Melbourne’s Beloved Beans Bar Is For Sale & There’s a Fundraiser To Save It
Image: Image: Sarah Pekin Photography / Euphoria Social
Beloved Collingwood queer and neurodivergent-friendly venue Beans Bar has gone up for sale, and local organisation Euphoria Social are ready to step in and save this unique and necessary community space – but they need our support to get the deal done!
Founded by Beca Pressing in 2023, the idea for Beans Bar started from a TikTok, when Pressing stitched a November 2022 TikTok from local comedian Samantha Andrew complaining about the lack of inclusive venues.
Beans has now been open for 16 months, bringing the community together through a huge range of events, all with their traffic-light system of sensory intensity.
Beans Bar has hosted loud and lively parties and performance events, and provided a rare selection of sober, quiet and sensory-friendly events including book clubs, poetry nights, trivia, ‘dates or mates’ mixers or any number of the fundraisers, free events and more.
Sadly, Pressing recently shared a post on Beans‘ social media that she will need to sell the business to focus on her health.
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Euphoria Social’s campaign effort to save Beans
Alongside the outpouring of support from patrons and the wider community in the wake of this difficult decision, an opportunity has arisen for a potential buyer, so Beans Bar may yet live on!
Founded in 2022, Euphoria Social is an independent peer-led organisation devoted to the wellbeing and inclusion of the LGBTQIAPN+ community. They’d already been in talks for the last six months to use the upstairs space, so this is the perfect opportunity to help keep the bar alive and extend their events calendar.
Their vision for the venue is to operate it as a sanctuary and a social enterprise, feeding profits back into community.
As well as continuing Beans’ food and beverage services, they plan to host “gatherings, social connection, offering select alcohol-free events, community groups, workshops, and free or low-cost psychology services.”
Expanding the staff to accommodate the larger range of events, they plan “to provide employment opportunities for those with lived experiences of mental illness or neurodivergence, while also offering psychosocial support and counselling through social workers and mental health professionals.”
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“Help us buy Beans Bar and make this our new home 🌈,” reads Euphoria Social‘s posts on social media.
“We have done the maths and if each follower was to donate about $15 this would be possible.”
“By building real-life connections, we aim to reduce the impact of mental health challenges and social isolation. We really want to save this space and keep it as a LGBTQIAPN+ safe space for community and ally’s [sic].”
“We are appealing to you, to help SAVE OUR SCENE!”
Euphoria Social do a lot for our community, and now they need our help to continue that work.
How can you help Euphoria Social save Beans Bar?
If you’re looking for ways to help, you can:
- donate to the fundraiser
- express interest in investing in the space
- or spread the word in your communities.
Not only will Euphoria Social have the opportunity to expand their important work, but after building something beautiful, Beca will have time to heal after giving so much to serve the needs of our neurodivergent LGBTQIAPN+ community.
While this chapter of the Beans Bar story may be coming to a close, we now have an opportunity to come together and help ensure that a welcoming space exists for a range of events for the range of community that need them.
At the time of writing the donations have reached $1,150 of the $100,000 goal, so we encourage readers to share the fundraiser and help ensure this vital community space has a bright rainbow future!
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