09/10/2026
Hello!
Unfortunately we have had some setbacks and most likely are back to square one on finding a new location.
I was quoted $200K just to renovate the space to make it compliant and I just cannot justify nor do I have it in the budget to spend that amount on a space that I’m only leasing. This is in addition to money spent towards furnishing the space, products and employee salary, among other things.
We have not had a whole lot of people willing to sponsor or donate (which is how the kiva loan would work)
So without any additional support, we are just farther along than I had anticipated. I am not quitting on this project but have a lot more steps to go through to get the funding and therefore will not be able to open in 2026.
I will continue to work behind the scenes but wanted to be transparent about the process and quite honestly feels a little scary to not have as much support from the community as I would have liked
For anyone that has already donated, I will be refunding you and thank you for believing in us!
If I have learned anything through this process it’s that building a business from scratch will definitely humble you but it’s just another challenge I’m willing to work through.