Save the Neighbor's Pub: Support Santa Cruz LGBTQ Space

Santa Cruz needs LGBTQ+ spaces like the Neighbor’s Pub. The Neighbor’s Pub needs you!

Together over the past three and a half years, we have built a vibrant and beautiful community of 4,000 LGBTQ+ folks and allies. We’ve danced, we’ve been dazzled, we’ve laughed, we’ve cried. Now, despite all of our collective and individual efforts to open this queer pub + cafe, the doors may close before they’re ever opened.

You can help.

In short, traditional bank loans that seemed to be going in the pub’s favor have not come to fruition. A large grant that should have been received in August still has not yet been received. And just yesterday, a hopeful and promising business partnership fell through.

Although the landlords have been patient, and despite my efforts to work out a better solution with them, they have have asked the pub to vacate if the overdue rent is not paid in full by Friday, November 1st.

If this rent is left unpaid, the Neighbor's Pub will still own all of its equipment, furniture, decor, liquor license, and other permits. It will, however, be without a home.

We need to raise at least $34,000 by Friday, November 1st and another $16,000 by November 15th, and $10,000 by November 25th. (A total of $60,000).

The space is nearly ready to open. It has been deep cleaned (I’ll spare the gross details for now), primed, painted, the art is up, the menu is set, vendors are on standby, staff have been hired. The permits need to be paid for and the inventory needs to be stocked.

Despite being what could have been just weeks away from opening and being a thriving business, the landlords have decided the past due rent must be paid in full in less than 3 days to remain in the building.

The first goal of $34,000 will immediately go to back rent and November's rent.

The following goals will cover:

If we don’t raise these funds on time, we lose the space.

Years of trying to find the right space, dealing with heaps of homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny from previous prospective spaces and others, months of extraordinarily long days of deep cleaning and transforming the space – all gone.

It feels like the goal post just keeps moving.

In retrospect, I was initially told too low of estimates by people who were seemingly experts. Bank reps gave various criteria – that I needed a lease before funding, that I needed to put in a down payment before funding, that I needed both, that I needed years of sales or tax statements. Now, well over $200,000 has been put into this business and this space, I have a lease, I have sale records from events, I have a substantial customer base, and yet, the goal post has moved again.

Banks/ traditional lenders can’t quantify the fundraisers and events as indicators of a successful bar/restaurant. To many lenders, revenue from ticket sales and donations isn't indicative of food and beverage sales. The best and most unique part about the Neighbor's Pub is our community, or for a bank mindset, customer base. It’s rare to have a good customer base before opening, it's even more rare to have a large customer base of 4,000 amazing people who donate generously. Unfortunately, traditional lenders and their models/policies/whathaveyou have not been able to understand this and our potential to succeed.

This lack of additional funding has held the pub back significantly. And while I have tried countless banks in this area and beyond, even on the slim chance they can fund any of this amount, it will not be distributed until past the November 1st deadline. So crowdfunding and seeking investors is a must.

There is power in community.

Please donate and share this GoFundMe. Share a story of why the Neighbor's Pub is important to you. If you or if someone you know may be interested in investing or if you have another idea that might help, please reach out (email is preferred!)

Are there investment opportunities?

If interested in investing as a traditional business partner or as angel investor, please email Frankie at [email redacted] as soon as possible.

Disclaimer: funds provided to the Neighbor’s Pub without an investment agreement (such as, but not limited to, donations sent via GoFundMe, Venmo, Paypal, Kickstarter, or at any event) are considered donations and do not imply business partnerships or investor privileges or profit sharing.

Contingency plans are under development.

The ideal situation is that the pub is able to open in the current space as soon as possible. However, if we do not raise these funds, all of the pub’s equipment, decor, furniture, etc will likely be schlepped to a storage unit while I start over again for a rental space.

It might look like more pop up events but this time with full food and beverage menus provided by the Neighbor's Pub instead of relying on other vendors, offering catering for private events, finding a smaller space, or something else entirely.

Ideas and collaboration opportunities can be emailed to [email redacted].

More details and photos to be posted.