Wowser is delighted to announce that The Community Foundation of Mendocino County has awarded Wowser a $6000 grant to equip the youth-driven micro-business, Espresso Yourself Café.

The members-only coffee shop will open on June 15^th inside Wowser.  Espresso Yourself Cafe is a project of 17-year old Wowser member, Tara Logan.  The business is self-contained in a gypsy wagon type structure inside the 20,000 square foot Makerspace.  It will serve members Thanksgiving Coffee, Mendocino Tea Lady Tea, along with locally made food items.

As a part of her preparation, Tara has taken Business Management classes at Mendocino College.  She has found mentors, and with the help of the West Company, Thanksgiving Coffee, Brickhouse Coffee, Patricia Baumann, Kitty Norris, and Wowser members, she has brought this forward to near completion and opening. The Café will be open nightly from 6pm to 10pm and will be open to all Wowser members. And for added entertainment, there will be scheduled live music and  ‘open mic’ evenings.

The grant funds are coming from the Community Foundation’s Community Endowment Fund which is a collection of permanent, undesignated endowment funds, the income from which supports annual grants for the enrichment of local communities. Donors to the Community Endowment Fund understand that this is a permanent and flexible way to ensure their donations are used where the needs and opportunities are greatest.

This is Wowser’s first collaborative project with a member. This is one way the non-profit makerspace fosters economic development within the community. Young Wowser members will be eligible to work as interns, with all aspects of the coffee shop being accounted for by the teens running the Café.

Megan Barber Allende of the Community Foundation says, “It’s exciting to support the efforts of local youth to create a positive meeting space for young people in a location where they can be stimulated to explore their creativity and to follow their dreams – while furthering our goal of economic development in the County.”

“I’m grateful for the support of the Community Foundation of Mendocino County. It’s a thrill to see what started out as an idea turn into a real business,” says Espresso Yourself’s Tara Logan. “The vision is to provide a safe, drug-free space for kids of all ages to hangout during the evening. Please come join us!”

Wowser has an INCREDIBLE discount membership special running from now until June 15^th. For more information and to sign up, please visit: http://wowser.org/special/.