Community members are rallying to preserve the smell of fresh coffee and the sound of local musicians on the square by organizing a benefit to raise $18,000 for Jackson Avenue Coffee.

The benefit Wednesday is to help owner Dano Reible pay for his business’ debt accumulated from unpaid state sales tax.

After being turned down for a loan, Reible was planning on closing the local coffee shop until community members began a campaign to save their beloved gathering place.

The group began raising money on Saturday with Melanie Mills, a communication studies professor, spearheading the “Save the JAC” campaign because she said she felt a connection with the coffee shop and wanted to save the atmosphere.

The benefit will take place from 6 to 10 p.m. Wednesday at the JAC to raise money to save the coffee shop.

“We are hoping to announce at the end of that event that we made it,” Mills said.

The Third Place

The group wants to save the JAC because of its atmosphere and the family environment, Mills said

“There is nowhere else besides a bar where amateur musicians can play,” Mills said. “It’s one of the few bar alternatives that we have in the community. It’s for old people and young people alike.”

Reible said staying open is not about the money, but about all the customers who frequent the tables of the shop.

The JAC brings in about $6,000 a year after expenses and it is a low-level business, Mills said

“One of the reasons the group of us are helping because Dano took on this business on knowing that he was not going to make a lot of money, but having a dream and a vision,” Mills said.

She said Reible had the dream of providing the community with a place to gather and for the arts.

“The JAC is more than a business in our community, it is a very important third place,” Mills said.

The concept of being a third place is the motto that the JAC operates on.

Reible said the JAC is a lot of people’s third place, their home and work being the first and second.

Reible will attend a hearing at 9 a.m. Thursday in Springfield where he has to turn over $18,000 or he will lose his business license.

He said even if they cannot raise the money, he feels blessed for all the support he has gotten from the community.

Mills said Reible did not ask for any help at first.

“We literally had to beg him for the opportunity to see if we could organize people to help him,” Mills said. “It’s not easy to say ‘I made a mistake in my business and now it’s going to close’ so we had to convince him that the JAC is important enough to the community to let us try.”

Reible said he tries to do a good thing by provide a safe atmosphere for musicians and young people.

“If we close down, this community is going to lose a place that parents can feel safe about leaving their kids, you can go and just relax and not feel pressure, and get things done,” Reible said.

He said the place is the common hang out for the different types of people and without it, they would not be able to come together.

“On the back of our business card it even says we want to your third place, home being your first, work being your second and JAC being your third,” Reible said.

History of the JAC

Reible’s connection to the JAC started five years ago when he and his wife would visit on the weekends he was home.

His life as a trucker caused him to travel frequently and they would go to the JAC to relax and talk.

Reible said he was talking to the previous owner about finding a local job so he could be home with his wife.

At the time the JAC was not for sale, but the owner suggested he buy it anyway.

“I said I’d love to buy the JAC if it was for sale and he said it is for sale for the right person,” Reible said. “That’s when it started.”

Despite his lack of knowledge in the business field, he bought the shop.

Efforts to Save the JAC

“I’ve talked to business people and I got advice on how to run things differently,” Reible said.

He said if he remains open he will take out the tax daily and put it into a separate account to prevent it from happening again.

Since starting on Saturday, Reible was able to make a down payment of $3,000 on Monday and by 10 a.m. Tuesday received about $800 more in donations.

People can donate money by going to the JAC or through PayPal at dano@jacksonavenuecoffee.com.

All the money raised will go to paying off the debt, even if the JAC is closed.

Reible said he is thankful for all the support he has gotten, even if he has to close at the end of the week.

“I have seen so much outpouring of not just funds, but people who love this place,” Reible said. “It’s been very heartwarming.”

Mills said if the JAC is closed at the end of the week a piece of the community will be gone.

“I think a lot of people gather there who will be kind of lost,” Mills said.

Reible said he feels in his heart that the JAC can be saved.

He said it was the atmosphere of the shop that attracted him to the shop and it is the reason he wants to keep it open.

“So many different people interact here that would never interact anywhere else,” Reible said. “So many people have gained new friendships and new hobbies and new interest because of Jackson Avenue Coffee.”

Samantha McDaniel can be reached at 581-2812 or slmcdaniel@eiu.edu.