Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Coffee Gallery on a Steep Hill

I was at the Coffee Gallery Backstage earlier this month to hear Will Ryan and the Cactus County Cowboys and write an article about them for Altadena Patch. (It was a really fun assignment.) I get to the Coffee Gallery pretty often.

The Coffee Gallery and Coffee Gallery Backstage are two separate but, shall we say, conjoined entities operating out of basically the same space. Both entities are institutions around here.

When John and I first moved to the San Gabriel Valley we rented a house in Altadena. We got married in the back yard there. We called the Coffee Gallery "Awake and Open" because of the sign hanging outside. It's always been part of our lives here.

Right now, both Coffee Gallery entities need to raise $20,000 by February 15th for their Conditional Use Pemit (CUP) and parking variance in order to keep their entertainment license.

They're having a fundraising concert on February 8th. Tickets are $18 and the artists, bless them, are donating 100% of the proceeds to the Coffee Gallery. Timothy Rutt wrote a good article about it on Altadenablog. If you can't make it to the show you can still make a donation.

$20,000. My god, that's steep. I think the Coffee Gallery will do it, but jeez louise, how's a small business supposed to survive in LA County with fees like that?

16 comments:

Unknown said...

This image makes me feel like I'm sitting right in the audience. And the color temperature sets the scene superbly. Thanks for this shot!

Kalei's Best Friend said...

To rent a space at our mall its $10k a month!. And yes, businesses have left and what is replaced are teeny bopper shops. Nordstrom's was smart not to come out here.. lol.... $20k is a lot for an entertainment permit. Wow.

Valladolid Daily Photo said...

It seems that you spent a great time at that show.

Petrea Burchard said...

The Backstage is a fun, intimate space for hearing music. And in the Coffee Gallery, the front space, they have open mic nights and comedians. These are small rooms that fit maybe a hundred people at most. It's not like it's a giant auditorium that seats a few thousand people.

Kalei's Best Friend said...

I should of mentioned, these are small stores that wouldn't even hold anywhere close to 100 in them....Westfield is money hungry.Rent went up after they infiltrated.

Trish said...

The State and County and Cities wonder why small businesses don't survive?

argh!

Happy to help. For those of us less able to attend--do they want a check mailed to them?

Susan Campisi said...

Wow, that's a crazy amount of money for a permit... jeez louise is right! Thanks for writing about this. I'll either go to the show or make a donation.

Petrea Burchard said...

Trish, it was in Tim Rutt's article that I saw that donations are accepted and it was a quick mention. Here's what I suggest: mail a check made out to the Coffee Gallery to
Bob Stane
Coffee Gallery Backstage
2029 N. Lake
Altadena, Ca. 91001
and include a note telling Bob that it's a donation to help the CG and the Backstage pay for their CUP.

Bellis said...

All the County wants is money, they don't care if they shut down one of the few good places to go in Altadena. Thanks for putting out the word about the donations.

Trish said...

Thanks Petrea---will do!

I read the article and the website, but didn't see a clear link or details (ok, so I'm a little beyond exhausted at the moment so maybe I missed it).

Pasadena Adjacent said...

I've only been to the coffee bar a couple of times but was so pleasantly surprised by how nice they were to me. I'm used to the snot nose kids in South Pasadena. The C Gallery reminds me of the old Expresso Bar of yor. I want to see them survive.

20 grand...is that a year?

Katie said...

Such a great photo! I would definitely attend the fundraiser if I could, but since I can't I will send my check pronto (thanks for the info). Hope the Coffee Gallery can stay awake and open and hosting musical events for a long time.

Margaret said...

That seems like a crazy amount of money. Who knew?

Patricia said...

I try very hard to support our small coffee houses up here in Seattle. Starbucks is the king of coffee up here,though. I have seen 20 people in line at the one in Pike's Place market. I like Starbucks, but I know that if I don't support the little guys they will all be gone and then my only choice will be Starbucks. Good luck to The Coffee Gallery. The place looks like lots of fun.

Petrea Burchard said...

A year, PA? I don't know. Can you imagine? Seems an impossibility for any time period.

Wow, Katie, that's so generous. Remind me to take you there next time you're here. You need more Altadena anyway.

Me too, Margaret.

I know that Starbucks, Patricia. I don't have anything against Starbucks except I've never visited one that wasn't freezing cold (they don't encourage you to get comfortable). Now, Pike's Place is a different story.

Ysabelle said...

Wow, THis place was very nice and I'm sure you really enjoyed listening on the band :D


tourist spots in the philippines | Enjoy Philippines