Beloved CSR members, 

In the winter of 2012, I was sitting in my car in the dark, while it snowed, waiting for my 10-year-old son to finish his cello lesson. I was on the phone with a good friend, lamenting how impossible it was to get funding to open a restaurant; the dream I had been revisiting since my college days. At that time, I was the head of the culinary department at now defunct Bauman College in Boulder (actually, CSR members helped purchase all their kitchen equipment when they were closing and I was opening the Marketplace in 2016) and I taught Holistic Nutrition and Culinary Arts classes, in addition to running a private practice teaching people how to shift and transition their diet to meet health goals. I had encountered so many people who wanted this type of food. I was deeply and personally motivated to make healthy food accessible and create dining opportunities for people who are inspired to eat locally, healthfully, and ingredient consciously. That was the genesis of Fresh Thymes.

I told my friend that if I had $200 from every person I knew who wanted to eat like this, then I would have enough money to open a restaurant. She said, “well you should do that.” Wow. Could I? My idea was a nod to the funding model like CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture) that my farmer friends used wherein someone purchases a farm “share” in January and gets free vegetables in return during the growing season. The money supported the farm in the lean months and paid for farm equipment and seeds. The upside: farm share members would get amazing local vegetables all season long. Downside: if there was a freak storm or other catastrophic event, that farm shareholder would not get vegetables in return, as the farm had nothing to harvest or give back, money having already been spent. 

This was also right after Barack Obama signed the Jobs Act - which allowed (among other things), for the first time, ordinary people like you and me to “invest” via small increments, in things that we were passionate about, hence the birth of Kickstarter and Indiegogo. You would be able to support a cause or a record album from an emerging artist and get a coffee cup or CD or VIP concert tickets for life in return for your support. I began to do my research. Was this legal for a business? Could I “crowdfund” my restaurant with a CSA model?

And so it began. I paid my business attorney to craft the legalese behind the program and the state’s first and only Community Supported Restaurant was born. In that first year, membership sign-up lasted for months and I used every penny to keep my doors open. Then it took on a life of its own and became very successful. It took me a number of years of tinkering with the program so it would continue to be viable. Thanks readers and former CSR members for your patience during those years. I learned I could only raise so much money or I would go out of business paying everyone back with free food. 

You see, when you signed up, I used that money as a capital expense. I used it to grow my business, or keep my doors open. I have been transparent every year with the use of funds. CSR members are and have been directly responsible for our rapid success. For restaurants to succeed, it is very hard to amass cash. Unless you’re McDonalds or Frasca, ironically. So, the CSR program allowed us to: remodel the Eatery, start the Marketplace, buy a van and afford the branding, pay for our outside patio during the pandemic, construction of the Bodega in 2021, among many many other projects. Now sadly it feels like your contribution allowed us months more of operations and feeding so many more people while I tried to hold it all together.

I had no intention of closing in August of 2022, our latest and last CSR season. I was expending so much energy to use those funds to break through the obstacles I had encountered over the previous year waiting for a building permit. And now, after 10 years, a decade of successful CSR cycles, we are winding down. All of you were investors in the success of a beautiful, respected business and I could never have done it without you. I could never have imagined what good would happen when a group of people with a shared vision, commitment, and passion, built something that made a huge difference in the collective lives of so many people.  

Funny enough - when I was trying to find people to believe in Fresh Thymes back in 2012, I was told I was lacking “Proof of Concept”. “Ridiculous” to think you can have a restaurant with none of the primary ingredients commonly used, I was told by many. And by the way I knew nothing then of marketing - but it turned out YOU ALL became the Proof of Concept! You proved this type of food had true value. I hope you are all as proud of this as I am. 

As I wind down this beautiful business, your CSR membership winds down as well. Currently I am making day to day decisions about our use of our last incoming revenue. The part of being an investor, myself included, is that we were all part of something amazing. You still are. The term investor is used specifically as a CSR member, as the terms and conditions you signed, specifically state that if the business ceases to operate, you will not get a refund of any unused funds. Just like all the investors, myself included. We are an ephemeral part of the beginning and the end. 

So, once we close for good, if you still have money left on your account, I hope you do not feel like you lost out. You and I have not lost out. We shared a vision and a dream and built something special together. I hope you believe your money supported a vision more important than free food.

I am forever grateful for your belief and support, 

Christine