News: Music Venue Solstice Cafe in Danger of Closing

Victoria’s Solstice Cafe is in danger of closing down at the end of 2014. The small coffee shop that also acts as a live music and poetry event venue has been running since 2001. A statement on the cafe’s website says that they took a significant financial hit in 2013 and unless sales improve significantly in 2014, they will cease operations by the end of the year.

We have covered gigs held at the Solstice cafe including West My Friend, Kiana Brasset, Amy Wood, and 2013 Peak Performance Project winner Rykka and it would be a shame if another intimate live music venue was lost.

It just over a year ago that Victoria lost the Fort Street Cafe. While the circumstances are different it would still be a blow to the local music scene to lose another venue for musicians to perform at.

Solstice Cafe: http://www.solsticecafe.ca

Below is the full statement from the news section of the Solstice Cafe website

http://www.solsticecafe.ca/staff
the future of solstice cafe

while solstice café has never had a particularly good year financially, 2013 was one of our worst ever, and it is time to make a serious decision about continuing to operate. we are told over and over, by many people, how important we are to the community, but unless sales improve significantly in 2014, we will cease to operate by the end of the year.
(winter solstice 2014 blowout party? …too soon?)

while sales of all products help our bottom line, it is coffee sales in particular that will have the most impact on our decision to continue operating. why coffee? while solstice café is many things to many people, and we provide a multitude of products, the love of coffee is the reason solstice opened in 2001. while our equipment, and our sourcing of coffee has changed over the years, solstice now roasts our own coffee, using top quality roasters, and sources our green beans from small farms where coffee is grown organically and farmers are paid higher than fair trade rates. we use top quality equipment behind the counter and we care about the coffees we serve.

if you wish for solstice café to continue beyond 2014, the solution is simple. buy your coffee here, and tell your friends to do the same. sales of other products will also play a role, but ultimately, it will be coffee sales that we base our final decision on.

at the end of june, 2014, should coffee sales not improve enough to justify continuing to operate, we will give 6 months notice to our landlord and cease operations by the end of the year. while this will be a very difficult and emotional decision to make, it is the only reasonable choice we are left with.