Save Catalan Tapas Bar in Cary NC

Hi, my name is Jennifer Cramer, and I am raising funds to try and save our restaurant in Cary, NC. Unfortunately, we have been hit hard by Covid in our area, and the weather. We are in dire need of assistance to remain open. The short version of our story is we opened in 2020, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic; we self-funded the initial startup. One of our core principles is to operate ethically. We pay all hourly untipped employees a living wage (tipped employees are also paid more than the mandated minimum), provide a safe space for those in the LGBTQAI+ community, and support charitable causes by using our platform to create, sponsor, and co-host campaigns that give back to our local Southern Wake communities.

It has been hard to run a restaurant during the pandemic. We have seen astronomical increases in our cost of goods. Every time we begin to build sales, it seems that another Covid wave takes us down. We lose reservations every night to cancellations for Covid-related reasons. Because our business model is to pay our employees enough to support their families and the fact that there is minimal profit margin right now with the cost of goods so high, we have been struggling to pay our bills.

Recently with the Omicron wave, attendance has been down significantly. We have been hit with snowstorms two weekends in a row and have lost approximately 2/3 of our average revenue for those time frames. We have had to close early or entirely to make sure our staff is safe and have seen significantly reduced sales when we are able to open. Our situation is dire, and we are not sure we will be able to remain open.

There is a painful crisis in our country that disproportionately affects all of our privately owned restaurants and other small businesses. When we were initially considering opening, we were told that after six months of business, we would be able to qualify for SBA funding to help us with operating capital so that we would be able to help weather the storm. But, unfortunately, that turned out not to be true. Two years after the beginning of the pandemic, the SBA is still leery of lending to restaurants and is not interested in what they call micro-loans (less than 250k). We were directed to apply for the EIDL loans, PPP loans, or RRF program. We do not qualify for either the EIDL or PPP loans because we were not open for 12 weeks between 2019 and February of 2020. The RRF program ran out of money long before they could fulfill all of the requests, and currently, the push to add additional funds to the program has been stalled. When I wrote to my Senator about replenishment of the RRF fund, she sent me a form letter encouraging me to apply for the loans we do not qualify for.

I find it disappointing that our government helped all of the businesses initially affected by the pandemic; however, they are not interested in helping the businesses that opened during the pandemic. Businesses like ours are the ones that helped to bolster our economy and provide jobs for people in the community during the most challenging economic times in a generation. But unfortunately, small businesses, restaurants in particular, still need help.

We are humbly asking the community, which has shown us such fantastic support and love throughout our journey, to help us to bridge this gap we have at the moment. We are asking our friends and loyal guests here in the Triangle and beyond to help us to remain a viable business providing a service to our community, to provide jobs for our 21 employees, and to help us to retain the platform that we use to aid so many charitable organizations and programs.

We are looking to raise $75,000, which will help us pay our employees wages, rent, utilities, and satisfy outstanding accounts while we operate through the colder and traditionally slower months in the restaurant business. Every dollar we raise will be used to keep our employees working to feed their families and help us keep our dream alive. I have shared the long story behind our restaurant below, as well as a short video.

Please give whatever you can to support us. If you can't donate funds then please share this far and wide so that we can reach as many people as possible. We look forward to being able to serve our community for years to come, and we need your help to be able to do so.

The Story of Catalan Tapas Bar

I have spent my life working in the hospitality industry, over 22 years, and I have enjoyed the work immensely. I love meeting new people, giving them great experiences, and introducing them to new and interesting food and drinks. My father, Eli, passed from Covid-19 in April of 2020. He was one of the first 150 people to pass from Covid in the state of North Carolina.

My father, also an entrepreneur, left me a small bit of life insurance money. As I had been out of work due to the pandemic, I wanted to do something to ensure that I would never have to worry about whether or not I would be able to provide for my family. I initially thought about using the money to open a food truck with my life partner; however I was having trouble finding a commissary. Then, I saw a restaurant listed for sale that was incredibly affordable, and I went to take a look.

When I walked into what is now Catalan, it was the most awful shade of blue you've ever seen. Everything was a little shabby, and the kitchen was the filthiest commercial kitchen I had ever seen in my life. But, all that aside, I was immediately charmed by the space as it reminded me of all the restaurants I used to frequent when I lived in New York City. I saw the space's potential and the need for a unique and different restaurant in the Cary area. I did not have enough money to open a full-service restaurant, so I sought a business partner to share the expenses.

Alan, my business partner, is someone I met through friends years ago. We had talked a few times about his desire to own a place like "Cheers" where everyone felt comfortable and welcome, a home away from home. Alan also had a small inheritance from his mother, Helen, who passed from cancer some years ago. We met and discussed my business plan, and we decided to move forward with the purchase.

After we purchased the restaurant, the fun began. At the time of the pandemic, my sister Heather was a theater professional who worked backstage building and maintaining props and scenery. Unfortunately, she was not working due to the shutdowns. Heather, her husband Nick, and her friend Jess, both of whom are also theater professionals, did our entire build-out for us. It was a true labor of love. We poured every ounce of our heart and soul into these four walls. I scrubbed the kitchen floor on my hands and knees for an entire day. We spent 12 hours gluing down pennies on our penny bar-top. It took Heather 4 days on a 12-foot ladder to hand-paint each gold star on our ceiling. My brother, Jared, donated his time and effort into helping with whatever projects he could, and he installed our entire security system for us gratis.

There are pieces of love and family throughout our restaurant. The light that hangs over the space where our musicians perform was found in the basement of my dad's house when we cleared it out after he passed. The Dali print that hangs over our kitchen door once hung on the wall in my father's office on Whitehall Street in Manhattan, a few blocks from the World Trade Center. There is a statue on the shelf that was my grandfather's. The piano player in our cubby was given to Alan by his mother before she passed. One of our very first regulars gifted us the lovely Catalonian plates on our bookshelf. The empty bottle of 1972 Perrier Jouet next to my grandfather's statue was shared with us on opening night. Our first dollar we made is framed on the wall; it was spent by the woman who employed me for several years before we opened Catalan; she wanted to be my first guest at my restaurant.

We have seen so much love from the community and have made many wonderful guests and friends along the way. We also give back to our community with every opportunity we have. For example, we have had art from local artists on our walls since the day we opened. This art is all for sale and is purchased by directly sending payment to the artist, we take zero commisssion. In addition, we host live music with local musicians five nights a week.

In the last year we have given charitably to, and hosted events with, PIPs Rescue, The Friends of Wake County Animal Center, & Fairytale Dreamers Wildlife Rehab. We have donated gift certificates to countless other charity organizations for their fundraisers. We hosted a fundraiser in our space that benefitted the LGBT Center of Raleigh. We also worked collaboratively to organize, fund, and execute an Angel Tree program during Holiday Season 2021 where several hundred less fortunate individuals, seniors, and children received holiday assistance.

We look forward to making it out of the pandemic and continuing our mission to pay our staff a living wage and support the community at large while providing excellent service to our guests and building a restaurant culture that will endure.

We want to thank everyone in advance for their donations, no matter how big or small, and their support in sharing our campaign.

Much love,

Jennifer, Alan, and the entire Catalan Staff.