$5,678 raised
·37 donations
4 Women Opening a Café Bookstore Need Your Help!
Donation protected
Hello Lovelies! Our short story is simple… Four women opening a café bookstore in a small Washington town. A 100 year old building with no power/water/heat, collapsing ceilings, asbestos scares, high priced building materials, and a plethora of necessary equipment have taken a toll on our bank account. We need a little help to reach the last page of this construction novel and start a shiny new book called Lemon Hill Café & Bookstore! For our long story, and further details about us and how the money will be spent, please keep reading!
To those whom I haven’t met yet, my name is Jennifer Skoglund. I started Lemon Hill Catering in 2007 at a time when I had a job I didn’t care for and a dream forming in my daily thoughts. The original dream was to own a bakery, but as I also don’t care for early mornings, it evolved into the desire to have my own restaurant. One that embodied warmth and comfort… on every plate, in every interaction, and in the ambiance of the place itself. I gave up my medical job and started as a cook in Seattle’s Boat Street Kitchen & Bistro. I had 14 wonderful, draining, and inspiring years there before Covid finally forced us to close our doors in late 2020.
When Boat Street closed, I was downhearted and burnt out and thought I never wanted to cook again! My awesome family (who have always supported this dream) buoyed my spirits and hassled me constantly about moving to a small town in the middle of nowhere and finally opening my own place. Everyone offered to pitch in… my mom, Laura; sisters Heather Sande and Michelle Skoglund; nephews Robert and Jacob; and brother-in-law, James. We decided the timing really was right despite the pandemic and so we jumped in feet first!
Now, 15 years later, in the most unexpected way and at a surprising time to be starting a new adventure, Lemon Hill will finally have a brick and mortar home! Our own tiny space full of windows and sunlight to create something lovely! We are indescribably excited to start this next chapter in our lives, which will give us a solid home and allow us to serve you with a café space, laden bookshelves, and a comfortable place to meet your fellow food lovers. While we have been working feverishly to financially prepare for everything we need to open a small restaurant, several unknown and unavoidable barriers have popped up and we need your support to allow us to complete our dream.
Our biggest hurdle has been putting a commercial kitchen into a century old office building that wasn’t set up for the plumbing and electrical pull a restaurant requires… even a tiny one. The electrical work alone is going to be upwards of $11,000 dollars. That is our entire book and pantry-stocking budget... gone! We also need a few thousand dollars to build the bookshelves, a service bar, and a wall to separate the kitchen from the dining room. We have been working very hard to do all the work ourselves, but we simply have to hire an electrician. Our hope is to not have to take out another loan and your generosity can carry us on towards our goal of opening in March, without massive debt.
I have been honored to serve so many people both personally and through Boat Street. I care for people through food and this is the best way for me to express my love. As we take this big leap, our goals are just that… pour our love into everything we do. We are thrilled to plant our roots in Montesano and look forward to feeding our community in more ways than one. We truly want this space to feel like your favorite neighborhood gem. We are asking you to make it yours with a donation of any size, so that we can to serve you good books, excellent food, and never-ending cookies.
Please consider helping us. And in case we didn’t say this already, we love you all dearly!
*Our sincere apologies, but no raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or returns on investment are offered in exchange for any donations made to our GoFundMe.
To those whom I haven’t met yet, my name is Jennifer Skoglund. I started Lemon Hill Catering in 2007 at a time when I had a job I didn’t care for and a dream forming in my daily thoughts. The original dream was to own a bakery, but as I also don’t care for early mornings, it evolved into the desire to have my own restaurant. One that embodied warmth and comfort… on every plate, in every interaction, and in the ambiance of the place itself. I gave up my medical job and started as a cook in Seattle’s Boat Street Kitchen & Bistro. I had 14 wonderful, draining, and inspiring years there before Covid finally forced us to close our doors in late 2020.
When Boat Street closed, I was downhearted and burnt out and thought I never wanted to cook again! My awesome family (who have always supported this dream) buoyed my spirits and hassled me constantly about moving to a small town in the middle of nowhere and finally opening my own place. Everyone offered to pitch in… my mom, Laura; sisters Heather Sande and Michelle Skoglund; nephews Robert and Jacob; and brother-in-law, James. We decided the timing really was right despite the pandemic and so we jumped in feet first!
Now, 15 years later, in the most unexpected way and at a surprising time to be starting a new adventure, Lemon Hill will finally have a brick and mortar home! Our own tiny space full of windows and sunlight to create something lovely! We are indescribably excited to start this next chapter in our lives, which will give us a solid home and allow us to serve you with a café space, laden bookshelves, and a comfortable place to meet your fellow food lovers. While we have been working feverishly to financially prepare for everything we need to open a small restaurant, several unknown and unavoidable barriers have popped up and we need your support to allow us to complete our dream.
Our biggest hurdle has been putting a commercial kitchen into a century old office building that wasn’t set up for the plumbing and electrical pull a restaurant requires… even a tiny one. The electrical work alone is going to be upwards of $11,000 dollars. That is our entire book and pantry-stocking budget... gone! We also need a few thousand dollars to build the bookshelves, a service bar, and a wall to separate the kitchen from the dining room. We have been working very hard to do all the work ourselves, but we simply have to hire an electrician. Our hope is to not have to take out another loan and your generosity can carry us on towards our goal of opening in March, without massive debt.
I have been honored to serve so many people both personally and through Boat Street. I care for people through food and this is the best way for me to express my love. As we take this big leap, our goals are just that… pour our love into everything we do. We are thrilled to plant our roots in Montesano and look forward to feeding our community in more ways than one. We truly want this space to feel like your favorite neighborhood gem. We are asking you to make it yours with a donation of any size, so that we can to serve you good books, excellent food, and never-ending cookies.
Please consider helping us. And in case we didn’t say this already, we love you all dearly!
*Our sincere apologies, but no raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or returns on investment are offered in exchange for any donations made to our GoFundMe.
Donations
Organizer
Jennifer Skoglund
Organizer
Montesano, WA