In 2011, Stage a BUYcott!

Looking for a positive change to make in 2011?

Make a positive difference in the world by starting to purchase direct trade coffee, like Overflow Coffee!

There are 25 million coffee farmers in the world, most of which still do not sell their coffee to equal their costs to grow it, let alone make a profit.  In the U.S.A. we have minimum wage requirements but in many coffee growing countries this is not the case.  By purchasing Overflow coffee, you not only make a difference in the lives of the farmers who grew your coffee.  You also send a message that coffee farmers should be paid fairly.

In 2011, stage a "BUYcott" and buy coffee that benefits farmers rather than takes advantage of them!

Plus...

Overflow has begun making purchases to set up our physical coffee shop.  Your purchase gives us actual cash to use in making our purchases.  The more cash we have the less loans we need to get and the lower we can keep our prices.  This is a win-win for everyone involved so consider switching your coffee purchasing to Overflow.

Check out the updates we made to our online store and consider making a purchase here.  

We have a special deal to buy 10 lbs of coffee in advance and get 2 lbs more FREE.  If you use 1 lb of coffee each month, you can take care of your entire year at one time and never have to worry about it again.  You'll get your 1 lb delivered on schedule each month. This offer is for a limited time only.  Take advantage of this offer before it expires!

If you aren't a regular coffee drinker, you can give a gift here.

Have you seen the "Overflow Hits the Streets" video??? 
Watch it here.

New Pics of Our Space

The ladies room

the men's room

from the back, toward the street (after dark)

from the door, toward the back (after dark)

the plug for the coffee brewer

the pipes for plumbing

the awesome open ceiling, painted black!

Thoughts of 2010 and for 2011

Reflecting on 2010, we're thankful the following events took place:

In January, we collaborated with Mission Year for the first Overflow event in partnership with a nonprofit organization.

 

In March, we had a “Going Green” event for Overflow.  It was partially to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, to fundraise, and to showcase Overflow’s mission.  It was a lot of fun, complete with live Irish music and a leprechaun.

In April, we purchased a portable espresso machine to use for catering and fundraising events.  We’ve used it at several events since and at parties in our home.  It has been a great help in practicing our latte art.

In June, 2 major events happened:

1.    We held our first event in the building where Overflow will be located.  We called the event Café Con Brio and had a great time with live performances from multiple artists and yummy food and espresso.  If this was any indication of future events, Overflow is going to really impact the arts.

2.    We moved from our 1-bedroom apartment to a 3-bedroom and acquired 2 roommates (and our cat got 2 new feline friends!).  We made this move to have a larger living room for having parties and to save money.  It’s been great living in community.

In July, we celebrated 4 years of marriage with a “staycation.”  We enjoyed the city and used the money we would’ve spent on travel/hotel taking advantage of July 4^th sales.

Toward the end of July, beginning of August, Amanda completed a coffee shop marathon at the Common Cup in Rogers Park while the owner was out of town.  Through the marathon, we raised over $10,000 for Overflow’s plumbing and electric costs and Brandon cut his shoulder-length hair as a result of raising so much.

In September, we had an Overflow booth at the Bash on Wabash, a South Loop street festival.  We got to meet hundreds of our neighbors in the South Loop and share with them about Overflow.  In return, they shared with us how much they desire an independent coffee shop in our neighborhood.

Currently, Overflow is moving forward.  We are currently negotiating a lease and will have it signed by December 31.

We are very hopeful for 2011 and the opening of the physical doors of Overflow Coffee Bar in March.   

If you'd like to be part of Overflow's beginning, please consider participating giving a financial gift or making a purchase on our website.  Any gift or purchase is appreciated and beneficial.  Your gift will be used to purchase equipment and furniture and help us get started sooner and with less debt.  To give, look on the right-hand side of this page and click "ChipIn!"  To purchase a product go to www.overflowcoffeebar.org/shop.html.

Update About Our Lease at 1550 S. State

Our lease is currently with our attorney.  She is preparing her thoughts.  On Monday, she and I will discuss her thoughts.  Then, we'll be back to negotiating but we expect there to not be any problems.  We have told the Lessor that we absolutely need to get the lease signed by the end of the year.

For some perspective if you've never dealt with commercial leases, the lease agreement is 25 pages long and very dense.  It'll be for a 3-year term.  Our lease is complicated by the fact that we're actually "space-sharing" with a collection of non-profits.  We have to determine details like splitting utilities and who's cleaning.  We have to work out the same things individuals do when having roommates.  But now things have been worked out and we're ready to move forward.

Keep posted to this blog, facebook.com/overflowcoffeebar and twitter.com/overflowcoffee for the announcement of our lease being signed!

As a teaser, here's a random photo of our cool black open ceiling that's already completed.  :)

Less than 2 weeks for Guaranteed Delivery by December 25!

Just a friendly reminder to check out http://www.overflowcoffeebar.org/holiday.html for information about Overflow Holiday Gift Bags! 

Order by December 14 for guaranteed delivery by December 25.  That's 11 days from now so don't delay!

I thought you might also like some more information about the tea being offered for the holiday gift bags.  Our tea comes from Rishi Tea in Milwaukee, WI.  Rishi Tea offers award-winning, Organic and Fair Trade Certified loose leaf teas, fresh each season and direct from tea gardens around the world.  For all you tea lovers, we're sure you'll love how the blends we selected taste.