Help Keep Café CODA Alive!

The Story Behind Café CODA

Café CODA is more than a jazz club. It’s a place where musicians have a stage, music lovers discover new sounds, artists can share their gifts, and where people come together through a shared love of music and culture.

Operating an independent jazz club in Madison, Wisconsin, has never been easy. The audience for a dedicated jazz venue is relatively small, and the costs of running a live music business continue regardless of how many people walk through the door on any given night.

Behind every performance are planning, staffing, equipment, and countless hours of work that most patrons never see. Despite these challenges, we’ve continued fighting to preserve a place for jazz and live music in our community.

But today, we're facing one of the most difficult chapters in Café CODA's history.

When Financial Hardship Meets a Health Crisis

For several months, Café CODA has been struggling to stay financially sustainable. We’ve worked to keep the business moving forward, sought opportunities for support, and continued serving our community even when the financial margins were painfully thin.

We were promised the support from the Madison City Council that we believed would help us navigate our challenges. Unfortunately, that support did not come through. For a business that was already struggling to get by, the situation surrounding the tragedy of Corey Ruiz was a setback that put us further behind and left us with even fewer resources to work with.

At the heart of this space is the owner Hanah Jon Taylor, who has devoted years of hard work, sacrifice, and determination to keeping Café CODA alive. Throughout this period, Hanah has continued carrying the weight of the business and the stress that comes with trying to keep it afloat.

And now, Hanah is experiencing medical challenges that require him to step away from his day-to-day management responsibilities for a while so he can focus on his health.

His son, Gabriel, is stepping forward to take on Hanah's responsibilities and help lead Café CODA through this difficult transition. Our family is committed to doing everything we can to keep the business operating.

But we cannot ignore the reality of the situation.

The financial challenges we were already facing, the loss of the support we had hoped to secure, and the need to restructure our operations during Hanah's medical leave have brought us to a critical point.

Why We're Asking for Your Support

Asking for help is not easy, especially after spending years trying to make things work through determination, hard work, and sacrifice.

But Café CODA is worth fighting for!

Our goal is to raise funds that will help us address the club's most urgent financial obligations, keep essential operations moving during this leadership transition, and give Café CODA a genuine opportunity to stabilize and continue serving the Madison community through the CODA Mobile, Cool School & other outreach initiatives.

Every dollar raised will help us work toward that goal.

How You Can Help

If Café CODA has ever given you a memorable night, introduced you to an incredible musician, provided a stage for your art, or offered you a place to connect with others, we ask you to consider giving back in whatever way you can.

Here's how you can make a difference:

❤️ Donate: Every contribution, regardless of size, helps us work toward keeping our doors open.

Share this campaign: You may know someone who loves jazz, supports independent businesses, or believes that local music venues deserve a future. Sharing our story helps us reach them.

Support our events: Come out for live music, purchase tickets, bring a friend, and help sustain the venue through continued patronage.

Spread the word: If you have connections, resources, or ideas that could help an independent music venue navigate this difficult period, we would be grateful to hear from you.

No contribution is too small, and we understand that not everyone is in a position to give financially. Your encouragement, your presence, and your willingness to share our story also matter.

Help Us Keep the Music Playing

We cannot promise what the future holds, but we can promise that we are going to fight for every opportunity to keep Café CODA alive.

We’re asking our community, friends, supporters, fellow artists, and everyone who believes in the importance of live music to stand with us during this difficult time.

With gratitude and hope,

Anna Taylor

Café CODA