Help Keep The Birdhouse OPEN!

When we set out to open The Birdhouse Eat & Drink in Robbinsdale in 2020, we had no idea what we were up against.  We also never imagined how amazingly supportive this community would be! We had always dreamed about a cool, family friendly place to gather with good food and drinks close to home. And our dreams finally became a reality.

The outpouring of love and support for our little bar and restaurant, and for our neighboring businesses, during this pandemic has been incredible. Unfortunately, like all restaurants, we are struggling to keep the doors open. To make matters worse, The Birdhouse doesn’t qualify for any of the government COVID relief programs because we opened after the start of the pandemic. We are in a unique but unfortunate group of small businesses that were very close to opening when the pandemic hit. Due to COVID the timeline was pushed back. The construction was well under way and we couldn’t turn back so we finished the beautiful make-over of the 1893 building and it turned out amazing. We were fortunate enough to open in August (instead of April),  but we have never been able to operate at full capacity.  After being denied for 3 other rounds of grant funding, we were hopeful we'd qualify for a $15,000 grant in the latest round of Hennepin County relief funding, but this time we weren’t chosen in the lottery. We have been passed up on all 4 rounds of funding before Jan 1st, making the ability to stay open harder and harder.  

A number of our amazing supporters have suggested we set up a GoFundMe campaign so they can do more to help (have we mentioned we love our community?!?), so here it is! We are asking our friends, family, and community to help us keep The Birdhouse open. 

Our goal is to raise the $15,000 we would have received had we qualified for the latest round of small business relief. Truly, any amount will help! Your donations will help pay our employees and keep the doors open through winter by helping with some of our operating costs. In return, we promise to continue doing everything we can to stay open, to keep our employees safe, and to be here for this community when we can come together safely again! 

We feel so fortunate to be part of Birdtown and the amazing restaurant scene across the Twin Cities and want nothing more than to be here long after this is over. Thank you for your support! 

With much gratitude, 

 
Nell and Josh Currey Dykhuis