Mugshot Coffee House Support

Mugshot has been a staple for my family since moving to Santa Clarita in 2016. It had become a tradition to start every Saturday morning by coming in for coffee, (Hot Cocoa for the kids), and breakfast before starting our day. We were so sad to learn that this Wednesday (March 29, 2017) they will be closing their doors due to a horrible situation outside his control. Another Gofundme had been started but was taken down, so I am starting this one because we want to support them however we can. I am asking for our community to come together and support David and his family in keeping Mugshot's doors open, or use the funds to open the coffeehouse in a new location, so they can continue their dream as well as being a staple and small business in the SCV which will help our community thrive. This is what Dave posted about the situation on Mugshot's Facebook: "First of all I'd like to thank everyone that shared in the love of coffee. These last eight months have been amazing. A few already know the whole story and I feel everyone is entitled to some level of privacy. Just like the cat, curiosity gets the best of us. That being said I will share my story. I've been in the coffee industry for 14 years now. My dream has been to open a coffee shop. And that's exactly what I did. The journey began like any other couple that wanted to start their own business. We used our savings. We went to the bank. We used any and all methods to make this dream come true. We hit our first hurdle with our contractor when he stopped showing up for the job after demolition was done and money was spent. That set me back a few months for the opening date. We pushed on, knowing that setbacks can and will happen. The next hurdle came from our Landlord. We were told to put our sign up within 30 days or we would be in breach of our lease agreement. We were fortunate to be on the corner which required not one but two signs. We pushed on. Business was doing enough to break even since day one. Which we are so grateful for. We had only the community of Santa Clarita to thank for that. The next hurdle came along when we were told we had to make a few changes to our kitchen before we could serve food. You know the saying, it takes money to make money. Now on to the juicy details that everyone seems to be eager to know about. With all of these hurdles going on, yes I ended up being late on rent a few times. It was paid, but not on time. Say what you want about not having a contingency plan. Sometimes we are waiting for Friday to come so that check we've been waiting for can go to those bills. At this point in the few months we've been open is exactly where we were. Living paycheck to paycheck as I have experienced in my life, long before opening my own business. Let's fast forward to February. It began just like any other day, sun shining, coffee grinding as we all wake up to enjoy our daily cup of coffee. A sheriff shows up with some open mail letting me know that some people have been breaking into the mailboxes outside. I took comfort in the security that if any checks were stolen, the person expecting the money would contact me and I would cancel the check. Well, March came along and I paid rent as usual. This time I received a letter explaining that my rent for March will be applied to February since I have not paid. This letter of course came along with their standard, "you have 3 days to pay or we will follow with sub section so and so per lease agreement." I contacted the person that handles the property since we have never been able to get in touch with the actual Landlord. I explained that the cashiers check was sent out, they didn't receive it and I now cancelled in with the bank. I will not be getting my funds right away, but I can make payments. Once again no response. I sent money regardless. Then on Tuesday of this past week we were served with a 3 day notice to pay or quit. I was finally able to speak to someone on the phone. Their response was, "the Landlord does not wish to negotiate a payment plan." Not only was the payment for rent on there, but also late fees on late fees including fees last year. After adding all that together it came out to now owing double my rent. I can understand the Landlord's decision not to want to settle. I'm sure he now sees this business as a liability. I have attempted to work out payment without success. There you have it. A boy who grew up in the foster system scraped up what he could get and followed the American Dream. Could I have done things a bit differently? Could I have opened elsewhere? We can speculate all day but it changes nothing. Do I wish to stay open? Yes. Am I willing to relocate? Absolutely. When asked if I would sell equipment to make some of the money back, I did say that was an option. But it is not my first choice. I'd like to thank everyone that came in every morning. And everyday of course. I enjoyed our daily chats. Thank you to all the people that had the chance to see my daughter and wife. Thank you for asking how my day has been and genuinely mean it. Thank you for reminding me how amazing this community is. Thank you, David Alfaro" Let us band together and keep Mugshot and the Alfaro dreams alive!!