UPDATE: Wicked Grounds Experienced a KINK in Their Armor…

Updated Post on September 1st, 2011:

You may recall from our post below- in April of this year- Wicked Grounds (289 Eighth St.), San Francisco’s First and Only Kink Cafe was having some issues that were threatening their future.

We recently received their random Newsletter with a brief update on their “situation” (in addition to a long list of Kinky Events they’ll be hosting in the next few months… you can check those out right here).

The big question I know you’re asking is have we saved the cafe? To be honest, I am not sure yet. We still have a lot of work to do, and some major changes to adjust to. But at the end of the day, I and the staff at Wicked Grounds are doing everything we can to make sure that the cafe remains open.

Whatever they’re doing- although their future is still iffy- seems to be working as it has allowed them to survive for nearly six months. If you’d like to get involved in ANY way, check out their website here.

Original Post from April 21, 2011:

We’re a little late on this one because it was sent to me when I was out of town and it kinda got lost in the basement. But there’s still time to help if you’re interested…

Wicked Grounds (289 Eighth St.), San Francisco’s First and Only Kink Cafe is facing some serious trouble. After the following letter was released, there has been a wave of support throughout the City and they have managed to raise a lot of their funding goal. But they still need more help.

We are deeply saddened to announce that as of the end of April 2011, Wicked Grounds will no longer be open for business.

As many of you will know, Wicked Grounds had a very rocky beginning which almost doubled our initial opening costs. We received an outpouring of support which helped to keep us going, but only if we neglected to pay certain bills. Since then, we have constantly tried to work on clearing past debts and keeping current, but we have simply not had enough income to do so. To meet current outgoings as well as repay past due debts, we would need about half as much business again as we are currently doing. To lower our costs any further would sacrifice the quality of what we provide to an unacceptable degree.

There is always a personal element to the story and for us, this has been the constant hard work that we have both put in over the past two years. While we feel constantly loved and respected to for what we have provided to the community, the 24/7/365 stress, worry, and work have definitely taken their toll, and continue to take their toll in ways that are becoming unacceptable to us as normal human beings. All the positive feedback, the sense of community, the warmth and family in the world can only balance the equation so much.

Knowing the community in which we are so grateful to be a part of, there will be a outpouring of support in response to this release. We understand that, in an ideal world, Wicked Grounds would stay open without any hitches along the way. However, we need a vast amount of money to stay open: $50,000 is about the minimum to keep us open even for a few months, and to stand a chance of even one more year with us around, $100,000. This money could not be a loan.

Before entertaining thoughts about fundraising, please consider what is going on in our community, our country, our world: Bay Area’s Lyon Martin, who provide much needed health services to the queer community, is on the brink of closure; STI and HIV/Aids testing, prevention, and research is woefully underfunded; our community has yet to be awarded equal civil rights in so many areas; a series of natural disasters have made those that survived homeless and fighting for even the basics. Wicked Grounds might be an important part of our community, but so much money is needed in other places for even bare necessities.

To those of you who have so generously supported us in the way of VIP memberships or loans over the past couple of years, our thanks are endless. Please be assured that you will be receiving an additional email, the aim of which will be to address any questions you might have about your financial support. Please be patient to receive this email.

Finally, we cannot end this release without saying thank you everybody who has had some part in Wicked Grounds along our journey, whether small or large. Words cannot even begin to express how grateful we are to our employees, independent contractors, volunteers, event organizers, customers, suppliers, neighbors, and everyone else. For the brief moment we were here, we would like to think we made the world a better place.

With warm regards

Rose and Ryan
AKA Mr and Mrs Wicked Grounds 

As you can see, they are very concerned about the future of Wicked Grounds. If you are interested in helping, please click here.