Building a Sustainable Community From the Ground Up With Distant Worlds Coffee
Contributor: Gigih Satya
August 16, 2021
As the pandemic have shown the importance of our local businesses for our local economy. The next step is to understand how we can build a sustainable business model that will benefit our community in the long and short run. We had a great opportunity to talk with the queer woman behind Distant Worlds Coffee; Rebecca SerVoss who shared a lot of things on how she keeps her business sustainable.
“Community. Not competition.” is what has been one of her motivations running the café for over two years. “We go all in on utilizing locally produced components whenever possible.” Said Rebecca. As soon as you walked into the café, you will see beautifully drawn murals, art pieces scattered in their walls, bathrooms, etc. that sets up the vibe of the space; are all work done by local Seattle artists. They also house beverages from our own Seeking Kombucha (a queer BIPOC owned business based in SLU) and Timber City Ginger beer just to name a few.
When the pandemic hits, it was a similar story with many other local businesses; they were devastated. “There were a lot of days where I just sit in the store alone with only one light above my head because we were trying to save as much money as possible.” But instead of giving up, she kept going. She started collaboration projects with many local businesses, artists, and events. “The size of our store is around 1700 ft2 and we had to come up with things that we can do with all the space!”
In the heart of the Roosevelt neighborhood, Distant Worlds serves as not only a café, but also a safe space for “geeks of all stripes” to meet and gather. “We’re queer, trans, and BIPOC safe geeks. Our goal is to change the general public’s view of queer people. We were always associated with bars, alcohol, things that are considered “sinful”. So, we want to create different safe space for LGBTQ+ people that will also include members under the age of 21 who can’t go to bars.”
As more and more people get vaccinated, Distant Worlds has always and will always prioritize the health and safety of their team and customers by mandating the use of mask in their store, utilizing air purifiers, and lowering their maximum capacity lower than the city’s guidance. Their commitment and focus towards providing opportunities for comradery with the people around them was what made us excited to work closely with them and providing them with the necessary tools and resources about the Seattle Labor Standard Ordinances.
Distant Worlds host many exciting events; click here follow them on Instagram to learn more.
August 16, 2021
As the pandemic have shown the importance of our local businesses for our local economy. The next step is to understand how we can build a sustainable business model that will benefit our community in the long and short run. We had a great opportunity to talk with the queer woman behind Distant Worlds Coffee; Rebecca SerVoss who shared a lot of things on how she keeps her business sustainable.
“Community. Not competition.” is what has been one of her motivations running the café for over two years. “We go all in on utilizing locally produced components whenever possible.” Said Rebecca. As soon as you walked into the café, you will see beautifully drawn murals, art pieces scattered in their walls, bathrooms, etc. that sets up the vibe of the space; are all work done by local Seattle artists. They also house beverages from our own Seeking Kombucha (a queer BIPOC owned business based in SLU) and Timber City Ginger beer just to name a few.
When the pandemic hits, it was a similar story with many other local businesses; they were devastated. “There were a lot of days where I just sit in the store alone with only one light above my head because we were trying to save as much money as possible.” But instead of giving up, she kept going. She started collaboration projects with many local businesses, artists, and events. “The size of our store is around 1700 ft2 and we had to come up with things that we can do with all the space!”
In the heart of the Roosevelt neighborhood, Distant Worlds serves as not only a café, but also a safe space for “geeks of all stripes” to meet and gather. “We’re queer, trans, and BIPOC safe geeks. Our goal is to change the general public’s view of queer people. We were always associated with bars, alcohol, things that are considered “sinful”. So, we want to create different safe space for LGBTQ+ people that will also include members under the age of 21 who can’t go to bars.”
As more and more people get vaccinated, Distant Worlds has always and will always prioritize the health and safety of their team and customers by mandating the use of mask in their store, utilizing air purifiers, and lowering their maximum capacity lower than the city’s guidance. Their commitment and focus towards providing opportunities for comradery with the people around them was what made us excited to work closely with them and providing them with the necessary tools and resources about the Seattle Labor Standard Ordinances.
Distant Worlds host many exciting events; click here follow them on Instagram to learn more.
Check out more pictures by following us on Instagram: ECCC of Seattle
