The household behind two areas of the Portland, Oregon-area espresso store chain Jim & Patty’s Espresso Folks launched a $250,000 Gofundme marketing campaign to avoid wasting the enterprise because it faces mounting debt.

The crowdfunding marketing campaign is the most recent chapter in a espresso story that dates again greater than 50 years, when Jim Roberts and Patty Cates Roberts tasted their first sips of fresh-roasted espresso at Jeff Ferguson’s The Espresso Bean (later to turn out to be Espresso Bean Worldwide).

The married couple would ultimately go on to steer Espresso Folks, a beloved Northwest espresso chain all through the Nineteen Eighties and Nineties that turned a significant regional competitor to Starbucks.

After promoting espresso folks to former Second Cup subsidiary Gloria Jean’s, Jim and Patty launched Jim & Patty’s Espresso Folks in 2002, rising to 4 neighborhood espresso store areas across the Portland space.

Jim Roberts, who can be usually credited with creating the primary drive-through espresso store within the U.S., died final yr on the age of 74.

As we speak, there are two company-owned Jim and Patty’s areas, one on Fremont in Portland and one other in Beaverton. A 3rd location in Forest Heights is owned by a separate entity and isn’t related to the fundraising marketing campaign.

“Our two shops are operating properly, and we now have the sweetest, hardest working crew on the town,” the marketing campaign states. “We misplaced our beloved Jim, however his imaginative and prescient nonetheless guides us, and Patty is again within the shops. Day by day our tables are full and the vibes are good. But when we are able to’t trim overhead and debt quickly, we might be pressured to shut our doorways… Our household is set to not let this occur with no combat.”

As of this writing, the Gofundme to avoid wasting the household espresso enterprise had collected simply over $26,000 in direction of the $250,000 objective.

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