We are hard at work at Quince Coffee House, and we need your support

Quince Coffee House is a Queer,  BIPOC, Trans, and Veteran-owned and operated community space on East Colfax in Denver. We exist to offer warmth, safety, and deep connection, especially for those of us who exist at the margins.

Like many small businesses in 2026, Quince has been navigating rising costs, unpredictable revenue, and the reality that it is harder than ever to operate a community-driven space. This is especially true for us as QTBIPOC business owners and humans. We have watched with sadness as other QTBIPOC safe spaces in Denver have been forced to close their doors, which makes our effort to stabilize feel more urgent than ever. We have worked tirelessly to absorb and cover our expenses, keep our doors open with very small margins, support and pay our staff fairly. Especially under the pressure of this hostile economic and political environment and lack of funding and job opportunities, we are proud to have been able to support a network of staff, vendors, artists, tenants, and community groups. However, over time, the financial strain and unexpected expenses have accumulated to a point where we must look to our community for support.

Recently, we hit two major challenges at once:

• A Transition In the House: Joy as Resistance, our incredible upstairs tenant and an amazing nonprofit that provided therapy, programming, and mentorship for queer and trans youth was faced with their own hardships and had to end operations at the beginning of 2026. While we are devastated by this loss for our community, we are now stepping into the opportunity to transition our upstairs space into a new hub for therapists, coaches, and healers that we plan to open in late June 2026. We are also facing significant repairs to our basement unit to be a more accessible multiuse space.  However, this transition has created an unexpected gap in our monthly income over the past few months, totaling over $13,000 in lost rental income and $5000 in emergency repairs. 

• Navigating The Colfax (BRT) Bus Corridor Construction: Like many businesses on Colfax, we are feeling the weight of the Colfax Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) construction. While we are genuinely excited for the increased accessibility and transit equity that this project will eventually bring, the current reality involves significant daily disruption. With an unpredictable completion timeline and a noticeable impact on foot traffic, this construction has added another layer of financial uncertainty to our operations. We have lost 10% in monthly sales since construction began in January 2026, another $12,000 in losses that continue to accumulate. Unfortunately, this does not qualify us for city grants to subsidize the impact and thus have shouldered the loss directly. 

We are doing everything we can to adapt, and we have a solid plan on the horizon to sustain Quince for the long term. In the meantime, we are asking for your help to ease the immediate financial pressure on us.

Your support will directly help us:

• Cover mounting expenses and close the temporary income gap.

• Ensure consistent payroll for our staff and reliable payments to our vendors while the new upstairs space gets up and running.

• Fund essential building repairs that have been put on hold.

• Prepare the upstairs community space with the small updates and repairs needed to welcome our new practitioners.

What we have been doing so far and what comes next: 

We continue to do what we can and exhausting our efforts:. Working multiple jobs and putting in our own funding to carry us, doing repairs ourselves, applying for and receiving grants, increasing catering and event rentals, and graciously accepting assistance from family and friends. In addition to monetary support, you can help keep our house a welcoming home by:

• Spread the word! 

• Attend our events, bring a friend! Stay tuned for more opportunities to support!

• Help with renovations, moving and cleaning

• Hire us for catering and rent our space for our events

• CoWork with us in our newly updated Treehouse Commons!

We are launching this campaign with a goal of $35,000 before July 31. While our expenses exceed our request, this amount covers our most immediate needs. Your support means the world to us, no matter the amount! The funds will be used with the utmost intention to stabilize our operations, protect our team, and help get us through this challenging season. 

Thank you,

The Quince Coffee House Team