Greenbelt’s New Deal Cafe now has a monthly e-newsletter and I’m posting them here, too – because the Cafe is our Living Room and Night Spot. Selfishly, it’s very important in my life.

So I teamed up with manager Heather Brooks to create e-newsletters and it’s been fun – the perfect volunteer gig for me. More jobs they need volunteers for are listed below. The Cafe’s a great community to become more a part of.

New This Week

Cafe Now Open Monday Mornings

Starting June 12th, we’re open from 7 to 10 a.m. on Mondays for coffee, bagels, and pastries. Now the Café can be a regular weekday stop.

Kids Menu – New

– Kids hamburger w/ fries or chips $5.95
– Chicken tenders w/fries or chips $5.95
– Grilled cheese w/fries or chips $5.95
– Spaghetti w/ or w/o meatballs $5.95
– Peanut butter and jam sandwich $1
– Mac and cheese $4.95

The Cafe has a Blog

In this post manager Heather brooks describes the process of selecting and pricing new items for the menu, in this case breakfast. Turns out there’s a lot to it. More behind-the-scenes posts are on their way.

Financial Report for May

Great news! Total sales income was $52,339, waaaay up from previous months – $39,024 in March and $38,197 in April.

On the expense side, payroll was down to $22,258 in May, compared to just over $24,000 in March and April. Other expenses were $33,327 in May, compared with just under $33,000 in March and April.

Bottom line for May: an operating loss of $2,164, down from $17,660 in March and $18,294 in May. So we’re much closer to breaking even.

Espresso Coming, with a Little More Help

As you saw in our financial report, the Cafe has made tremendous strides but isn’t quite breaking even yet. That means we can’t use operating funds for the espresso operation, but are depending on donations to our Go Fund Me campaign to make that happen. We have a little over $3,000 in the fund now and need another $1,000 to buy what needs to come first – a new counter that will accommodate espresso. Then we could get started by leasing an espresso machine while we raise more funds to buy one.

Looking for a Few Good Volunteers

If you have any of these skills or interests, please contact Heather via social@newdealcafe.com.

• Creating graphics.
• Distributing flyers.
• Using social media.
• Fixing stuff (maintenance and handyman skills).
• Barista experience.
• Preparing for events.
• During events: bussing tables, cleaning up, checking bathrooms, etc.
• Helping the Cafe´ access various goods at reduced cost or free.

Volunteers clockwise from upper left are: Will putting legs on the furniture on Easter Sunday; Jade (daughter of manager Heather Brooks) with the mandala masterpiece she stenciled onto the wall; Alicia, Michael, and Frank helping solve a sudden leak on the iciest day of the year; and Lori fixing a lamp during a clean-up effort on Easter Sunday.

Cafe´ volunteers keep things running in many more ways – as sound technicians for our musicians, even as managers, helping to keep the place rolling on a daily basis. We appreciate all of them!.

Post a Positive Review

Please post your positive experiences at the Cafe as reviews on these important sites: TripAdvisor, Google, and Yelp (in order of their importance). It’s easy to compose and simply copy the text onto each site.

Bring your Church Group to the Café for Brunch Sunday Mornings

We offer a full buffet AND $5 Mimosa from 10 to 2:00 every Sunday.

Please Tip our Friendly Staff

Tips make a big difference to our staff, enabling them to be a part of the New Deal community they love. Counter and service employees are paid a “tipped wage,” which means that your tips do two things – provide a higher livable wage for the employees and reduce the Café’s payroll overhead. (Employees are guaranteed a wage – above minimum wage – that’s a combination of salary and tips. So the more tips, the less of their pay comes from the Cafe’s operating funds.)

So please tip our wait staff and counter employees using the tip jar on the front-room counter! Money placed in tip containers on the tables is exclusively for the performers.

Pictured, Raul Baptiste mans the counter.

Cool Happenings in May

Greenbelt’s first-ever Cabaret brought to the Cafe´ professional-quality performers and a very appreciative audience. It was such a hit, we hope to bring hostess D’Amanda Martini and friends back soon. She’s pictured here on the left, with Mad Hatter bartender Alicia Deligianis and one of the many great performers.

In May the Cafe´ also hosted evening events for two very popular local festivals – Green Man and Crazy Quilt. It wouldn’t be spring in Greenbelt without them!

Written by Susan Harris and Heather Brooks.