[URBAN NOTE] "How two queer Ottawa businesses are crowdfunding to stay alive"
Daily Xtra's Jeremy Willard describes how two queer Ottawa businesses are resorting to crowdfunding to stay alive.
For the owners of After Stonewall and Wilde’s, it has never been just about the money. It’s about helping sustain queer culture in Ottawa - and now they’re asking for help to keep their businesses alive.
“This hasn’t been a great year, business-wise, along Bank Street. It’s not just us,” says Trevor Prevost, owner of Wilde’s. “You sort of have to look ahead six months in retail and say, ‘okay, can I continue this way or not?’ And right now we can’t.”
As with many queer businesses before them (most of which were small businesses), the bills have become more than they can handle. So they’re running an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to merge the two stores, which will reduce overhead costs and provide more opportunity for collaboration and growth.
Prevost bought Wilde’s late in 2015, and Michael Deyell bought After Stonewall in 2012. They each had plans for their respective new businesses, but it was never just about making money.
It’s also about preserving two of Ottawa’s oldest surviving queer businesses - After Stonewall opened in 1990, and Wilde’s in 1993 - and about supporting local queer culture in other ways.
“When I took over the store, we really wanted to promote the area - we wanted to promote the Village,” Prevost says. ”Because people keep talking about places where the villages have gotten sketchy, and rough as well.”
“Being a business owner in the community we sort of have a louder voice and can do things.”
After Stonewall sells queer books and Canadian art, and Wilde’s is a sex shop. The two stores also sell tickets for local events, and After Stonewall hosts book launches and art exhibits, and throws occasional fundraisers.
For the owners of After Stonewall and Wilde’s, it has never been just about the money. It’s about helping sustain queer culture in Ottawa - and now they’re asking for help to keep their businesses alive.
“This hasn’t been a great year, business-wise, along Bank Street. It’s not just us,” says Trevor Prevost, owner of Wilde’s. “You sort of have to look ahead six months in retail and say, ‘okay, can I continue this way or not?’ And right now we can’t.”
As with many queer businesses before them (most of which were small businesses), the bills have become more than they can handle. So they’re running an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to merge the two stores, which will reduce overhead costs and provide more opportunity for collaboration and growth.
Prevost bought Wilde’s late in 2015, and Michael Deyell bought After Stonewall in 2012. They each had plans for their respective new businesses, but it was never just about making money.
It’s also about preserving two of Ottawa’s oldest surviving queer businesses - After Stonewall opened in 1990, and Wilde’s in 1993 - and about supporting local queer culture in other ways.
“When I took over the store, we really wanted to promote the area - we wanted to promote the Village,” Prevost says. ”Because people keep talking about places where the villages have gotten sketchy, and rough as well.”
“Being a business owner in the community we sort of have a louder voice and can do things.”
After Stonewall sells queer books and Canadian art, and Wilde’s is a sex shop. The two stores also sell tickets for local events, and After Stonewall hosts book launches and art exhibits, and throws occasional fundraisers.