Help Den Chan Cafe Come to Life!

Imagine a place where you walk through the door and are transported to a world full of imagination based on the bilingual books about Den Chan.

Project Den Chan Cafe comes from a dream to have a local cafe that truly supports local, all the while supporting language learning and the love for cats (all animals).

Help Me keep supporting local small businesses!

Have you ever wanted to support a meaningful small business? Now is your chance!

Many of y'all have asked how you can help, and I am happy to announce that I have come up with a way to enable supporters to receive a FREE cup of coffee/tea/etc. (any drink of your choice!) once Den Chan Cafe is open!

The money raised will SPECIFICALLY be used to purchase items and source ingredients from local small businesses and farmers.

Any amount helps and is meow-y much appreciated! To stay in theme with the $22.22 book price that directly connects with Japanese language and culture, I have set the fundraiser at $22,222 🐈😻😺

Support Den Chan Cafe!!

$2,539.38 raised

Fundraising goal: $22,222

15 donations

11%

Amount

$10 Feline good!

Feline good!

$10

$20 Meow-dy!

Meow-dy!

$20

$30 Super a-purr-ciated!

Super a-purr-ciated!

$30

$50 You're meow-velous!

You're meow-velous!

$50

$100 You are absolutely purr-fect!

You are absolutely purr-fect!

$100

$150 You are paw-sitively amazing!

You are paw-sitively amazing!

$150

$200 You are kitt-en me!

You are kitt-en me!

$200

Other

0/100

Comment (please enter your full name and phone number in order to redeem your FREE drink at the register)

I'd like to add $0.29 to cover transaction fees.

Any Donation = A FREE Drink

If you aren't in a position to support, that is totally okay! Please consider sharing this link with a cat lover, language enthusiast, or coffee aficionado you can think of. That would mean the world to me!

If you want a product immediately for your contribution, you can always purr-chase an item in the Den Chan Store, and all profit will go directly to this project!

In the comment section, please make sure to enter your full name and phone number in correctly as this info will be used to verify you as a "Den Chan Cafe Founding Kitty" at the register in order to redeem your FREE drink (any drink of your choice). If this section is left blank, it will be understood that you are foregoing your free drink.

Free drinks will have an expiration date of one year from the opening date of Den Chan Cafe!

Thank you, you are very much a-purr-ciated!

Yours Truly,

A Rambling Halfie

- Why You Should Care -

If you are taking the time to read this, you probably know a little bit about me. But for those who don't or would love to know more, please read on!

In February of 2023, I quit my full-time job in pursuit of something I have been passionate about creating for several years -- a business that truly values its employees and cares about the businesses it partners with.

It has meant the world to me that I can proudly support 5 small businesses (including me & my illustrator) when printing my 3 bilingual Den Chan books. I am also very proud that I can always say, "Every product I offer at my pop-up supports local small businesses 100%!"

As someone who has worked at coffee shops since I was 18, both in Texas and Japan, I accomplished my lifelong dream of attending culinary school in 2021, further expanding my skills into the magical world of breads and chocolates.

In a world where buying from big monopolistic companies is cheaper and easier, I want to stay true to the values I started out with 3 years ago to build up my company based on practices I believe to be ethical: to truly support local and mean it through actions. My current lineup includes cat-related items mainly centered around orange tabby cats, in honor of Den Chan.

Check Out Den Chan's Instagram & Den Chan Cafe's New Account!

- The Why -

It All Started with a Book

On December 20, 2023 I was able to make my lifelong dream of publishing my 3 bilingual books come true.

If you haven't already, go find out more about them at this link! I have the honor of printing and binding them with the help of 3 local DFW small businesses!

- The How -

Den Chan Events

Since publishing my books in 2023, I have expanded my product line to offer more than 20 products surrounding the Den Chan brand. Most of them are exclusively sold at events or online in the Den Chan Store. To date, I have successfully participated in over 100 events all over Texas, spanning from literary events, book festivals, school visits, to local markets.

- Next Steps -

Den Chan Cafe Location

After looking at over 15 locations in a span of two years, I finally found the purr-fect location to start Den Chan Cafe!! This is especially exciting since many plans I thought might work out did not pan out as I had hoped.

I am beyond grateful for a wonderful group of people and a supportive city to have Den Chan Cafe call its home. The outside color of the house will also be painted to match Den Chan.

- The Future -

Opening Den Chan Cafe

My dream doesn't just end with a book, it is so much more. This location is actually a house located right in downtown Alvarado, where there is currently no cafe and a huge need for one! The prospective opening date is a soft opening the end of July and a grand opening in August!
We will serve ethically sourced coffee from a coffee supplier who has direct relations with coffee farmers, make everything from scratch, and support local farms and artists.

Here's a sneak peek of what the NEW Den Chan Cafe products will look like!

To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key.

What I Care About

Community

Being a small business who supports other small businesses has been my goal since the start.

For the past 3 years, I have been able to make wonderful vendor friends as well as friends with customers. These are the people I will keep close and who I will also source my kitty goodies from!

Employees

What most businesses I've worked for in the past have missed is truly investing in their staff.

Among other benefits, a 401k with a max match is set up for anyone who works for me. True to Japanese culture, Den Chan Cafe will also offer transportation assistance to help with gas.

Languages

As of April of this year, my A Halfie's Rambles blog marks its 7 year anniversary!

My passion for sharing things I care about in the 3 languages I know will now have a location to expand into language classes and even more connections in the future!

Animals

Every since I could remember, I have been surrounded by animals, big and small. My love for cats definitely came from growing up around a lot of friendly stray kitties in our Japanese neighborhood. Den Chan was the epitome of the sweetest cat one could wish for.

I plan to work with local adoption and foster related non-profits to host events centered around adoption.