Ron Newman ([info]ron_newman) wrote in [info]davis_square,
@ 2006-07-16 19:59:00
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Entry tags:coffee houses, community issues, local businesses, meet-up, real estate, restaurants, somerville theatre

Today's Save the Someday meeting
I wish I could say I took careful written notes, but I didn't. So this is just from memory.

Between 150 and 200 people jammed into the Someday this afternoon between 5 and 6:30 for a community meeting on the future of the café. Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz did an excellent job of moderating, making sure the meeting started and ended on time and that people spoke in turn. To the crowd's surprise, Mayor Joseph Curtatone was also there, standing next to and behind Rebekah.

Peter Creyf, the once and future owner of Mr. Crepe, told us that he had signed a lease with Richard Fraiman (owner of the Somerville Theatre building). Because of the needs of his other businesses (Waffle Haus at various New England ski resorts), he said that he needed to open Mr. Crepe by the beginning of November. Nevertheless, he agreed to hold his plans in abeyance for the next 10 days, while Gewirtz, Mayor Curtatone, and others scramble to find him a different Davis Square location. It seems like a longshot, but should it happen, Someday Café could remain where it is, under new management by its employees, who have quickly developed a business plan.

Many people in the crowd spoke passionately of their love for the Someday, and its importance to their lives and to Davis Square's identity. A number of people urged Peter Creyf to find a way to mesh his business with that of the Someday, to take on the Someday's employees as partners, or to take over the Someday as a current going concern and then add crêpes to the menu in the months to come. In this way, he could inherit the Someday's enthusiastic customer base rather than alienating it. He understandably was reluctant to change his business plan in this way, comparing a business partnership to a "marriage". But it's possible that in the days to come, he might take into account what he heard tonight.

Almost everyone treated Mr. Creyf with respect, and applauded him at various times.

If you were also at the meeting and are reading this, please add your own notes as comments here.


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petition
[info]ezraball
2006-07-17 01:26 am UTC (link)
This is a very good summary. The only salient point that you didn't mention that I can remember was that Mo Lotman presented Mr. Creyf with the petition that has been at the Someday counter for the past four days, containing 1300 signatures.

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[info]ron_newman
2006-07-17 02:20 am UTC (link)
Thanks, I forgot to mention that.

Also worth noting is that Gus Rancatore (current owner of the Someday) did not attend the meeting. So it's probably safe to say he won't be part of the cafe's future.

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[info]siderea
2006-07-17 07:55 am UTC (link)
Why is that? Why has Gus bowed out?

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[info]ron_newman
2006-07-17 11:14 am UTC (link)
You'll have to ask him. But if he had renewed the lease on time, none of this would be happening now. (Read the earlier messages on this subject in [info]davis_square, if you haven't yet.)

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[info]overstim
2006-07-17 01:49 am UTC (link)
Wow, way to go. I never go to the Someday (reasons omitted) but I know how it feels to be attatched to a place. If only there this sort of outpouring of support for Deli haus.. or Cafy Liberty, or The Tasty.. or any of the places that *I* loved over the years.

*sniff* Im not jealous.

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[info]emcicle
2006-07-17 02:17 am UTC (link)
Deli haus

*sniff* I miss Deli Haus too!!!

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[info]julishka
2006-07-17 05:49 pm UTC (link)
cafe liberty owners moved out of boston. afaik, it wasn't any sort of tragic end in that sense, just a change in what the owners were doing/where they were going.

and, interestingly, cafe liberty happened _because_ of the someday. the guys loved the someday so much they wanted to start their own business. (i do miss that space.)

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[info]ron_newman
2006-07-17 05:52 pm UTC (link)
Someday's owners also moved out of Boston, or at least some of them did. That's how Gus ended up taking it over.

Cafe Liberty allowed smoking, which I didn't much care for at the time.

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[info]clevernonsense
2006-07-17 06:16 pm UTC (link)
Only for like a week (well, longer but not by much). The first time I went there was just after they stopped allowing smoking (I can't remember the exact year--94 maybe?).

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[info]overstim
2006-07-18 12:59 am UTC (link)
well whats all this I hear about employees taking over the Someday? is the owner moving on as well?

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[info]julishka
2006-07-18 01:06 am UTC (link)
that i don't know about. just what i've been reading here.

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[info]oakenguy
2006-07-18 01:20 am UTC (link)
Can I mention how much a shock it was to be out in the Nevada desert two years after they closed down, go into the big central tent area to get some ice...and discover CAFE LIBERTY ART behind the counters?

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[info]plumtreeblossom
2006-07-17 11:39 am UTC (link)
150 people? Wow, I expected there'd be maybe 20. Never let it be said that Davisites take things sitting down.

I'm glad Peter Creyf was treated with respect. Gus not showing up -- that colors my view of things a bit. I genuinely think Peter could create a cafe-like setting that feels similar to Someday but has crepes. Who here isn't jonesing for crepes? I think if Peter and the Someday staff put their heads together, a very positive hybrid solution could be reached.

Thanks for the meeting report, Ron.

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count
[info]mattdm [typekey.com]
2006-07-17 01:34 pm UTC (link)
Ron, did you do a careful count? I was in the very back, and I estimated about 120 based on what I could see. My wife couldn't make it, but she walked by while the meeting was going on, and from looking in the window, she said she thought it was only 80-90....

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Re: count
[info]ron_newman
2006-07-17 01:49 pm UTC (link)
No, doing a careful count was impossible given the circumstances. I counted about 50 people, mostly seated, about 15 minutes before the meeting started. Then people started pouring in and filling nearly all of the standing room. So don't take my word as gospel here.

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[info]enochs_fable
2006-07-17 01:17 pm UTC (link)
Was anything of the business plan of the potential "new" Someday presented? Any potential solutions (or at least awareness of) to problems raised by the landlord and other posters in various threads?

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[info]ron_newman
2006-07-17 01:28 pm UTC (link)
The employees' business plan was mentioned, but not publicly presented. Rebekah, the mayor, Mr. Creyf, and probably Richard Fraiman are all aware of it. To find out more, you'll have to ask one of the employees.

I think everyone recognizes that the place needs a fresh start if it's going to succeed as a business in the long term.

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[info]enochs_fable
2006-07-17 01:45 pm UTC (link)
Awesome. Well, I wish them luck!

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[info]la_ti_da
2006-07-17 01:45 pm UTC (link)
i'm curious as to what the landlord says about all this. cause isn't the rumor that he wants someday out?

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[info]ron_newman
2006-07-17 01:52 pm UTC (link)
What I heard, though I'm not sure it was at the meeting, is that Peter Creyf's new lease allows him to reassign it to someone else (such as the Someday employee co-op) if he finds a different location.

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Crepes and coffee - 2 great tastes that taste great together
[info]dirtyknees
2006-07-17 07:10 pm UTC (link)
number of people urged Peter Creyf to find a way to mesh his business with that of the Someday, to take on the Someday's employees as partners, or to take over the Someday as a current going concern and then add crêpes to the menu in the months to come

My absolute favorite neighborhood place to go when I lived in San Francisco was the Bean Bag Cafe (at Hayes and Divisadero). It was a coffeehouse with crepes in the morning and afternoon and light dinner offerings (simple pastas mostly) after 5PM (and a shorter crepe menu). The place was no bigger than the Someday. The owner treated the staff very well, and the place had a fanatical fanbase. There were a number of very similar places (many in the Haight)- all *very* successful. I lamented the lack of such places when I moved back here.

Too bad I can't plop Mr. Creyf on an airplane for a visit to check the Bean Bag out.

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[info]tumorsarah
2006-07-17 07:53 pm UTC (link)
well if someday is saved as hopefully, i am super excited that there will be a worker-run/organized business in davis square. cheers to cooperatives!

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[info]tracy_rolling
2006-07-18 01:55 am UTC (link)
Thanks for the run down. I really appreciate it.

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