Last week was a tough one for us here at 443. We reached a point with the business where we were questioning EVERYTHING.
Yes, we know we are a five-month-old business. We know it takes time. We know it’s summer, and there are a thousand other things going on. It’s grad party season, it’s wedding season. The weather is gorgeous, and the boat is calling. There is yard work to do. People are busy.
We understand all of these things. We get it.
But – we still have to keep the doors open.
We have expenses we are responsible for no matter what is happening in our establishment. We certainly don’t expect to turn a profit at this stage of the game, but we were hoping to be a little closer to breaking even. I am not taking a paycheck, and we had a 3 month grace period for rent in our family owned building, and yet…the business is not supporting itself. And we just don’t have an endless well of cash to pump into it.
Did we miscalculate our business model? Is a calendar of original music a nostalgic throwback to the days before you could listen to any band, at any time right on your phone? Are we naive to think Syracuse will pay for quality live music? Was it stupid to combine a coffee house and a bar? Should we bother being open at all during the day? Was it unrealistic to expect people to find us on Burnet Ave, rather than in Armory or Hanover Square? Should we abandon our original vision, hang TVs around the room and start booking cover bands?
What are we doing wrong?
It came to a head last week as we were reviewing the situation and questioning whether it was worth trying to continue.
And then, inexplicably, the universe intervened.
On Friday, we had our busiest day shift since we opened. Days have been the most challenging part of our business to develop and out of nowhere, we had a really brisk day.
People showed up.
On Saturday we had a young band called Golden Oak from Portland, ME scheduled to play. I booked them because I really liked their style and sound – they intrigued me. They hadn’t played in this area before and didn’t know anyone in this neck of the woods. I knew it would be challenging to convince people to buy a ticket and check them out, but I thought we could do it.
A week before the show, with zero pre-sale tickets, we contacted the band and made the decision to change it to a $5 cover at the door, and they graciously worked with us to update the financial arrangements to something that would work for all of us.
Still…I woke up Saturday morning with a knot in my stomach because I was positive this band would be playing to an empty room. Aside from the financial ramifications for us, I didn’t want the band to have to struggle through performing for just me and my bartender.
Then, out of nowhere, people started filing in. There was a handful of our friends and regulars, but overall it was people who had never been in before.
We ended up with a really nice room full of guests who were treated to an absolutely stunning performance. I knew Golden Oak would be good, but they far surpassed my expectations. It was one of those shows where you keep looking at the person sitting next to you and saying, “Wow…WOW!”. Plus, the band members were sweet, friendly and an absolute pleasure to work with. I am now a fan, and I’m sure they picked up a lot of new followers that night. Zak, Lena, Mike and Jackson – you are simply amazing.
As I was talking to guests throughout the night, most of them told me they saw the videos I had been sharing and thought the band would be good – so they decided to check us out.
When it works the way it’s supposed to, it’s freaking magic.
People showed up.
On Sunday we had a ticketed show with Brother Dege, who is a Louisiana artist Jimmy and I have been fans of for the last few years. We love the White Buffalo, and Brother Dege popped up regularly on the White Buffalo Pandora station…and we were hooked.
He’s never played Syracuse before, but we thought we could grab some interest in the show. Brother Dege contributed his song “Too Old to Die Young” to the Grammy-nominated soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained”, and he plays a resonator guitar with a raw, swampy, Delta-blues inspired style we thought would appeal to a lot of our friends and regular customers.
Photo credit: Dean Aversa
As the date grew closer and the pre-sale was low, we reached out to pretty much everyone we know to rally support…and our staff and friends came through in spades.
We booked local wildman Steve Scuteri to open, and he did an amazing job of promoting the event. Our friends and employees dragged other friends in, and a lot of Jimmy’s coworkers from Verizon came too. We ended up with a jam-packed room on a beautiful Sunday evening in June with happy guests clapping, stomping, eating, drinking and having a fantastic time. The party went on hours past our official closing time.
People showed up.
There were a lot of moments in the last few days where I was awed and humbled by the friends, family, coworkers, and acquaintances who continue to show up for us in so many different ways.
Our staff works tirelessly to help us succeed, whether it be promoting our events, taking great care of our guests, finding creative solutions to the challenges of our space, or baking extra-special treats for us to sell. Friends and family spent countless hours working on the physical space before we opened. Jimmy’s Verizon coworkers are some of our most regular visitors. Friends have made a point of dragging new people into the cafe or stopping by regularly even if it’s just for a cup of coffee or a treat out of the bakery case. Entrepreneur friends schedule their meetings at our place, or book events to introduce more people to the space. A regular customer took the time to ask, “How can I help you get more business during the day?” Bar and restaurant owners we know have generously shared their expertise, and we’ve been gifted with all kinds of things – a gorgeous Italian espresso machine, chairs for our new seating arrangement, carpet scraps for our sound absorption project, and right now someone is trying to hook us up with a salvaged walk-in cooler. Musicians stop by with homemade pie and savvy advice about shows or hang out on a Sunday afternoon over coffee and a snack for a brainstorming session on how to communicate the magic in the room to the public and get more bodies in the door. We are so, so lucky to have you all in our lives.
It’s worth mentioning that a lot of the people who are actively campaigning for us to succeed are not people we knew before we opened our doors.
Thank you for showing up for us, it means more than we can say. We love you and couldn’t do this without you.
One good weekend is not the answer – we’ve still got a long way to go, but we’re going to keep fighting to make this work. We love you and we’re overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone who has “showed up” to help make our crazy dream a reality.
See you soon!
