‘Back Porch’ survival relies on kindness (and concern) of neighbors

by Stephanie fox

Thursday mornings sometimes find Betsy Killion hosting a group of mothers and their kids, one of the many neighborhood groups who come to Betsy’s Back Porch Coffee, Killion’s cozy cafe at Nicollet and 54th St., just a block from the Diamond Lake Bridge.

The coffee shop is a popular neighborhood hangout. Students stop by to study, professionals meet with their clients, and people on their way to work take their coffee to go. Community groups get together there while local musicians play to appreciative audiences in the evenings.

“I wanted to create a place where you could go get a coffee, a glass of wine or a beer and have something light to eat—someplace where you could go with a friend or even go alone and still feel comfortable,” she said.

Last May was the Back Porch’s best month ever. The coffee shop was averaging $22,000 a month in sales. Killion, in business for nearly seven years, had played by the rules and had been rewarded. The place was a success.

Then, on June 2, construction closed the Diamond Lake Bridge, one of the important links connecting 35W and the Nokomis neighborhood to the business area along Nicollet Avenue. “There was an immediate change,” said Killion. Sales abruptly dropped 40 percent.

“I was in shock,” she said. “I had never expected anything like this.”
In August, during the middle of her end-of-the-day bookkeeping, she realized that her beloved business wasn’t going to make it. “I added up the cash drawer and said to myself, ‘That’s it!  This is impossible’,” and she made the difficult decision to close her doors permanently.

She cancelled her utilities and deliveries, and then gave the hard news to her employees. The day before her Sept. 6 closing, she put a sign on the front door to let her customers know that the next time they came, the doors would be locked for good.

The news came as a blow to her customers, many of whom considered Betsy’s Back Porch a second home. “I can’t imagine not being here,” said Bonnie Everts, one of the Back Porch’s most loyal patrons. “I talked with Betsy and she assured me she wanted to stay open.”

The next weekend, Everts, a grassroots political organizer and DFL activist, went trolling for support at the DFL Senate District 62 picnic. There, she found others who were saddened about the closing of their neighborhood coffee shop. A meeting was set for the next Tuesday and 20 people showed up.

Organizers decided their best chance to keep the shop open was a fund-raiser and they scheduled the all-day event for the end of September. The coffee shop would stay open at least until then.

For many, the problems at Betsy’s Back Porch Coffee has become a symbol of how a negligent government can hurt the economic and human infrastructure of the very neighborhoods they depend upon for tax revenue. The problem is not new, but local politicians are only now beginning to get involved.

Freshman State Senator Patricia Torres-Ray is hoping to learn more about current state programs to solve this problem in Minnesota, as well as studying successful projects in other states in order to design a Minnesota solution. A number of other businesses in the Nicollet business district are in trouble because of street and road projects. As other bridges around the Twin Cities close or road projects tear up streets, more business will be hurt.

Business at the Cathay restaurant three doors south of Betsy’s Back Porch is down 50 percent as it is at the nearby Best Steak House. Even Phil’s Barber Shop across the street is feeling the pinch. “This is a community thing,” said Killion, “and we’re all sticking together.”

“Large businesses have the resources to survive this sort of disruption,” Torres-Ray contends, “but a road closing for even a few months can destroy a small business.”

Torres-Ray has scheduled a meeting with David Tomossoni, the chair of the state senate’s Committee on Economic Development, but any solutions they may find won’t help businesses suffering now. The survival of Betsy’s Back Porch hangs on two factors: the September fund-raiser and the chance that customers, old and new, will drive the extra mile or two for a cup of her coffee or for a night out with friends at her cafe.

“I can’t imagine what I’d do if I can’t run a business,” Killion insists. “I’ve been at my coffee shop almost six years and I’ve loved every minute of it. The staff and customers are like family and I don’t have the money to duplicate this place. If I can cash flow, I’ll be able to pay my loans. If sales are enough to allow me to go through the holidays, then I’ll stay.”

The Diamond Lake Bridge is scheduled to reopen in November, but the ramps that bring traffic from 35W won’t open until an as yet undetermined date in the spring of next year. For Betsy’s Back Porch Coffee and other small businesses affected by road construction projects, the future is uncertain.

“Organizations meet there, they sell third world products—so much happens in that place. I don’t think Betsy understands the impact she had in the community. I’m so hoping there will be a good ending to this,” said Everts.

Betsy’s Back Porch is taking donations. If you are interested in helping, you can go to www.betsysbackporchcoffee.com, or simply show up and buy a cup of coffee.