Courtesy Society Fair
Update: Thursday, Feb. 7
Late Wednesday night, Society Fair co-owner Nadine Brown posted a Go Fund Me update noting that although the company had not reached its revised goal, the restaurant would stay open.
"Because of all of you and a generous landlord we will NOT be closing after service [tomorrow]. We have many changes coming and hope to be able to provide cake and gumbo for years to come."
Update: Wednesday, Feb. 6
Society Fair has lowered its Go Fund Me goal from $50,000 to $30,000 but still has a long way to go to reach it.
As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, the restaurant and food emporium had raised less than $6,000 from more than 100 donors.
In the updated Go Fund Me campaign letter, co-owner Nadine Brown provided some specifics on planned changes for Society Fair — curb-side pick up, lower prices, a kid-friendly menu, new sandwiches and much more — and provided a new closing date of this Friday, Feb. 8, if the fundraiser doesn't work.
Original story from Sunday, Feb. 3:
Society Fair has launched a Go Fund Me campaign in the hopes of staying open past this Wednesday, Feb. 6.
The fundraiser, launched Saturday, Feb. 2, is aiming to raise $50,000 to continue operations while management regroups.
Society Fair is a restaurant and gourmet food shop with a bakery, catering operation, coffee and more. It offers "Friday Night Date Bag" to-go dinners, family game nights, event space, wine-pairing dinners, a book club and more. It is located at 277 S. Washington St. in Old Town Alexandria.
Society Fair was originally the creation of famous local Chef Cathal Armstrong and the Eat Good Food Group. Armstrong sold Society Fair to longtime Restaurant Eve Chef Dan Fisher and his wife, sommelier Nadine Brown, at the end of 2017. At the time, Society Fair was already struggling, according to Brown's Go Fund Me summary.
"2018 was a difficult year to say the least. We lost some amazing staff that went on to new opportunities. We lost our catering manager who went back to her old job. We lost our beloved butcher. It has taken us almost a year to rebuild our staff. In some cases even better than it was before. Strong service minded employees. Truly hard working people like Mo or market manager. Omar who works the line and makes everyone lunch each day," Brown wrote.
"December and January with the government shutdown and record breaking temperatures were like a final one two punch. This is a unforgiving business at times and we have made mistakes. Many mistakes over the years. But we believe we have a great product and good will left in the community and many more coconut cakes to share with the world."
Brown admits trying to raise $50,000 in a matters of days is a bit of a Hail Mary attempt, but she believes Society Faire now has the staff to pull it off and a number of positive changes in the works in response to customer feedback.
The fundraiser is open now at www.gofundme.com/society-fair.
