My name is Kelli Lemon, and I’m the owner of Urban Hang Suite, a community café in the heart of Richmond, Virginia at the intersection of downtown, the arts district and historic Jackson Ward neighborhood.

For the past eight years, Urban Hang Suite has been more than a coffee shop. It has been a place for people to meet, work, eat, create, build relationships and simply hang. We’ve employed hundreds of people over the years, supported other local businesses and creatives, filled our walls with local Black art, hosted countless conversations and events, and created a space that has become home to a lot of people.

This October, Urban Hang Suite celebrates eight years at 304 E. Broad Street. It’s a milestone I’m incredibly proud of, but we’re also facing one of the toughest financial seasons we’ve experienced since opening our doors.

The last several years have brought challenge after challenge — from COVID and changes throughout downtown Richmond to rising operating costs, winter storms and a citywide water crisis that forced us to close and resulted in significant lost revenue. When you’re a small independent business operating on tight margins, those setbacks don’t just disappear when the doors reopen.

So I’m jumping back into the day-to-day operation of the Suite and making significant changes to strengthen the business. We’ve adjusted pricing, reduced expenses, introduced a new menu, expanded our catering focus and added THE HANGOUT on Tuesdays and Thursdays to create additional opportunities for people to gather and support the business.

And we’re already seeing people respond.

Regulars are coming back. People are traveling to see us. And we’re meeting new customers who are discovering Urban Hang Suite for the first time.

I’m raising funds to help us build on that momentum — stabilizing the business, addressing existing financial obligations, creating some much-needed working capital, investing in equipment and operational improvements, and growing the catering and hospitality side of Urban Hang Suite so we can build a more sustainable future.

We’ve made it eight years.

This campaign is about giving everything we’ve got to make it to year nine — and beyond.

Come Hang So We Can Save the Suite.