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WE LOVE OUR F*O*O*Fs!

What’s a F*O*O*F?   It’s someone we can’t live without.  Someone who likes what we do, who believes in what we do, who brings the concept of “community” to life.  Someone who, out of sheer devotion, friendship, goodwill, and perhaps even a little boredom, volunteers to do whatever he or she can to help make The Ol’ Factory a special place.  Someone whose talent and heart is why we do this in this first place.  The Ol’ Factory, like Morgan’s Coffee & Tea before it, is first and foremost a gathering place for the community.  And that community often goes out of its collective way to help us succeed.

If nothing else, F*O*O*Fs tell their friends about the Ol’ Factory.

F*O*O*Fs know who they are.  A F*O*O*F looks like any other normal human being, and yet one F*O*O*F can recognize another F*O*O*F when they pass on the street.  We’re not sure how, really.  They have no special language, dress normally, and generally smell pretty good.  Their feet are of normal size, they like a variety of foods, and have all sorts of different hair styles.  However, it has been rumored that actual card-carrying F*O*O*Fs do have secret handshakes.  F*O*O*Fs know they’re special, but unlike, say, Scientologists, they aren’t a bunch of nutjobs.  Being a F*O*O*F isn’t the same as being part of a cult.

So, what is a F*O*O*F?  A Friend Of the Ol Factory.

Right now we need all the F*O*O*Fs we can get!  We need to raise 9k by the end of March to stay in business.  By summertime we’ll need an additional 70k.  Why?  These are the first year expenses of the cafe that were not met because of construction delays and financial shortfalls.  They are the very typical expenses of any small business, but when you start operating with an insufficient cushion in the bank, well, you end up short.  That and a miserable economy (can it get any worse?) has made our first year unexpectedly rocky.  But now we’ve got a full head of steam, a loyal following, solid growth pattern, and considerable word-of-mouth excitement on the peninsula.

We’re asking our F*O*O*Fs to contribute $100 each (more, if you want) to keep us in business.  You’ll receive a discount card at The Factory, bragging rights that you saved a small business, and a piece of all future locations.  Can you do it?  Can you help save a cafe that took a gamble in rough economic times?  Do you know others who will also help?  Please let us know.  The time to do so is now.  Right now.

Money isn’t necessarily all a F*O*O*F can do.  One F*O*O*F has offered to hold a fundraising auction.  A couple of other F*O*O*Fs have offered to do fundraising concerts.  Who knew The Factory had so many friends!

All of us at The Factory are deeply touched by this wave of FOOFishness
                                                                
A short list of F*O*O*Fs (we cannot thank them enough):

Ken Wright
Craig & Lynn
Plasha Will
Kira Gray (”Aunt Lucy”)
Anna Weisjahn
Russ Ingersol
Nick Sasson
Eleen Auvil
George Brinswood
Lynn Iwamoto
Bobby Frasier
Susan & Melvin Gorelick
Aparna Sreenivasan
Steven MacDonald
Caria Jacks & Brian Gingrich
Nancy Raven
Debra & Jerry Blackwelder
Ed Leeper
Darby Moss Worth
“Stephanie from Florida”
The Koehne Family
Dwight & Chrystal Smith
Mat DeCristo
Annette Kuhnert
Melinda Collis
Alex Eisner
Scott Negri (Scott’s Plumbing)

And for pure moral support, friendship, spreading the word, and a helping hand:

Adam Clarke (where the hell would we be without this man?)
Gary Ray (a “ray” of support)
Traci Townsend (Holy Cow!  Where did this gal come from?  And what took so long?) 
Karl Dobbratz (a long time “F*O*O*F”)
M.M. at MCH (can’t tell ya)
Blu (rhymes with “brew”) Whelan
Kerry (doesn’t rhyme with “wine”) Winslow
Walter Keintzel (like Karl, another “lifer”)
Gilbert (a “lifer” in training)
Adam T-G (following us around for years)
Paul (”Take my Wii…please“)

There are so many others, and we’ll get to them soon…