05/23/2026
It’s been 1,156 days since I first opened Sleeper’s doors to this community.
Aside from the THREE days we were closed when we moved locations (+ a couple power outages & plumbing emergencies here & there). We have been open every single damn day since. Thanks to myself, my partner, Pete, & our unbelievably hardworking staff.
When people ask me what has contributed most to Sleeper’s success, the answer is really so simple. We open the door. Every day. I have personally shown up on some of the hardest days imaginable for the community who keeps showing up for me.
I can honestly say, it has never not been worth it.
There have been countless mornings that I have unlocked Sleeper’s doors before the sun was up, & I felt like I was on the bottom of the ocean. Drowning in sleep deprivation, grief, taxes, insurance audits, heartache, workers comp, endless cost increases, family emergencies, & oh my god the emails… I’d go through the motions, pull a few shots, brew a pot, & open the door. A few interactions with the regulars later, the sun would rise & I’d be coming up for air again.
When someone notices one of our chairs breaking down & offers to bring one of their own from home. When a favorite regular sits wordlessly beside me in my brokenness, with their hand on my knee, watching the sky change from black to pink. When an assembly line of volunteers moved all of our things two blocks away in FOUR HOURS. The meetings. The networking. The resource sharing. The space-holding. The brain-storming. The bulletin board!
The SHOWING UP. A coffee shop is just walls & chairs & hot brown water without the people who show up to partake.
Sleeper exists because of YOU. I’m so very grateful these walls & chairs mean so much to so many wonderful people. My community. My friends.
Big thank you to my advisor, Grant, & everyone at CEDR + SBDC for recognizing the Herculean effort required to successfully nurture a space like this. It is an honor to be so publicly uplifted by my community.
Keep showing up for each other.
I 🤍 you.
-Roxy
