Keep Homemade Alive!

The Homemade Cafe is a small but mighty local breakfast and lunch spot in Berkeley, CA. We have been on the corner of Sacramento St. and Dwight Way since 1979, where we've always been locally owned and operated. We constantly strive to be a caring, active member of the community. In our more than 40 years of operation, we have survived recessions, the difficulties and challenges facing small independent restaurants during relatively normal times, and the extremes of the Covid 19 pandemic with its shutdowns and restrictions.

However, we are now facing the real possibility that we may have to close! We've survived a lot and are strong 'but these last few months have not been kind, with expenses for everything constantly rising every month by 5%-10%. The owner, Collin, has invested over 200,000 dollars of his savings over the last two years to stay operational, retain and pay our employees a living wage and supplement the loss of business caused by the coronavirus.

When presented with the financial reality that Homemade would most likely have to close, the employees unanimously and unambiguously volunteered to take a 20% pay cut to help Homemade stay open. Even with all these efforts, our future is in jeopardy, and we are afraid that we may have to shut down unless things change soon for the better.

We need help! Please help us raise funds so we can stay open and remain integral to the community. We've grown accustomed to seeing your smiling, hungry, caffeine-starved faces every day. We want to continue to serve pancakes and hot cocoa to all your kids as we marvel at how big they've gotten. We feel strongly about being able to continue to feed the homeless and less fortunate members of our neighborhood. We love seeing all our regulars who have become a part of the Homemade family and want to be able to eat, drink, and be merry with countless more customers in the future. We've tried to take care of all of you over the years, and if you have the means and the desire, we will welcome any help you can give. All the money raised will be used to help cover our day-to-day operational costs, including payroll, rent, utilities, and supplies.

-With love, Homemade