As promised, and just under the wire, the Friends of the Cactus Cafe has submitted a business plan for the future of the Cactus Cafe. Now the question is, with UT proposing an immediate decision on the venue’s future, whether it will get a thorough hearing?
Vice-President of Student Affairs Juan Gonzalez had extended the deadline for submission of comments and feedback from April 30 to May 7, which gave the group extra time to work on their proposal. Friends co-founder Reid Nelson said this model takes the best of all possible proposals, while student representative Matt Portillo said the model “represents a ‘win’ for all groups involved – students, the community and the University.”
You can read the full plan at the Friends of the Cactus Cafe website. Here are the highlights:
1: Use the Cactus Cafe Guiding Principles defined by the Cactus Conversations.
2: Adopt a self-operating model under a “unitary operational management and accounting structure” with additional Student Event Center and KUT involvement, including relaunching Live at the Cactus Cafe. This will also involve maintaining the current management team.
3: Establish a Cactus Cafe Coordinating Committee, involving students, faculty, community members and a professional musician.
4: Keep the cafe as a venue, but also make it a real cafe again by maintaining six-day-a-week service and extending the menu with locally-supplied catering.
5: Maintain and enhance a distinct Cactus Cafe brand through better promotion, selling merchandise, and introducing social media to build and maintain a real sense of community.
6: Put the resources in place to make the cafe a “learning laboratory” with internships in venue and bar management, as well as broadcasting opportunities. Provide student discounts plus free seating during second performances.
7: Broaden student performance experiences with artist-in-residence programs, supplemented by music industry and performance workshops.
8: While the new structure should increase revenue, the plan calls to supplement any budget shortfall through fundraising and corporate sponsorships, as well as establishing a permanent Friends of the Cactus Cafe.
This article appears in May 7 • 2010.
