The Loon Needs Your Help!

Team fundraiser

Melanie Quallen and 4 others are organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Hello, my name is Melanie Q and I own and operate the small (but mighty) neighborhood wine bar/shop/music venue called The Loon Wine Bar. We are known for our cozy, welcoming atmosphere, our curated selection of low intervention and small production wines, our quality classic cocktails, and our intimate live music and storytelling events. I took over ownership of The Loon on New Year's Eve 2018, and building this incredible, diverse community has been the reward of hours and hours of blood, sweat, masks, and tears over the last five years.

Early last year, we learned that our landlord had other plans for this space. We have spent months planning, searching, budgeting, and negotiating, only to learn we need to be "out" of our location one month earlier than originally agreed. The good news is The Loon will be moving to a new location here in the Northside business district this spring; the bad news is we need to get there sooner than expected.

I have created this Go Fund Me campaign to ask for help from our community to ensure The Loon's transition is a success. We will now need to close for six weeks in order to complete the move and reopen. The unexpected loss of sales revenue, on top of operating expenses and renovation costs, is a significant hurdle, as well as the abrupt loss of income for our team.

With your support, our goal is to minimize the impact as much as possible. Funds from this campaign will pay for:

• Compensation for all full-time staff during the closure

• Two week advancement of construction

• Rent and utility charges for the new space during renovation

• Six weeks of lost revenue

I am passionate about hospitality and owning The Loon has been the realization of many of my dreams—but I am just one person. I am using my personal home equity to finance the move and the renovation of the new space. Simply put, I do not have enough money financed to cover the unexpected dates for the loss of sales revenue, to pay my team during the unforeseen extra down time, and to cover any setbacks to construction and/or permitting, if they occur. Lastly, because I already fully leveraged my personal home equity and business credit, I do not have the resources or capacity to acquire any more capital via traditional bank loans or more lines of credit. I am left with no other option but to ask my community, my friends, and my family to help save The Loon.

As a thank you for your support:

All supporters contributing to our fundraiser will receive a Loonies Never Say Die Sticker pack.
Supporters contributing $250 or more will also receive their choice of a Loonies Never Say Die Baseball Tee or Zip Up Hoodie.
Supporters contributing $350 or more will also receive a bottle of Melanie’s favorite sparkling wine of the moment and an invite to our grand opening party at our new location.
Supporters contributing $500 or more will achieve VIP Loonie status and will also enjoy 10% off every purchase for one full year, beginning with our grand opening date at the new location.

If you are unable to support us financially, I ask that you please share our story, tell a friend about us the next time they mention needing a bottle of wine, or wanting to check out some great local, live music, or if they want to enjoy a nice cocktail.

The Loon is a special place, not just to me but to Northside, the music community, and of course, our beloved patrons. Anyone is welcome here and welcome to be themselves, however that may look or feel. It's a place worth fighting for, and we will continue to give it our all.

Thank you so much for taking the time to hear our request and for considering helping The Loon open the next amazing chapter of our story.

Sincerely,

Melanie Q & The Loonies - Sammy, Red, Kenzie, Rachel, Angela, & Dylan