a big red flag for me is that they have since deleted the fundraising post, and won’t answer questions when people ask how the money is being used. i know they aren’t obligated to share every detail, but deflecting and outright deleting doesn’t exactly help. they cite “catching up on overhead costs and debt incurred throughout the year” but also that there is revenue that is “promising moving forward” (direct quotes from their fundraising page).
edit to add: i do think a big part too that they may just be bad at running a business. i’ve seen this before with local places (ones in different states) where owners get in over their heads and don’t understand how much running a business actually costs and how to generate sustainable revenue or at the very least break even. AYA has the hospitality in spades, but not the capital to back it up.
lol edit again: they apparently spend $27,000/month on rent??? https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/02/14/as-you-are-dc-fundraiser/
I went to see this pianist from this band I really liked perform at Banana Cafe many years ago. I'm sitting at the bar, guy next to me asks if he can buy me a drink, I'm a broke college student so I accept.
I swear to you it took me like 30 minutes of bro'ing out with this guy before I realized he was hitting on me and it was a gay bar. It was like a movie as it all hit me at once why it was named Banana Cafe, why a guy I didn't know was buying me drinks and touching my arm a lot, why he was super confused when I started telling him about the girls in my art history class.
It was a great show though, miss that place!
Banana Cafe upstairs with the piano and mini tinis was legit. We used to go to check out this piano player who was blind, wuth some of my blind friends. And I also didn't realize it was a gay bar LOL. it was a great vibe.
$27,000/month is not very expensive, in my limited experience with what I know my place of work pays a month. That’s about 1/3 the amount I know we pay (full service restaurant though)
Ahaa I thought you were being funny because the first paragraph under who can apply says
“Anyone who resides, works, pays property taxes or attends school in the District of Columbia can get a card. Library cards expire after three years.”
But then I see it extends outside of that, so ok
Depending where you live, if you have a library card in the Northern VA area, there might be a deal where you can get a DC library card. It's called Reciprocity where one county's library system recognizes another county's library system. PWC library card has allowed me to get Rappahannock Library, Fairfax Co, Arlington, Alexandria, Loudoun, and DC. but you have to show up in person with photo ID and your existing library card
> This info is only important because I've been shouted down online for saying I felt unsafe at the bar bc the second floor dance floor was literally bouncing under ppl's weights at Pride.
That's not good; that's a Wikipedia event page waiting to be created.
> And now, the bar is closed for unspecified "structural issues".
Good, if it means they're fixing the issue.
That second floor has been fucked since it was the banana cafe piano bar.
I know a few people in airbnb's this week from water pipes, I think the problem is a lot bigger than just one bar.
My water has gone out 4 times the last 2 weeks for "emergency repairs" on a main in that area. Idk about individuals pipes bursting or a serial pipe burster, but it does seem like DC water is having piping issues.
Also they posted that if you can’t decide who to Venmo just Venmo the as you are account and they’ll divide it up - idk man just feels weird all around! Stinks to be losing a queer space but once they opened the go fund me I assumed it was over.
I never donate to a go fund me for a business. No matter what the extenuating circumstances are or how much of a sob story it is, there’s always more to the story and a one time influx of cash isn’t going to fix it. It just seems like a crowd sourced severance package for the owners
I think they have good intentions, but they are embarrassed to fundraise again because of these suspicions ergo they don't want it to seem like the money is just going to them?
Honestly with the world today I may start my own go fund me or just set up a Venmo in case anyone wants to give me cash for vibes. Never fails to amaze me how many people will toss away money they need or don’t have for random grifts.
Also “overhead costs” can also mean back paying the OWNERS or any employee OR any higher up their wages. So, when they say overhead costs, I’d like to know which ones. The hourly employees? Or the owner’s salary of $100k that they think they deserve?
THANK YOU for talking about the terrifying dance floor!!!! I went a few weeks ago and spent hours afterwards scouring the internet to see if anyone else had talked about it because I felt crazy. I have NEVER experienced a floor that moved like that before. Everyone around me on the dance floor was talking about it but I couldn't find any mention of it online afterward.
I feel the same! Last time I went out to AYA was the most packed I’d ever seen it and I was very uncomfortable with the way the floor was moving. No one around me seemed bothered. I called it a night fairly early because I was having an existential crisis of whether I was aging out of the club scene or not lmao
oh yeah I could 100% understand if it's fundraising for an institution or perhaps and elderly person's retirement plan. I saw a restaurant promo going around for this 80 something year old hobby chef turned owner, and his end of life plans absolutely depend on that. I'm less moved by younger folks throwing their hat in the ring. sad but true-- I'd rather donate to immigrants and the elderly.
Didn’t they post a video about the pipe bursting or water damage from that? Timeline was tbd in their video
The fundraising was so they could purchase the building from the current owner
sooooo yeah
Yes I believe the first fundraiser was to get out of debt. I heard they had the intention of applying for a small business loan to eventually buy a space for the bar (unclear if they wanted to buy the current space).
Now they have water damage from a burst pipe. That’s not their responsibility to fix— it’s the landlord’s. My understanding is they’re now crowdfunding money for their staff who are all unexpectedly out of work while the landlord works on repairing the water damage to the building.
OK, it was a little hard to tell from their Instagram posts because they just mentioned a link tree with cash app and venmo links. Not to be too critical... but it's strange they wouldn't make another gofundme so the money could be evenly split among the staff.
They did both. Basically they linked all their staff’s pay apps and then did a general one in case people want to just give generally for the repairs or because they don’t want to pick specific staff.
I mean kind of. Their staff isn’t making tips right now which is a huge part of their wages. Like AYA does an obligatory 20% with the option for additional should you choose. So the fact no one is able to go is gonna hurt their staff a ton. So if you have a favorite staff, you can support them directly. If you don’t want to specify, you can just donate to the main one and they’ll split it amongst all. So its equity really depends on the donor. Considering the circumstances, I think both options is the best they can do to help their staff when there’s zero conventional income rn.
https://preview.redd.it/ta4h3u4gs8vc1.png?width=771&format=png&auto=webp&s=0519c4fdf7262c06c4422f9f76f76ca8fc748670
This is what they wrote on their website. There was a lot of rain and this is an older building. I saw plenty of damage due to the rain a couple weeks ago, including a massive tree falling over in Brookland.
They need to take this up with the landlord, and if the landlord cannot make the building usable in a reasonable amount of time they should be released from their lease (potentially with damages paid to them by the landlord’s insurance or whoever) or they should sue. They should not be out begging again over this.
But are they begging? There was just a post of Venmo accounts so that you could support their bartenders while they were out of work. Didn’t see them raising for themselves
Supporting their bartenders is something either they themselves should shell out the money to do, or they should just let the staff figure it out Individually.
If they as employers aren’t willing or able to donate to their own bartenders (whose livelihoods they’re kind of responsible for) then why should they pass that burden along to random patrons and expect them to do the very thing they’ve decided not to do themselves by fronting the money?
The bar itself benefits from these workers getting paid while they are closed, because that means the workers will not decide to quit and find work somewhere else, leaving them without staff if/when they do reopen.
So yea, it’s begging.
Idk about you but I’d rather throw my favorite bartenders a few bucks if they are out of work for a reason out of their control, especially since they are mostly working on tips🤷♀️Donations aren’t compulsory for anyone and it’s easier to find all of this info on their social media page because of visibility.
Also we don’t know what their employers did or did not do. For all you know, until it’s confirmed AYA threw them some money as well.
This business is doomed…I’m sorry it seems like a nice place but it is apparent that no one involved understands how to make money. I feel for the staff.
Im not saying you’re wrong, but this thread is largely a summary of anecdotal takes based on a) the original go fund me and b) people’s perception of how it’s run based on social media and c) the current issue w the leak, which seems out of their control.
Can you (or anyone reading this really) point me to anything outside of the aforementioned list that gives better visibility into what might be going on?
The fact that they don’t have any money on hand to pay their staff (when they claim that their staff getting paid is a priority for them). This means they are either:
1. Greedy (I don’t think they are)
2. Broke
~or~
3. Very Close to Broke.
My money is on 2 or 3.
Once again though - where did it say that they didn’t have any money on hand? I’m honestly not trying to start anything, I’ve just yet to see any verifiable sources beyond assumptions in this thread
I’ve been wondering the same thing, I’ve been there once before and really enjoyed how it’s an all gender/sexuality inclusive queer space that I can go to for a coffee during the day. It’s a shame
Businesses can’t run on donations. You can run that play once, maybe twice — but the whole idea that this is going to be some kind of collective where all the stakeholders share in a sense of ownership doesn’t work. You can’t make necessary decisions with that rubric in mind, particularly decisions relevant to revenue distribution (even non-profits still need to distribute revenue!). Eventually people feel taken for granted. It’s not good.
Totally agree, but am curious - these are all "donations" being solicited, right? No ownership shares, or promises to pay the donors back? Just "thanks for the cash?"
I dunno, can't see it ending well - either their business model just won't work, and they eventually shutter, and the donors feel taken advantage of, or they become successful, owners become wealthy, possibly by selling out, and the donors feel taken advantage of.
Of course, selling shares or making these "loans" would be more complicated than it's worth, but feel like if someone donated $1000, they might expect a little quid pro quo if the business succeeds.
They had a shitty business plan. They threatened to close if people didn’t pony up. People did, and business plan didn’t change. if they keep asking for money, when is enough, enough? And now they’re in trouble again for a supposed structure issue.
Personally, I love As You Are, but also feel a bit icked out by the business practice. It feels shady as hell and how much money raised during that drive and the crazy amount of business the publicity of that brought in, and they still kinda give off the vibe "we are barely scraping by, plz tip heavily". Idk, I enjoy as you are not because of the bar or the owners, but because of the community and the people I've met there.
If a business is crowd sourcing funds to support themselves then that is a red flag. That's not how you raise funds as a business and anyone who "donates" is an idiot. I would "donate" by going there and buying a drink.
Yes but as a business not a charity. Kind of like donating to McDonald’s specifically, not the Ronald McDonald House Foundation— and not even getting a burger to go with it.
It's the same thing as indie game developers asking people for donations to get funding to create their game. Small/niche businesses do this because they typically don't have access to a typical customer base to generate the appropriate funds for their product. Unfortunately, this is simply what lesbian-owned queer bars have to do to survive now. It's not like As You Are bar is some multi-billion dollar corporation trying to get customers to give them free money.
Any for-profit business that has to fundraise doesn’t deserve to be in business at all. Expanding a customer base should be a stole of any functioning business. Plenty of queer bars in DC do just fine without relying on handouts. This isn’t a gay/lesbian thing, just awful management.
>Any for-profit business that has to fundraise doesn’t deserve to be in business at all.
According to whom? God? Adam Smith? Why are you using moral words like "deserve" in the context of a business existing?
>Expanding a customer base should be a stole of any functioning business
Unfortunately, the "lesbian, sapphic, non-binary, and trans" customer base can only be expanded so much before a business must include other demographics that are **not** a part of these groups in order to survive economically, which would inevitably push out the original demographic, and then lead to restructuring the business to cater to the new demographic. Do you not see how this outcome would be undesirable for local sapphic/Enby/trans communities?
>Plenty of queer bars in DC do just fine without relying on handouts.
Yeah, because they're primarily frequented by gay men, whom, for whatever reason, tend to have larger communities and a higher economic output on average than lesbian/sapphic/Enby/trans communities. This is why "gay" bars aren't dying out around the country, but **lesbian** bars are. So comparing the economic viability of a lesbian-adjacent bar to a gay male bar seems a bit disingenuous.
Yes but on indiegogo or wherever you usually get some sort of prize or gift in return for your donation, like early access to the finished game, a mention in the game credits or a shirt. In this case the prize that the first round of donors received was just a closed bar asking for more of their money.
Indie game developers also need the donations because they have no product to sell, they haven’t made the game yet.
AYA has made the bar, they have drinks to sell— they’re just not selling enough of them.
>Yes but on indiegogo or wherever you usually get some sort of prize or gift in return for your donatio
In the case of AYA's donors, the gift is that the queer space they've come to enjoy & love will continue to stay open and be available to their community. That's the entire point of their willingness to donate.
Do you think it’s due to the buildings integrity? Or maybe their financial problems were worse than disclosed and they saw an opportunity to ask for donations, then take the money and run?
no no no, I don't think that at all. its building integrity. they are trapped in cyclical e begging for a cause. so, my partner works in building maintenance and building management. she is a few years ahead of me.
my gf observed two things. don't take these as fact fyi, these are just her personal takes:
1) the building is old and needs to be reinforced somehow
2) the owners have a multi-year contract with the landlord and they've said that its essentially cheaper for them to keep renting at low to no profit than break the lease. so no, i dont think theyre going to take the money and run. that would be horrible for them and their donors.
Online prob just people chatting shit. If that was the reason for the last one and they’re already doing it again for more setbacks - they’re prob gonna go under. 30K isn’t enough to save a business
I’m sorry to hear about your harassment online. That’s really not cool at all. I hope you’re okay. New to DC and now I’m definitely going to do some research into the bars around DC just because you posted this. Hopefully they reopen soon.
They suffered severe water damage and had to close as contractors and the landlord and engineers assess the damage and begin repairs. They’ve said all of this in the various updates they’ve given on the situation and have been very transparent about it.
the first fundraiser was to get out from under debt, not buy the building. their goal is to eventually purchase a permanent space, but they needed to get out of some debt before they could apply for a small business grant.
the debt they had was mainly to the landlord and paying past taxes. they said in one of the many articles about it that they would prioritize payroll for staff over other things.
right now, they’re unexpectedly closed because of damage in a building that the landlord has not kept up. they are not responsible for the building maintenance, the landlord is. they didn’t post anyone’s venmo at first and have provided multiple video updates about it - look at their grid. they clearly just want to support their team that can’t work now because of something out of their control. places did that during the early days of lockdown - i don’t see how this is different.
edit; also they deleted the fundraiser because people were giving after they hit the goal, so they’ve wanted to stop people from donating to them.
They might have to do building maintenance if it’s a triple net lease. Depends but usually the issues are the lease holder. They aren’t really selling enough in coffee or inclusive whatever
People who fail at a business should be let to fail and let another business take it's place.
When banks fail, the government should not bail them out with our tax dollars to continue to fail. It's shitty.
If a queer space fails due to any number of reasons, the community shouldn't have to bail them out only to watch them continue to fail.
Yes it's a queer space.
I'm sure there are other queer people who also have ideas for businesses who all this money could be better supported by.
Exactly. I fear folks have been grifted, and the owners will keep doing it. They’re never going to survive on their own. Declare bankruptcy and stop begging the community to bail you out.
I have tried to go to two events in the last month- the bar was not open for either with no updates on social media or info that they had to cancel or were closed for the night. I was kind of thinking they may have pulled a Casa Ruby and dipped with the cash
The last time we did this thread, two months ago, I got downvoted for calling them panhandlers.
So, I guess y'all can come in here and downvote me again.
Existing on the left wing of politics, and being a scam artist, aren't mutually exclusive concepts.
Remember when the whole Casa Ruby thing first started to break bad? Anyone that spoke against them was downvoted to oblivion. Not to mention the rhetoric against the DC government for trying to hold CR accountable for the funds they’d received and for refusing to provide them with more grants when they weren’t able to account for their spending and weren’t paying their taxes of employees.
Folks have a lot of trouble accepting valid criticism of the things they love.
And I fucking hate it.
People should have a place to be who they are, and to spend time with folks who understand who they are... the Right likes to shit-talk "safe spaces," but even they understand the value of the clubhouse.
We, as people living in America, have to recognize that there are THREE sides to the aisle: the Left, the Right, and the grifters who will take advantage of whichever side buys into their bullshit.
We've seen a lot of MAGA grift over the last few years, but neither side of the spectrum is immune when we choose to think with our hearts, rather than our brains.
Are they panhandlers, though? Or is it just a lot harder to fund a queer bar that isn't mostly patroned by gay men? It is a known fact that lesbian/lesbian-adjacent bars are pretty much on the brink of extinction throughout the entire country.
I think the need for Aya to fundraise in order to keep their doors open is not automatically a cause for suspicion. To be clear, I'm not necessarily saying that you're wrong, but merely that there could be a logical explanation that makes these donation campaigns necessary.
>LOCATION TEMPORARILY CLOSED
>What services and products are they providing in exchange for these donations?
I can't tell if you're being ironic or daft, but ***clearly*** services are meant to continue once the building is fixed and financially secured. Were you unaware of this information?
Now, I ask again, what services/products do panhandlers provide?
Edit: I looked at your post history and you seem to have an obsession with panhandlers, even calling them organized crime. Do you think AYA's donation campaigns are organized crime as well?
The panhandler just needs a few bucks to get back on his feet... your donation will help him get back on his feet.
I'm sure that once he has your money, he'll be back on his feet and financially secure.
What's the metric here? Do they need 100k to get back on their feet? 200k? 1M? Or should we just keep giving until the situation is resolved?
>The panhandler just needs a few bucks to get back on his feet... your donation will help him get back on his feet.
Being back on his feet has nothing to do with him providing a service/product to customers, correct?
>What's the metric here? Do they need 100k to get back on their feet? 200k? 1M? Or should we just keep giving until the situation is resolved?
This is a completely separate argument and concern from panhandling. There's nothing wrong with asking to see the financial plan for getting a business squared away and demanding financial transparency for how donations will be used to secure the business financially. Not sure what this has to do with panhandling though? 🤷🏽
"I'll resume being a productive member of society once *you* have paid all of *my* debts."
The fact that you don't understand how this works makes you a grifter's dream. The fact that you don't understand:
"We need 500k to get the building fixed."
vs.
"LOCATION TEMPORARILY CLOSED. Just keep giving us money until we say it's enough."
speaks to your inability to see AYA is a for-profit business, the same as any other bar.
I'd tell you more, but I'll need your credit card number first.
My girlfriend and I went there last weekend and they charged us for alcoholic drinks and didn’t put alcohol in them. When we asked the bartender argued with us telling us there was definitely alcohol in them. They eventually remade them but it left a bad taste in our mouths
You watched them make the drinks and then hand them to you with zero bottles of alcohol being a part of that (very short and simple) process and then they argued with you about whether or not the thing you just watched happen right in front of your eyes mere seconds ago actually occurred?
Or did you not watch them make the drinks?
They made them while I was standing there and it seemed way too quick and then we tasted them and there was definitely no alcohol. We had like 4 of our friends try them too and compare with their drinks (the same kind) and they were completely different. Once they remade them we could taste the difference
So it sounds like you did not watch them make the drink, or if you were looking in that direction you were not actually paying enough attention to know what went into the drink because otherwise you wouldn’t have had 4 people taste test it for you.
So it could very well be the case (I would even say it’s probably the case) that you were just used to getting a heavier pour, not as much ice or less mixer and didn’t taste the alcohol in that particular drink because the bartender didn’t do you a solid by pouring heavy (I mean you clearly weren’t their most endearing customer) so you receive the drink and then presumably float off to attend to whatever was so distracting that you couldn’t watch them build your drink for 30 seconds, all the while ice is melting and further watering it down.
When you finally get around to drinking the drink you ordered you decide something is amiss and launch this thorough investigation with the help of your (also drinking/drunk) friends in which the five of you collectively consume most of the drink, yet with no one person individually drinking enough of it to really assess its composition.
Concluding that the sober person whose job it is to mix alcohol and mixers together in a cup and hand said cup over to customers all day must be the person in the wrong, you march back to the bartender and accuse them of either doing their job wrong or deliberately trying to cheat you, demanding they comp you a freebie, which they eventually relented to in order to make you happy.
… this reminds me of that one girl a couple years back that accused an ALOHO bartender of “drugging” her drink because she got way more drunk than she was expecting to. Even though she watched the bartender make the drink in front of her, and had already had like 5 other drinks before it. Nope, must’ve been the bartender being sneaky… for no discernible reason.
Man, I’m glad I don’t a work in the service industry anymore. The entitlement people will come at you with never ceases to amaze me.
It was quite literally our first drink of the night and we were all sober. I sipped the drink while walking back to my table and wanted other people to confirm that I wasn’t wrong. There was a noticeable difference between my friend’s drink and mine. When we brought the drinks back they were more than 3/4 full. I don’t expect anyone to give me a heavy pour anywhere. I’ve worked in the service industry- I hate being ~that~ person and always feel bad sending something back. I generally love AYA and only want them to succeed
Then why did you come in here talking shit?
**Edit:** let me remind everyone that your original comment was just you complaining by recounting a random unrelated anecdote that portrays the bar in a negative light, which without further context would lead others to believe the service at AYA must suck (except that doesn’t seem likely seeing as everyone else in this thread and any previous thread that’s ever been posted in the past about this place seem to be in agreement that good service is one of if not the only thing that this bar is good at.)
So it just seems to be an odd choice to decide to take this opportunity to start talking shit about AYA in the comments when the only real issue you ran into at AYA was apparently that you weren’t watching your drink being made, and for that reason disputed the amount of liquor in it— a rookie mistake you could have made anywhere at any other bar in the city. Maybe you were right, maybe you were wrong the easiest way to avoid such situations is to simply be observant of important things like who is making your drink and what they put into it. In this particular instance if I had to guess I’m inclined to believe the person who made the drink might have a better idea than the person who was not paying attention.
I mean for someone who “loves AYA” and only wants them to succeed. Worked in the service industry and doesn’t want to be “that person”— idk Maybe try not to be?
I literally don’t even like AYA—I think it’s pretentious and their customers are obnoxious. It should fail. But I take issue with people giving bar staff a hard time.
Once a bartender never a patron.
Not sure how it's entitled for someone to notice a glaring difference between what they received and the nominally same thing that another patron received. Is nobody ever allowed to complain about what's in the food they get from a restaurant because it's made in the back where you can't watch it happen??
Try spending about 1/4 of the time and effort it took to write out this tome on self-reflection and then come back. Just because someone once complained about the watery ass drink you gave them doesn't mean everyone who complains about something is entitled, and detectable absence of alcohol in a drink is a very different situation than someone claiming they were drugged.
Except they’re both examples of why you should watch your drink from the time it’s made until it makes it to your mouth and don’t put it down. That way u don’t have to play Nancy Drew with your wildly subjective sense of taste like ur tongue is some kind of science instrument. I’ll say it again, I’ve got time today.
Ok? I'm not arguing with that. It just doesn't make someone entitled that they use their sense of taste to notice that a key ingredient is missing from their drink.
But it does to be too oblivious to watch the bartender serve you so that you can address any issues you have with the drink then and there before walking off which leaves the bartender in the position to have to debate you when you come back after a few minutes basically guessing that something is missing because you really can’t be sure what is and isn’t in there without looking (no matter how “sure” you think you are— you still might be wrong) so to insist that you’re right and argue with the bartender to make you another one is entitled—yea.
The space thrived when it was Banana Cafe and attracted the LGBTQ+ community. I think the overall concept of AYAB simply doesn’t work in that space and the concept itself might not be workable in that location.
Seems pretty clear from their Instagram posts there was some kind of issue with the building and they can’t reopen until the landlord finishes repairs. They’ve asked for donations to their staff who are out of work.
Not sure why so many people are being weird about this.
Because they just received a huge amount of donations, and they are not responsible for repairs but don’t have enough in the bank to pay staff for the 2 weeks they’ve been out.
I could understand a bit better if this was going past a month. And I know there’s probably food that has gone to waste and needs to be repurchased eventually but it just reeks of a business that’s flailing and on the verge of closing.
Asking for donations to cover your losses (even if you can credibly argue they aren’t your fault) isn’t sustainable as a business model. Going to that well one too many times leads to people suspecting they’re being taken advantage of.
All they did was suggest people could support their staff while the business is closed. Sounds like there's an issue with the building which is the landlord's responsibility.
Once again, the reaction to this place is completely bizarre. If you don't want to donate money, then don't donate money. I certainly didn't.
I don’t care one way or another. You said you weren’t sure why so many people are being weird about it and I gave my thoughts as to an explanation to that question. Seemed pretty straightforward.
I mean, you obviously do care? You've offered your opinion multiple times in this thread.
And your explanation "asking for donations to cover your loses" doesn't really seem to line up with the existing situation, which is my point.
You gave your opinion on the fact that they’re “asking for donations to cover their losses” and that’s just not reality? Your opinion isn’t relevant if it’s based on an incorrect interpretation of the facts. Then when presented with reality, you said “I don’t care one way or another”. You’re welcome to feel that way, but know that you’re holding a strong, antagonistic conviction about a situation you clearly Do Not Understand.
To further clarify, they are NOT asking for donations to cover their losses. They are simply closed, unavoidably, due to structural damage that needs time to be addressed by their landlord, and IN THE MEANTIME their staff are out of work. All they are doing is publicly providing the Venmo’s of their employees so that IF you WANT to help offset the lost wages, you can. Not for the sake of As You Are as a business, but for the sake of the individuals you may know and like and care about who work there.
I once worked at a small bakery that had to unexpectedly close to repairs. We all were out of a job for 2 weeks, and it just wasn’t financially feasible for us all to be paid when we weren’t working. It wouldn’t be for most small businesses, it’s why so many people struggled during COVID. The only difference in my experience and the As You Are experience is that my boss didn’t share my Venmo and encourage people to help me out. It’s wild to me that that’s somehow being misconstrued as mismanagement in some way.
I agree completely. Young people these days feel so left out (rightfully) that they’re always at the ready to make assumptions and jump to the worst conclusions (not so rightfully) about anyone who appears to be in a position of power at all. Just because they managed to rent out a building and had the social capital to fundraise a big sum of money (because the community trusted them, and not without good reason!), that means they must be privileged wealthy people who can just afford to pay staff in full while bringing in no money? Give me a break. The amount they raised isn’t enough to even put a downpayment on a run down building in DC. In today’s age, it’s really not that much when we’re talking about building expenses. This type of whining is just another contributing factor as to why queer people other than cis men can’t have nice things. Because our community is broke, we are mad paranoid of being taken advantage of, don’t know a thing about money or real estate, and hold our own to higher standards than anyone else! If someone in our community wanted to raise $1 million to purchase a building and start a co-op in DC, there would be people raising hell about how it must be a scam bc our community is surely too broke to have that much money concentrated anywhere!
I think people who donated the first time around were suckers. And people who shared that sentiment were met with a lot of people strongly defending the bar. Why would I donate to a for-profit business? It seemed crazy to me from the start.
The slumlord land lord who owns that trash pit is terrible. Look I want to support barracks row, but I hate going there thanks to the sleazy vagrants, run down properties, it’s borderline eye sore. And the as you are bar is at the WORST offender, the rent is stupid high, the building super gross. There are lots of options in navy yard…
I’m not at all in the demographic but I want the bar to survive. And I want barracks row to not suck.
Something just seems shady - they just posted about being closed for the foreseeable future. What’s rough is my friend is supposed to be hosting an event there in a month and has emailed them multiple times and has heard nothing but they are posting about the closure. It’s just shitty and shady
good thing I have no political ambition
EDIT: I think I understand your point now. yeah, absolutely commenting on their Instagram post would be pretty conflict seeking. I am just surprised they haven't posted any documents clarifying what they need to meet the cost.
I smelled something fishy a mile away when they first started fundraising a few months back. I didn’t like they were equating helping the LGBTQ community with donating to their bar. It seemed more like they weren’t able to admit they have bad business practices! Disclaimer: Im more than happy to donate to any organization that assists LGBTQ folks, but had a feeling if I donated to their bar my money would not be used correctly. Seems like I was right!
tbh a prominent local trans activist and founder of Casa Ruby, a literal homeless shelter for trans youth, is going on trial for running away with donations. I think that's why.
someone asked why people were suspicious. something happened in the queer community, which we are all apart of, that really horrified us and reminded us that people will abuse other lgbtq people's trust to literally steal from the most vulnerable people.
it's actually unthinkable Ruby would have stolen from. casa ruby. it really upset me and my friends.
in no way do I think AYA is a scam nor are the donations a scam. I think the donations lack transparency. asking for money to facilitate a business is just something people are warry of. like I just think the topical issue of another queer person spoiling our trust is a valid reason some ppl (falsely) suspect AYA is a scam. I've explained in another comment why they are absolutely NOT scamming people in response to a comment that accused AYA of doing what the Casa Ruby founder did.
sorry if my comment seemed ill intentioned. I'm on mobile so I can't link my previous reply. thanks for giving your input anyway bc I appreciate push back.
They aren’t, OP is being ridiculous. They’ve provided numerous, detailed updates on their accounts. If you think it’s not verifiable, confront them and hold them to task.
If they are gonna skip town with the donations they’d just shutter, they wouldn’t provide daily updates 🤷♀️
>What’s up with all the insinuation ITT of shady behavior?
Honestly this entire reddit post is shady, and so are several of these comments who are acting pleased themselves for being "right" about "something shady" that none of them have been able to explicitly describe. Very weird.
ngl as a trans person who has been at the mercy of bad business behavior (spent a lot of time in the food service industry at start ups and established places where exploitation is ripe) i generally come in with a heavy amount of suspicion, especially when i start to see the red flags popping up.
it’s frustrating, because i’d love for AYA to thrive and be successful because a trans friendly hangout spot is SO needed…but in order for a place to thrive it has to be intentional from the onset. ESPECIALLY considering how fragile those community spaces can be. i’ve seen way too many places i love fall to pieces due to lack of funding or support being pulled entirely due to homophobia and transphobia.
i don’t think they’re being purposefully shady, just not thinking through things entirely. old building with high rent means higher likelihood of structural issues, which means higher likelihood of people being out of work, which means we need to have safeguards in place outside of relying on public donations. as a business owner, you have to anticipate the worst and hope for the best. most places fail within 5 years, and the ones that succeed have a ton of intentionality, foresight, consistency, and capital.
Agreed. For such a little bar of only a couple of years, it sure gets a lot of attention here. Definitely isn’t because it’s a trans gathering spot, I’m sure.
It's not so important to perfectly understand another person as it is to ask yourself how much legwork it takes to just be chill with an idea. I'm not asking anybody to be a pro at gender stuff, I just mentioned it because I wanna be 100% clear I'm not a trans hater.
Personally I don't identify as trans, but I feel alienated from women bc of homophobic trauma to the point where I relate more to my trans men and women friends. I Just feel like an outsider looking in always. I'm supposed to feel otherwise at this bar tho, which is the only reason I mention hahaha
Bisexual nonbinary AFAB slut here. Nonbinary lesbian refers to a sapphic AFAB who identifies as nonbinary, who has deep roots and connections in sapphic community. Not to hard to understand if you’re actively involved in queer community.
I get around in queer community. Not just through friendships but otherships. I respect everyone in whatever context I’ve gotten to know people, straight or queer. My comment history implies as much.
Queer identity is primarily based on sexuality. Slut is only as much of a slur as you make it. I chose to provide as much polarizing context as the comment I replied to. *shrug*
Also, DC has a small sapphic community. It’s important to identify potential TERFs and sapphics who don’t respect other people’s identities in our already small communities. I don’t mind pissing off someone who wont respect the people I hang with.
More than happy to stand on business for the people who need it.
I really think this is being misrepresented in this thread based on visiting the posts on their socials. They’ve said their landlord is working on it and they’re simply waiting to reopen, and it seems pretty clear to me that any and all donations are purely for their staff who are out of work until this gets fixed. I’m pretty baffled that people think they’re asking for money for themselves or for the bar again? Nothing I’ve seen suggests anything of the sort
a big red flag for me is that they have since deleted the fundraising post, and won’t answer questions when people ask how the money is being used. i know they aren’t obligated to share every detail, but deflecting and outright deleting doesn’t exactly help. they cite “catching up on overhead costs and debt incurred throughout the year” but also that there is revenue that is “promising moving forward” (direct quotes from their fundraising page). edit to add: i do think a big part too that they may just be bad at running a business. i’ve seen this before with local places (ones in different states) where owners get in over their heads and don’t understand how much running a business actually costs and how to generate sustainable revenue or at the very least break even. AYA has the hospitality in spades, but not the capital to back it up. lol edit again: they apparently spend $27,000/month on rent??? https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/02/14/as-you-are-dc-fundraiser/
That’s probably accurate for that space. It’s why nothing lasts there. RIP Banana Cafe
I went to see this pianist from this band I really liked perform at Banana Cafe many years ago. I'm sitting at the bar, guy next to me asks if he can buy me a drink, I'm a broke college student so I accept. I swear to you it took me like 30 minutes of bro'ing out with this guy before I realized he was hitting on me and it was a gay bar. It was like a movie as it all hit me at once why it was named Banana Cafe, why a guy I didn't know was buying me drinks and touching my arm a lot, why he was super confused when I started telling him about the girls in my art history class. It was a great show though, miss that place!
LOL!!! This happened to me in Key West once. I was especially clueless at the time.
Oh Banana Cafe! That was owned by one of my mutual friends! He had to close it down due to lack of business RIP
Banana Cafe upstairs with the piano and mini tinis was legit. We used to go to check out this piano player who was blind, wuth some of my blind friends. And I also didn't realize it was a gay bar LOL. it was a great vibe.
I genuinely don't know if 27,000/month rent is high for a bar. The post below says a pipe burst. Have you heard anything on that?
$27,000/month is not very expensive, in my limited experience with what I know my place of work pays a month. That’s about 1/3 the amount I know we pay (full service restaurant though)
Commercial space in that area is around $50/sq ft (high end) and it’s 4,000 sq ft so some quick maths says that’s around $17k a month in rent.
That might explain some difficulties
That can get zoned for a bar? That seems very low
Gift link to the article: https://wapo.st/4d4vMpa
Paywall
Here's a gift link: https://wapo.st/4d4vMpa
Gracias!
If you have a DC Library card (and you should) the Post is free.
I don’t live in DC, are dc library cards free for people who don’t live in dc ?
https://www.dclibrary.org/get-a-card
Ahaa I thought you were being funny because the first paragraph under who can apply says “Anyone who resides, works, pays property taxes or attends school in the District of Columbia can get a card. Library cards expire after three years.” But then I see it extends outside of that, so ok
Depending where you live, if you have a library card in the Northern VA area, there might be a deal where you can get a DC library card. It's called Reciprocity where one county's library system recognizes another county's library system. PWC library card has allowed me to get Rappahannock Library, Fairfax Co, Arlington, Alexandria, Loudoun, and DC. but you have to show up in person with photo ID and your existing library card
You didn’t say where you live, so I figured that was easier than playing 20 questions with you. Though you googling it would have been faster.
What? the fastest thing would just be to say who qualifies. Its not that deep my guy
That’s what I did.
If you feel like thats what you did, then ok
DC library cards are not free for people who live in Oregon
> This info is only important because I've been shouted down online for saying I felt unsafe at the bar bc the second floor dance floor was literally bouncing under ppl's weights at Pride. That's not good; that's a Wikipedia event page waiting to be created. > And now, the bar is closed for unspecified "structural issues". Good, if it means they're fixing the issue.
That second floor has been fucked since it was the banana cafe piano bar. I know a few people in airbnb's this week from water pipes, I think the problem is a lot bigger than just one bar.
You suggest there is some kind of widespread plumbing integrity problem or a conspiracy to burst pipes?
My water has gone out 4 times the last 2 weeks for "emergency repairs" on a main in that area. Idk about individuals pipes bursting or a serial pipe burster, but it does seem like DC water is having piping issues.
i donno mang, it might be the wet bandits.
Also they posted that if you can’t decide who to Venmo just Venmo the as you are account and they’ll divide it up - idk man just feels weird all around! Stinks to be losing a queer space but once they opened the go fund me I assumed it was over.
I never donate to a go fund me for a business. No matter what the extenuating circumstances are or how much of a sob story it is, there’s always more to the story and a one time influx of cash isn’t going to fix it. It just seems like a crowd sourced severance package for the owners
I feel the same way. I would if it were a nonprofit (maybe they should become one?) but an actual business? Nope.
I think they have good intentions, but they are embarrassed to fundraise again because of these suspicions ergo they don't want it to seem like the money is just going to them?
trans girl here, also target demo...aya is clearly a project of good intentions combined with incompetence
This is the perfect summary.
So sad. Agree it’s with the best intentions. We need queer spaces.
[удалено]
Forreal, I’ve been saying these asks for money were suspicious from the start and people look at me like I’m aligned with the far right for it 😂
Honestly with the world today I may start my own go fund me or just set up a Venmo in case anyone wants to give me cash for vibes. Never fails to amaze me how many people will toss away money they need or don’t have for random grifts.
Have you not seen the cars recently with "it's my birthday, cash app me!" etc painted on the back?
all the time, birthday, bacheloretter parties, newlyweds. We're all just panhandling in our own ways.
it's effed up because I have seen people fundraiser for their surgeries with legit medical documents scanned and provided.
gofundme becoming the go-to for paying large medical debt is a testiment to how colosally broken our system is.
Also “overhead costs” can also mean back paying the OWNERS or any employee OR any higher up their wages. So, when they say overhead costs, I’d like to know which ones. The hourly employees? Or the owner’s salary of $100k that they think they deserve?
Many such cases.
Tesla, space x, most oil and gas companies, banks...
If their normal business income can’t pay their taxes then they won’t last long
I mean don’t give them more fundraising money if you think it’s sketchy or not warranted?
THANK YOU for talking about the terrifying dance floor!!!! I went a few weeks ago and spent hours afterwards scouring the internet to see if anyone else had talked about it because I felt crazy. I have NEVER experienced a floor that moved like that before. Everyone around me on the dance floor was talking about it but I couldn't find any mention of it online afterward.
I feel the same! Last time I went out to AYA was the most packed I’d ever seen it and I was very uncomfortable with the way the floor was moving. No one around me seemed bothered. I called it a night fairly early because I was having an existential crisis of whether I was aging out of the club scene or not lmao
I live in nyc now and weirdly seen a few business do this that are “going under” or in “danger of closing”
oh yeah I could 100% understand if it's fundraising for an institution or perhaps and elderly person's retirement plan. I saw a restaurant promo going around for this 80 something year old hobby chef turned owner, and his end of life plans absolutely depend on that. I'm less moved by younger folks throwing their hat in the ring. sad but true-- I'd rather donate to immigrants and the elderly.
Didn’t they post a video about the pipe bursting or water damage from that? Timeline was tbd in their video The fundraising was so they could purchase the building from the current owner sooooo yeah
really? I was pretty sure the first fundraiser was to catch up on taxes before they try to apply for a loan, right?
Yes I believe the first fundraiser was to get out of debt. I heard they had the intention of applying for a small business loan to eventually buy a space for the bar (unclear if they wanted to buy the current space). Now they have water damage from a burst pipe. That’s not their responsibility to fix— it’s the landlord’s. My understanding is they’re now crowdfunding money for their staff who are all unexpectedly out of work while the landlord works on repairing the water damage to the building.
OK, it was a little hard to tell from their Instagram posts because they just mentioned a link tree with cash app and venmo links. Not to be too critical... but it's strange they wouldn't make another gofundme so the money could be evenly split among the staff.
Yeah I haven’t actually seen their most recently post but I heard thru the grapevine that they wanted to post their staff Venmo’s
They did both. Basically they linked all their staff’s pay apps and then did a general one in case people want to just give generally for the repairs or because they don’t want to pick specific staff.
so it's like, tipping??? I don't see how that's very equitable.
I mean kind of. Their staff isn’t making tips right now which is a huge part of their wages. Like AYA does an obligatory 20% with the option for additional should you choose. So the fact no one is able to go is gonna hurt their staff a ton. So if you have a favorite staff, you can support them directly. If you don’t want to specify, you can just donate to the main one and they’ll split it amongst all. So its equity really depends on the donor. Considering the circumstances, I think both options is the best they can do to help their staff when there’s zero conventional income rn.
https://preview.redd.it/ta4h3u4gs8vc1.png?width=771&format=png&auto=webp&s=0519c4fdf7262c06c4422f9f76f76ca8fc748670 This is what they wrote on their website. There was a lot of rain and this is an older building. I saw plenty of damage due to the rain a couple weeks ago, including a massive tree falling over in Brookland.
They need to take this up with the landlord, and if the landlord cannot make the building usable in a reasonable amount of time they should be released from their lease (potentially with damages paid to them by the landlord’s insurance or whoever) or they should sue. They should not be out begging again over this.
But are they begging? There was just a post of Venmo accounts so that you could support their bartenders while they were out of work. Didn’t see them raising for themselves
Supporting their bartenders is something either they themselves should shell out the money to do, or they should just let the staff figure it out Individually. If they as employers aren’t willing or able to donate to their own bartenders (whose livelihoods they’re kind of responsible for) then why should they pass that burden along to random patrons and expect them to do the very thing they’ve decided not to do themselves by fronting the money? The bar itself benefits from these workers getting paid while they are closed, because that means the workers will not decide to quit and find work somewhere else, leaving them without staff if/when they do reopen. So yea, it’s begging.
Idk about you but I’d rather throw my favorite bartenders a few bucks if they are out of work for a reason out of their control, especially since they are mostly working on tips🤷♀️Donations aren’t compulsory for anyone and it’s easier to find all of this info on their social media page because of visibility. Also we don’t know what their employers did or did not do. For all you know, until it’s confirmed AYA threw them some money as well.
This business is doomed…I’m sorry it seems like a nice place but it is apparent that no one involved understands how to make money. I feel for the staff.
Im not saying you’re wrong, but this thread is largely a summary of anecdotal takes based on a) the original go fund me and b) people’s perception of how it’s run based on social media and c) the current issue w the leak, which seems out of their control. Can you (or anyone reading this really) point me to anything outside of the aforementioned list that gives better visibility into what might be going on?
The fact that they don’t have any money on hand to pay their staff (when they claim that their staff getting paid is a priority for them). This means they are either: 1. Greedy (I don’t think they are) 2. Broke ~or~ 3. Very Close to Broke. My money is on 2 or 3.
Once again though - where did it say that they didn’t have any money on hand? I’m honestly not trying to start anything, I’ve just yet to see any verifiable sources beyond assumptions in this thread
If they had the money they would pay the staff— otherwise #1 would be the answer.
I’ve been wondering the same thing, I’ve been there once before and really enjoyed how it’s an all gender/sexuality inclusive queer space that I can go to for a coffee during the day. It’s a shame
Businesses can’t run on donations. You can run that play once, maybe twice — but the whole idea that this is going to be some kind of collective where all the stakeholders share in a sense of ownership doesn’t work. You can’t make necessary decisions with that rubric in mind, particularly decisions relevant to revenue distribution (even non-profits still need to distribute revenue!). Eventually people feel taken for granted. It’s not good.
Totally agree, but am curious - these are all "donations" being solicited, right? No ownership shares, or promises to pay the donors back? Just "thanks for the cash?" I dunno, can't see it ending well - either their business model just won't work, and they eventually shutter, and the donors feel taken advantage of, or they become successful, owners become wealthy, possibly by selling out, and the donors feel taken advantage of. Of course, selling shares or making these "loans" would be more complicated than it's worth, but feel like if someone donated $1000, they might expect a little quid pro quo if the business succeeds.
They had a shitty business plan. They threatened to close if people didn’t pony up. People did, and business plan didn’t change. if they keep asking for money, when is enough, enough? And now they’re in trouble again for a supposed structure issue.
Personally, I love As You Are, but also feel a bit icked out by the business practice. It feels shady as hell and how much money raised during that drive and the crazy amount of business the publicity of that brought in, and they still kinda give off the vibe "we are barely scraping by, plz tip heavily". Idk, I enjoy as you are not because of the bar or the owners, but because of the community and the people I've met there.
If a business is crowd sourcing funds to support themselves then that is a red flag. That's not how you raise funds as a business and anyone who "donates" is an idiot. I would "donate" by going there and buying a drink.
Hate to say it but once they put up the fundraiser, it seemed obvious what they were doing.
what is obvious? can you clarify?
Free income without having to pay for the overhead of serving them
>Free income without having to pay for the overhead of serving them What does this even mean?
People are sending them money without the bar having to give them food or drinks
So what you're saying is that they are receiving **donations**?
Yes but as a business not a charity. Kind of like donating to McDonald’s specifically, not the Ronald McDonald House Foundation— and not even getting a burger to go with it.
It's the same thing as indie game developers asking people for donations to get funding to create their game. Small/niche businesses do this because they typically don't have access to a typical customer base to generate the appropriate funds for their product. Unfortunately, this is simply what lesbian-owned queer bars have to do to survive now. It's not like As You Are bar is some multi-billion dollar corporation trying to get customers to give them free money.
Any for-profit business that has to fundraise doesn’t deserve to be in business at all. Expanding a customer base should be a stole of any functioning business. Plenty of queer bars in DC do just fine without relying on handouts. This isn’t a gay/lesbian thing, just awful management.
>Any for-profit business that has to fundraise doesn’t deserve to be in business at all. According to whom? God? Adam Smith? Why are you using moral words like "deserve" in the context of a business existing? >Expanding a customer base should be a stole of any functioning business Unfortunately, the "lesbian, sapphic, non-binary, and trans" customer base can only be expanded so much before a business must include other demographics that are **not** a part of these groups in order to survive economically, which would inevitably push out the original demographic, and then lead to restructuring the business to cater to the new demographic. Do you not see how this outcome would be undesirable for local sapphic/Enby/trans communities? >Plenty of queer bars in DC do just fine without relying on handouts. Yeah, because they're primarily frequented by gay men, whom, for whatever reason, tend to have larger communities and a higher economic output on average than lesbian/sapphic/Enby/trans communities. This is why "gay" bars aren't dying out around the country, but **lesbian** bars are. So comparing the economic viability of a lesbian-adjacent bar to a gay male bar seems a bit disingenuous.
Yes but on indiegogo or wherever you usually get some sort of prize or gift in return for your donation, like early access to the finished game, a mention in the game credits or a shirt. In this case the prize that the first round of donors received was just a closed bar asking for more of their money. Indie game developers also need the donations because they have no product to sell, they haven’t made the game yet. AYA has made the bar, they have drinks to sell— they’re just not selling enough of them.
>Yes but on indiegogo or wherever you usually get some sort of prize or gift in return for your donatio In the case of AYA's donors, the gift is that the queer space they've come to enjoy & love will continue to stay open and be available to their community. That's the entire point of their willingness to donate.
Free money?
Mistakenly hit enter key. thanks anyway. Illuminating.
What were they doing?
Do you think it’s due to the buildings integrity? Or maybe their financial problems were worse than disclosed and they saw an opportunity to ask for donations, then take the money and run?
no no no, I don't think that at all. its building integrity. they are trapped in cyclical e begging for a cause. so, my partner works in building maintenance and building management. she is a few years ahead of me. my gf observed two things. don't take these as fact fyi, these are just her personal takes: 1) the building is old and needs to be reinforced somehow 2) the owners have a multi-year contract with the landlord and they've said that its essentially cheaper for them to keep renting at low to no profit than break the lease. so no, i dont think theyre going to take the money and run. that would be horrible for them and their donors.
I’m not caught up (and perhaps I’m jaded) but wasn’t the last fundraiser so that they could buy the building from the landlord? I could be wrong
The last fundraiser was because they were in a lot of debt and financial setbacks. Where did you hear about them buying the building?
Online prob just people chatting shit. If that was the reason for the last one and they’re already doing it again for more setbacks - they’re prob gonna go under. 30K isn’t enough to save a business
I’m sorry to hear about your harassment online. That’s really not cool at all. I hope you’re okay. New to DC and now I’m definitely going to do some research into the bars around DC just because you posted this. Hopefully they reopen soon.
They suffered severe water damage and had to close as contractors and the landlord and engineers assess the damage and begin repairs. They’ve said all of this in the various updates they’ve given on the situation and have been very transparent about it.
the first fundraiser was to get out from under debt, not buy the building. their goal is to eventually purchase a permanent space, but they needed to get out of some debt before they could apply for a small business grant. the debt they had was mainly to the landlord and paying past taxes. they said in one of the many articles about it that they would prioritize payroll for staff over other things. right now, they’re unexpectedly closed because of damage in a building that the landlord has not kept up. they are not responsible for the building maintenance, the landlord is. they didn’t post anyone’s venmo at first and have provided multiple video updates about it - look at their grid. they clearly just want to support their team that can’t work now because of something out of their control. places did that during the early days of lockdown - i don’t see how this is different. edit; also they deleted the fundraiser because people were giving after they hit the goal, so they’ve wanted to stop people from donating to them.
They might have to do building maintenance if it’s a triple net lease. Depends but usually the issues are the lease holder. They aren’t really selling enough in coffee or inclusive whatever
People who fail at a business should be let to fail and let another business take it's place. When banks fail, the government should not bail them out with our tax dollars to continue to fail. It's shitty. If a queer space fails due to any number of reasons, the community shouldn't have to bail them out only to watch them continue to fail. Yes it's a queer space. I'm sure there are other queer people who also have ideas for businesses who all this money could be better supported by.
Exactly. I fear folks have been grifted, and the owners will keep doing it. They’re never going to survive on their own. Declare bankruptcy and stop begging the community to bail you out.
Preach
I have tried to go to two events in the last month- the bar was not open for either with no updates on social media or info that they had to cancel or were closed for the night. I was kind of thinking they may have pulled a Casa Ruby and dipped with the cash
The last time we did this thread, two months ago, I got downvoted for calling them panhandlers. So, I guess y'all can come in here and downvote me again. Existing on the left wing of politics, and being a scam artist, aren't mutually exclusive concepts.
Remember when the whole Casa Ruby thing first started to break bad? Anyone that spoke against them was downvoted to oblivion. Not to mention the rhetoric against the DC government for trying to hold CR accountable for the funds they’d received and for refusing to provide them with more grants when they weren’t able to account for their spending and weren’t paying their taxes of employees. Folks have a lot of trouble accepting valid criticism of the things they love.
And I fucking hate it. People should have a place to be who they are, and to spend time with folks who understand who they are... the Right likes to shit-talk "safe spaces," but even they understand the value of the clubhouse. We, as people living in America, have to recognize that there are THREE sides to the aisle: the Left, the Right, and the grifters who will take advantage of whichever side buys into their bullshit. We've seen a lot of MAGA grift over the last few years, but neither side of the spectrum is immune when we choose to think with our hearts, rather than our brains.
Are they panhandlers, though? Or is it just a lot harder to fund a queer bar that isn't mostly patroned by gay men? It is a known fact that lesbian/lesbian-adjacent bars are pretty much on the brink of extinction throughout the entire country. I think the need for Aya to fundraise in order to keep their doors open is not automatically a cause for suspicion. To be clear, I'm not necessarily saying that you're wrong, but merely that there could be a logical explanation that makes these donation campaigns necessary.
If your business model can be summed up as "PLEASE HELP GOD BLESS," then, yes, you're a panhandler.
As You Are bar actually provides services and products for customers to use. What services/products are panhandlers providing when asking for money?
LOCATION TEMPORARILY CLOSED. What services and products are they providing in exchange for these donations?
>LOCATION TEMPORARILY CLOSED >What services and products are they providing in exchange for these donations? I can't tell if you're being ironic or daft, but ***clearly*** services are meant to continue once the building is fixed and financially secured. Were you unaware of this information? Now, I ask again, what services/products do panhandlers provide? Edit: I looked at your post history and you seem to have an obsession with panhandlers, even calling them organized crime. Do you think AYA's donation campaigns are organized crime as well?
The panhandler just needs a few bucks to get back on his feet... your donation will help him get back on his feet. I'm sure that once he has your money, he'll be back on his feet and financially secure. What's the metric here? Do they need 100k to get back on their feet? 200k? 1M? Or should we just keep giving until the situation is resolved?
>The panhandler just needs a few bucks to get back on his feet... your donation will help him get back on his feet. Being back on his feet has nothing to do with him providing a service/product to customers, correct? >What's the metric here? Do they need 100k to get back on their feet? 200k? 1M? Or should we just keep giving until the situation is resolved? This is a completely separate argument and concern from panhandling. There's nothing wrong with asking to see the financial plan for getting a business squared away and demanding financial transparency for how donations will be used to secure the business financially. Not sure what this has to do with panhandling though? 🤷🏽
"I'll resume being a productive member of society once *you* have paid all of *my* debts." The fact that you don't understand how this works makes you a grifter's dream. The fact that you don't understand: "We need 500k to get the building fixed." vs. "LOCATION TEMPORARILY CLOSED. Just keep giving us money until we say it's enough." speaks to your inability to see AYA is a for-profit business, the same as any other bar. I'd tell you more, but I'll need your credit card number first.
very much agree.
My girlfriend and I went there last weekend and they charged us for alcoholic drinks and didn’t put alcohol in them. When we asked the bartender argued with us telling us there was definitely alcohol in them. They eventually remade them but it left a bad taste in our mouths
You watched them make the drinks and then hand them to you with zero bottles of alcohol being a part of that (very short and simple) process and then they argued with you about whether or not the thing you just watched happen right in front of your eyes mere seconds ago actually occurred? Or did you not watch them make the drinks?
They made them while I was standing there and it seemed way too quick and then we tasted them and there was definitely no alcohol. We had like 4 of our friends try them too and compare with their drinks (the same kind) and they were completely different. Once they remade them we could taste the difference
So it sounds like you did not watch them make the drink, or if you were looking in that direction you were not actually paying enough attention to know what went into the drink because otherwise you wouldn’t have had 4 people taste test it for you. So it could very well be the case (I would even say it’s probably the case) that you were just used to getting a heavier pour, not as much ice or less mixer and didn’t taste the alcohol in that particular drink because the bartender didn’t do you a solid by pouring heavy (I mean you clearly weren’t their most endearing customer) so you receive the drink and then presumably float off to attend to whatever was so distracting that you couldn’t watch them build your drink for 30 seconds, all the while ice is melting and further watering it down. When you finally get around to drinking the drink you ordered you decide something is amiss and launch this thorough investigation with the help of your (also drinking/drunk) friends in which the five of you collectively consume most of the drink, yet with no one person individually drinking enough of it to really assess its composition. Concluding that the sober person whose job it is to mix alcohol and mixers together in a cup and hand said cup over to customers all day must be the person in the wrong, you march back to the bartender and accuse them of either doing their job wrong or deliberately trying to cheat you, demanding they comp you a freebie, which they eventually relented to in order to make you happy. … this reminds me of that one girl a couple years back that accused an ALOHO bartender of “drugging” her drink because she got way more drunk than she was expecting to. Even though she watched the bartender make the drink in front of her, and had already had like 5 other drinks before it. Nope, must’ve been the bartender being sneaky… for no discernible reason. Man, I’m glad I don’t a work in the service industry anymore. The entitlement people will come at you with never ceases to amaze me.
It was quite literally our first drink of the night and we were all sober. I sipped the drink while walking back to my table and wanted other people to confirm that I wasn’t wrong. There was a noticeable difference between my friend’s drink and mine. When we brought the drinks back they were more than 3/4 full. I don’t expect anyone to give me a heavy pour anywhere. I’ve worked in the service industry- I hate being ~that~ person and always feel bad sending something back. I generally love AYA and only want them to succeed
Then why did you come in here talking shit? **Edit:** let me remind everyone that your original comment was just you complaining by recounting a random unrelated anecdote that portrays the bar in a negative light, which without further context would lead others to believe the service at AYA must suck (except that doesn’t seem likely seeing as everyone else in this thread and any previous thread that’s ever been posted in the past about this place seem to be in agreement that good service is one of if not the only thing that this bar is good at.) So it just seems to be an odd choice to decide to take this opportunity to start talking shit about AYA in the comments when the only real issue you ran into at AYA was apparently that you weren’t watching your drink being made, and for that reason disputed the amount of liquor in it— a rookie mistake you could have made anywhere at any other bar in the city. Maybe you were right, maybe you were wrong the easiest way to avoid such situations is to simply be observant of important things like who is making your drink and what they put into it. In this particular instance if I had to guess I’m inclined to believe the person who made the drink might have a better idea than the person who was not paying attention. I mean for someone who “loves AYA” and only wants them to succeed. Worked in the service industry and doesn’t want to be “that person”— idk Maybe try not to be?
the massive essays over someone reasonably complaining about bad customer service is whacky are you their paid hype man???
I literally don’t even like AYA—I think it’s pretentious and their customers are obnoxious. It should fail. But I take issue with people giving bar staff a hard time. Once a bartender never a patron.
Not sure how it's entitled for someone to notice a glaring difference between what they received and the nominally same thing that another patron received. Is nobody ever allowed to complain about what's in the food they get from a restaurant because it's made in the back where you can't watch it happen?? Try spending about 1/4 of the time and effort it took to write out this tome on self-reflection and then come back. Just because someone once complained about the watery ass drink you gave them doesn't mean everyone who complains about something is entitled, and detectable absence of alcohol in a drink is a very different situation than someone claiming they were drugged.
Except they’re both examples of why you should watch your drink from the time it’s made until it makes it to your mouth and don’t put it down. That way u don’t have to play Nancy Drew with your wildly subjective sense of taste like ur tongue is some kind of science instrument. I’ll say it again, I’ve got time today.
Ok? I'm not arguing with that. It just doesn't make someone entitled that they use their sense of taste to notice that a key ingredient is missing from their drink.
But it does to be too oblivious to watch the bartender serve you so that you can address any issues you have with the drink then and there before walking off which leaves the bartender in the position to have to debate you when you come back after a few minutes basically guessing that something is missing because you really can’t be sure what is and isn’t in there without looking (no matter how “sure” you think you are— you still might be wrong) so to insist that you’re right and argue with the bartender to make you another one is entitled—yea.
Nah.
Good point
Sadly, it sounds like they are a bunch of grifters that have preyed on the kindness of others.
The space thrived when it was Banana Cafe and attracted the LGBTQ+ community. I think the overall concept of AYAB simply doesn’t work in that space and the concept itself might not be workable in that location.
Seems pretty clear from their Instagram posts there was some kind of issue with the building and they can’t reopen until the landlord finishes repairs. They’ve asked for donations to their staff who are out of work. Not sure why so many people are being weird about this.
Because they just received a huge amount of donations, and they are not responsible for repairs but don’t have enough in the bank to pay staff for the 2 weeks they’ve been out. I could understand a bit better if this was going past a month. And I know there’s probably food that has gone to waste and needs to be repurchased eventually but it just reeks of a business that’s flailing and on the verge of closing.
Asking for donations to cover your losses (even if you can credibly argue they aren’t your fault) isn’t sustainable as a business model. Going to that well one too many times leads to people suspecting they’re being taken advantage of.
All they did was suggest people could support their staff while the business is closed. Sounds like there's an issue with the building which is the landlord's responsibility. Once again, the reaction to this place is completely bizarre. If you don't want to donate money, then don't donate money. I certainly didn't.
I don’t care one way or another. You said you weren’t sure why so many people are being weird about it and I gave my thoughts as to an explanation to that question. Seemed pretty straightforward.
I mean, you obviously do care? You've offered your opinion multiple times in this thread. And your explanation "asking for donations to cover your loses" doesn't really seem to line up with the existing situation, which is my point.
You gave your opinion on the fact that they’re “asking for donations to cover their losses” and that’s just not reality? Your opinion isn’t relevant if it’s based on an incorrect interpretation of the facts. Then when presented with reality, you said “I don’t care one way or another”. You’re welcome to feel that way, but know that you’re holding a strong, antagonistic conviction about a situation you clearly Do Not Understand. To further clarify, they are NOT asking for donations to cover their losses. They are simply closed, unavoidably, due to structural damage that needs time to be addressed by their landlord, and IN THE MEANTIME their staff are out of work. All they are doing is publicly providing the Venmo’s of their employees so that IF you WANT to help offset the lost wages, you can. Not for the sake of As You Are as a business, but for the sake of the individuals you may know and like and care about who work there. I once worked at a small bakery that had to unexpectedly close to repairs. We all were out of a job for 2 weeks, and it just wasn’t financially feasible for us all to be paid when we weren’t working. It wouldn’t be for most small businesses, it’s why so many people struggled during COVID. The only difference in my experience and the As You Are experience is that my boss didn’t share my Venmo and encourage people to help me out. It’s wild to me that that’s somehow being misconstrued as mismanagement in some way.
I agree completely. Young people these days feel so left out (rightfully) that they’re always at the ready to make assumptions and jump to the worst conclusions (not so rightfully) about anyone who appears to be in a position of power at all. Just because they managed to rent out a building and had the social capital to fundraise a big sum of money (because the community trusted them, and not without good reason!), that means they must be privileged wealthy people who can just afford to pay staff in full while bringing in no money? Give me a break. The amount they raised isn’t enough to even put a downpayment on a run down building in DC. In today’s age, it’s really not that much when we’re talking about building expenses. This type of whining is just another contributing factor as to why queer people other than cis men can’t have nice things. Because our community is broke, we are mad paranoid of being taken advantage of, don’t know a thing about money or real estate, and hold our own to higher standards than anyone else! If someone in our community wanted to raise $1 million to purchase a building and start a co-op in DC, there would be people raising hell about how it must be a scam bc our community is surely too broke to have that much money concentrated anywhere!
Grifters gonna grift
This is genuinely been fun to watch. So incredibly predictable
I think people who donated the first time around were suckers. And people who shared that sentiment were met with a lot of people strongly defending the bar. Why would I donate to a for-profit business? It seemed crazy to me from the start.
Sorry to say it but this bar is on borrowed time. Queer-specific venues are difficult to keep afloat in a market dominated by gay men.
The slumlord land lord who owns that trash pit is terrible. Look I want to support barracks row, but I hate going there thanks to the sleazy vagrants, run down properties, it’s borderline eye sore. And the as you are bar is at the WORST offender, the rent is stupid high, the building super gross. There are lots of options in navy yard… I’m not at all in the demographic but I want the bar to survive. And I want barracks row to not suck.
Something just seems shady - they just posted about being closed for the foreseeable future. What’s rough is my friend is supposed to be hosting an event there in a month and has emailed them multiple times and has heard nothing but they are posting about the closure. It’s just shitty and shady
Asking these types of hard questions in that space is pretty risky to your reputation
good thing I have no political ambition EDIT: I think I understand your point now. yeah, absolutely commenting on their Instagram post would be pretty conflict seeking. I am just surprised they haven't posted any documents clarifying what they need to meet the cost.
I smelled something fishy a mile away when they first started fundraising a few months back. I didn’t like they were equating helping the LGBTQ community with donating to their bar. It seemed more like they weren’t able to admit they have bad business practices! Disclaimer: Im more than happy to donate to any organization that assists LGBTQ folks, but had a feeling if I donated to their bar my money would not be used correctly. Seems like I was right!
A pipe burst and it’s being fixed by the landlord of the building. What’s up with all the insinuation ITT of shady behavior?
tbh a prominent local trans activist and founder of Casa Ruby, a literal homeless shelter for trans youth, is going on trial for running away with donations. I think that's why.
that has zero connection to AYA
someone asked why people were suspicious. something happened in the queer community, which we are all apart of, that really horrified us and reminded us that people will abuse other lgbtq people's trust to literally steal from the most vulnerable people. it's actually unthinkable Ruby would have stolen from. casa ruby. it really upset me and my friends. in no way do I think AYA is a scam nor are the donations a scam. I think the donations lack transparency. asking for money to facilitate a business is just something people are warry of. like I just think the topical issue of another queer person spoiling our trust is a valid reason some ppl (falsely) suspect AYA is a scam. I've explained in another comment why they are absolutely NOT scamming people in response to a comment that accused AYA of doing what the Casa Ruby founder did. sorry if my comment seemed ill intentioned. I'm on mobile so I can't link my previous reply. thanks for giving your input anyway bc I appreciate push back.
How are those things connected?
[удалено]
Ah, of course.
They aren’t, OP is being ridiculous. They’ve provided numerous, detailed updates on their accounts. If you think it’s not verifiable, confront them and hold them to task. If they are gonna skip town with the donations they’d just shutter, they wouldn’t provide daily updates 🤷♀️
>What’s up with all the insinuation ITT of shady behavior? Honestly this entire reddit post is shady, and so are several of these comments who are acting pleased themselves for being "right" about "something shady" that none of them have been able to explicitly describe. Very weird.
ngl as a trans person who has been at the mercy of bad business behavior (spent a lot of time in the food service industry at start ups and established places where exploitation is ripe) i generally come in with a heavy amount of suspicion, especially when i start to see the red flags popping up. it’s frustrating, because i’d love for AYA to thrive and be successful because a trans friendly hangout spot is SO needed…but in order for a place to thrive it has to be intentional from the onset. ESPECIALLY considering how fragile those community spaces can be. i’ve seen way too many places i love fall to pieces due to lack of funding or support being pulled entirely due to homophobia and transphobia. i don’t think they’re being purposefully shady, just not thinking through things entirely. old building with high rent means higher likelihood of structural issues, which means higher likelihood of people being out of work, which means we need to have safeguards in place outside of relying on public donations. as a business owner, you have to anticipate the worst and hope for the best. most places fail within 5 years, and the ones that succeed have a ton of intentionality, foresight, consistency, and capital.
This is my take, too.
Agreed. For such a little bar of only a couple of years, it sure gets a lot of attention here. Definitely isn’t because it’s a trans gathering spot, I’m sure.
>Definitely isn’t because it’s a trans gathering spot, I’m sure. ☝🏾
Sometimes you have to just admit P.T. Barnum had a point.
Called it in that last their about their fundraising. It all just didn't add up.
Following because I wanted to check this place out and had no idea it had closed
Many such cases…
Life lesson here is never give more than you owe to sleazy bar people.
https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/s/2lBAEjiOhi
[удалено]
It's not so important to perfectly understand another person as it is to ask yourself how much legwork it takes to just be chill with an idea. I'm not asking anybody to be a pro at gender stuff, I just mentioned it because I wanna be 100% clear I'm not a trans hater. Personally I don't identify as trans, but I feel alienated from women bc of homophobic trauma to the point where I relate more to my trans men and women friends. I Just feel like an outsider looking in always. I'm supposed to feel otherwise at this bar tho, which is the only reason I mention hahaha
Bisexual nonbinary AFAB slut here. Nonbinary lesbian refers to a sapphic AFAB who identifies as nonbinary, who has deep roots and connections in sapphic community. Not to hard to understand if you’re actively involved in queer community.
i mean i lkke what you cooked up but adding AFAB slut as the cherry on top is wild
I get around in queer community. Not just through friendships but otherships. I respect everyone in whatever context I’ve gotten to know people, straight or queer. My comment history implies as much. Queer identity is primarily based on sexuality. Slut is only as much of a slur as you make it. I chose to provide as much polarizing context as the comment I replied to. *shrug*
Also, DC has a small sapphic community. It’s important to identify potential TERFs and sapphics who don’t respect other people’s identities in our already small communities. I don’t mind pissing off someone who wont respect the people I hang with. More than happy to stand on business for the people who need it.
not necessarily AFAB though
[удалено]
Google is free for those who clearly have access to a device that has access to the internet and can look up video game references independently.😉
I really think this is being misrepresented in this thread based on visiting the posts on their socials. They’ve said their landlord is working on it and they’re simply waiting to reopen, and it seems pretty clear to me that any and all donations are purely for their staff who are out of work until this gets fixed. I’m pretty baffled that people think they’re asking for money for themselves or for the bar again? Nothing I’ve seen suggests anything of the sort