The goal is to provide good quality coffee in a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere and offer a vinyl listening library in an enjoyable way that fosters discussion and interaction with neighbours, friends, and visitors.
Our goal is to open a cafe in the Leutzsch neighbourhood by the Summer/Fall 2016. It is intended as a comfortable and welcoming space for a casual coffee. In the future it is also intended to be available for meetings, small workshops and readings as part of the larger open-room network in Leipzig. In the short-term, our goals are to provide good quality espresso and a vinyl listening library.
With our own personal labour and funds, combined with a grant from the City of Leipzig, we spent a year renovating and preparing the space to be a café. The surrounding neighbourhood is very busy- there are two schools, a city municipal office, tram stops, a park and a laundromat- but there is nowhere to sit and relax and enjoy a quality coffee or ice cream. Situated in the middle of this busy corner, we believe that the café will be a success!
Your support will go directly to assisting us with the final pieces required to get our cafe running. Over the past year we have invested our own time and money as well as obtained city funding in order to complete the extensive renovations at S1. These investments were in excess of 25,000€.
We ask for your support to make possible the final pieces required to open our doors. Your funding will assist us to obtain the following:
- A good quality Italian-made espresso machine
- A good quality coffee bean grinder
- The construction of outdoor furniture (benches, an awning, tables, plant pots)
- A good quality second-hand stereo amplifier and speakers
- A wood-burning oven for the next winter season (cozy!)
- The construction and mounting of a thick door curtain for insulation
- A cash drawer & transaction software
- A number of small administration licences and courses (i.e. business license, hygiene course)
- A catalogue of the vinyl records in the cafe that visitors can use to select a record for us to play in the cafe
- Small items such as take-away cups, sugar bowls, stir sticks, etc.
Matthew & Terris are two Canadians who decided in 2014 to move to Germany to experience living abroad for a year. Matthew had been working for the Ontario provincial government as a Policy Advisor, and Terris specialized in Energy Planning with an agency of the Ontario government. They were both looking for some new experiences with the idea of returning to Canada and their respective careers there after one year.
After getting to know Leipzig, meeting new friends, and observing the unique approaches to projects and society in Leipzig, they decided to make a long term move to the city. Life in Leipzig has a work/ life balance, access to nature and different countries/cultures, and a ease of transportation (especially cycling) that really impressed and suited them.
After a full year of renovating a weathered storefront, Matthew and Terris are now ready to open a small vinyl listening room and cafe in Leipzig.
Now only the espresso machine, coffee grinder, and supplies are outstanding.
The goal of opening the café is to provide a much-needed space in the neighbourhood to comfortably enjoy a coffee or ice cream.
The café concept of providing a comfortable space within which to listen to music suits Matthew and Terris. Both have longstanding interests and involvement in cultural activities through playing music in bands, as members of choirs, and as promoters and supporters of concerts, cooperative-run record labels and live-music series.
Team Matthew & Terris