T
Money the Root of Evil at 210
Opened 15 years ago, Cafe 210 is a community gathering space available to anyone in Visalia. It’s open five days a week at 210 West Center Avenue in the heart of Visalia in a former night club. And for now it serves a range of drinks and snacks, and provides a comfortable place to enjoy them.
The space itself is not closing. It will remain open to the groups who gather there, but patrons may have to bring their own nourishment, said Pastor Dan Birchfield. We’ll know more soon.
“It might close. The elders aren’t going to officially make that decision until Saturday, October 19,” Birchfield said. “Then we’ll make that announcement public, whatever it is, at our congregational meeting on October 20.”
It will be a tough call to make. But the cafe is too often operating in the red to continue on this path.
“This is a very gut-wrenching decision for our leadership,” Birchfield said. “We’re just annually losing too much money to keep it open.”
210 may be a late victim of the COVID-19 quarantines. Pastor Birchfield said keeping the food service operating at 210 has cost the church around $60,000 for each of the last three years. And that forces the church to dip into its cash reserves to pay its employees.
“The church has had to pull from its own funds for tomorrow,” the pastor said. “We just can’t do that if we want to have funds for tomorrow.”
Longtime Employees Hope to Stay at 210
The mood among Cafe 210’s six employees is one of unease. While the decision has yet to be made, they understand the financial reality facing the church leadership.
“That’s the direction they’re going, it kind of sounds like,” Perez said.
However, the job search hasn’t started yet either. All six of the part-timers would prefer to keep their places, of course. For now, they’re waiting.
“There’s just a lot of uncertainties at the moment,” Perez said.
They’re proud, she said, of the services and space Cafe 210 provides to so many people.
“We all would like to stay here,” said Perez. “It’s a place of community, and we’ve all been here quite some time. It would be really sad to see it go.”
Cafe 210 Remains Open to the Public
Cafe 210 isn’t going anywhere. The community center will stay open to the groups that meet there, even though comestibles might no longer be available for sale there.
“We aren’t closing 210, the space,” Birchfield said. “Any group that officially meets there is more than welcome to continue to meet there. There’s just not going to be food and beverage provided.”
It depends on the church elders’ decision. They must consider the future of the First Presbyterian Church of Visalia first. The cafe must come second, the pastor said.
“We ventured into this nearly 15 years ago, and it just never been a situation where we’ve been able to even just break even,” said Birchfield. “So it’s a wonderful idea with a wonderful premise behind it to create a space that is connected to a church to enjoy, whether it’s a Christian fellowship or just a gathering.”
The problem is the cash flow. Or rather the problem is the lack of sufficient cash flow.
If the church is forced by circumstances to end food vending at Cafe 210. There may be an alternative plan put in place. Cafe 210’s food service could be taken over by a vendor. But it’s been difficult to find a reliable one.
“We are open to that,” Birchfield said. “Over the years there have been conversations. Sometimes those got close. Otherwise they didn’t.”