Community Cafe (Calico Cat) Survey

Community Cafe (Calico Cat) Survey
Welcome to the 'Community Cafe' interest survey.

Background: Neighbors in and around the Larchmont community have expressed interest in having a neighborhood Cafe, which would provide walkable options for food, beverage, and community gathering places for some time. An opportunity has come up with the upcoming sale of the historic Calico Cat building, owned by the Obreicht family and Larchmont neighbor. The Obreicht family ran a business at the Calico Cat for 49(!) years and have always been engaged community members. They are also interested in the Cafe idea and willing to work with the community to establish a plan.

Neighbors and friends recently gathered to discuss a Cafe Concept and what it would take to bring one to life. There was a lot of enthusiasm, including for the idea of a cooperatively organized one, which would provide both an opportunity for neighbors and friends to become co-owners, ease the financial implications of starting one, and ensure community control for the long term.

Recognizing that the community is very diverse, with many individuals with unique skills and talents that could further lower the barrier to entry, one of the following steps discussed was conducting a community survey to gain a broader sense of how neighbors can contribute to this effort.

This survey uses a Time, Talent, and Treasure framework. It acknowledges that we are all blessed differently and are a more vibrant community.

Survey Instructions:

1) Complete only ONE survey per household. This will help us make sense of the data gathered and allow us to make some informed decisions. If you must complete more than one per household, please state that in the final comment box.

2) Comment boxes will follow different survey sections; use this box to provide more nuanced responses to recognize the various individuals in your household.

Anonymity:

3) Your survey responses will only be reported in summary without being individually identified. Only 2-3 appointed individuals will have access to the raw data. The goal is to gain enough details to inform critical decisions about resources.

4) Your contact information is also essential for follow-up as needed.

Thank you for exploring this journey with us.
Name

First NameLast Name
Email
example@example.com
Phone Number
Please enter a valid phone number.
What is your preferred method of communication?

EmailPhone callText messageOther
Do you live within 5 miles of The Calico Cat building?

YesNoIt's Complicated
How many adults, in your household, are you responding on behalf of?

12345 or more
Do you, generally, like the idea of the Community Cafe?

YesNoI would like to hear more
Do you have anyone in your network that owns, operates or has experience in cafe/restaurants? We will reach out to you separately to chat about that.

YesNoMaybe
Do you, generally, like the idea of a cooperatively owned cafe? This question acknowledges that the details will eventually matter.

YesNoI would like to hear more
Would you like to share more about any of the questions above? Please do so in this comment box.
Time

This section will ask questions about possible time commitments that you and those in your household have AND can commit to the Cafe Concept.

Time contributions, for now, and the purpose of the survey are limited to the planning period. We will revisit a more extended-term conversation about time once we get a baseline assessment of who is interested and how they can be of support.

Please answer the questions for all members of your household that you are representing. The comment box can be used to provide more details.
Are you able to contribute some of your time over the next 2-3 months for planning purposes? If you answer Yes, we will ask you a more specific question about time contribution. If No, we will move on to the next section.

YesNo
For the next 2-3 months, on average, how many hours per week could you imagine volunteering towards this effort? Duties are likely to be administrative or planning focused.

1-3 hours per week4-7 hours per week7+ hours per weekUnfortunately, I am very limited on time
Provide any further clarification about your time availability. Include any potential limitations that you may have (ex. weeknights and weekends only) or any particular ideas you have about how you would like to support with your time. If you are not sure, leave blank and we will be in touch.
Treasure

This section will ask questions about possible financial commitments that you and those in your household have AND can commit to the Cafe Concept.

These financial commitments would be most important in the planning buildout phases, mainly towards the cost of either acquiring the building, building out the Cafe, or early working capital.

These financial commitments would go towards a proportional ownership stake in the Cafe. Terms of ownership, payout periods, etc., is yet to be determined.
Please answer the questions for all members of your household that you are representing. The comment box can be used to provide more details.
Are you able to invest financial resources to the Cafe Concept? Investments could be as little as $1,000. If you answer Yes, we will ask you a more specific question about time contribution. If No, we will move on to the next section.

YesNoMaybe
Over the next 2-3 months, how much would you be able to invest towards bringing the cafe to life? Please note that we are still working to determine the total cost and a more refined use of funds.

Between $1,000 and $5,000Up to $10,000Up to $25,000Up to $50,000More than $50,000I want to discuss further
Does your answer change if we go beyond the next 2-3 months?

Yes, I could be able to invest moreYes, I would not be able to invest as much as statedNo, the answer the remains the same
Provide any further clarification about your ability to invest financially. This can include any present or future constraints that we may need to consider, nuances related to the different members of your household that you are responding on behalf of, etc.
Talent

This section will ask questions about the skills you and your household have AND would consider contributing to the Cafe Concept.
These skills could be contributed to the planning, buildout, early launch, long-term operational phases, or any combination of the options listed. We can explore further at a later time.

These skills could also be exchanged for a proportional ownership stake in the Cafe. An example would be the value of the skills/work provided, which could be converted into dollars equivalent to purchasing shares in the ownership structure. We can explore details at a later time.

Please answer the questions for all members of your household that you are representing. The comment box can be used to provide more details.
Are you able to contribute some of talent/skills to the Cafe Concept. If you answer Yes, we will ask you a more specific questions about a variety of needs that we may have. If No, we will move on to wrapping up the survey.

YesNo
Please check any of the following boxes that represent skills that you or someone in your household has and is willing to contribute to the Cafe Concept. Please note that we are not seeking experts or licensed (individuals or professionals) in any of these fields; you need a moderate level of comfort in any of these areas. There will be determinations later on about which services need to be outsourced to licensed professionals and which can be supported by neighbors and friends.

Financial Management (Bookkeeping, Budget Management, Tax Prep, etc)Financial Modeling (Budget Planning, Financial Analysis, Reporting and Dashboards, etc)Marketing (Digital Medial, Public Relations, Graphic Design, Video Creation, Social Media Management, etc)Food and Beverage (Restaurant Operations, Menu Planning, Chef/Cook, Baker, Kitchen Operations, Vendor Management, Sourcing, etc)Customer Service (Cashier, Receptionist, Wait Staff, etc)Event Planning and ManagementFacilities Management (General Maintenance, HVAC, Plumbing, etc)Interior/Exterior DecorationGardening and LandscapingConstruction (Painting, Flooring, Fixtures, Building/Fixing Furniture, etc)E-Commerce (Website, Point of Sale Systems, etc)Customer Engagement and Retention (Sales and Promotions, Loyalty Programs, Customer Reviews, etc)Cooperative Model (Design, Management/Governance, etc)Commercial Real Estate (Planning, Financing, etc.)Other
Provide any further clarification about your talent/skills selections. Indicate any nuanced skills, skill levels, etc. Please let us know if there are skills that you believe are relevant but need to be reflected in the checklist above.
Do you have some early thoughts as to what you are looking for or feel is needed and should be worked into the Cafe model? No pressure if you don't have any for now, a lot of ideas are on the table and we will come back at a later time to share those and have you react to them.
Do you have any other comments or questions that you want to share? Something that was not covered in this preliminary survey that you think is important?
Now that you have completed the survey, how excited are you about this idea?

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1 is Worst, 5 is Best
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