#redamte

Redamtè is going through some pretty big changes in the next few months. As our customers and friends, we want you to know what's happening. 

           Dear Friends, 

We will be closing our café doors at 449 State St. on Saturday, May 31st. The decision to close at the beginning of the summer was an incredibly difficult, but necessary one in order for us to move forward in our mission in the long term: to engage and empower individuals, organizations and communities to participate in restorative entrepreneurship. It has been an amazing few years of serving the downtown and campus community with high quality, local, and fairly sourced products as well as facilitating a variety of educational and community building events. It has been a great joy to get to know so many of you, not just as regulars but also as friends, and we will certainly miss seeing you on a regular basis this summer in the café. 

So what’s next?

We have been talking seriously with another location in the Campus/State St. community for the past few months. While nothing is certain at this point, we are working hard to make this possibility a reality. This new location would be an amazing opportunity for Redamtè to reach a wider community and have a greater impact in our mission. With this new possibility our timeline for reopening would be sometime early in 2015.

In the meantime, we will continue to give updates through social media and our website about how things are progressing. We also plan to continue many of our events such as Defining Social Entrepreneurship and Recipes for Change with Slow Food UW in other downtown locations as well as other new event possibilities.

How can you help?

Stay in touch!

Keep following Redamtè on Facebook and Twitter and sign up for our email list to get the latest updates on how things are progressing. Also, since we’ll be revamping a number of things with the reopening, we will seek yourinput on how to do it best. 

Come on out to events!

A great way to stay involved this summer is to come out to the different events we will be offering. These events will be posted on Facebook, Twitter and our website. 

Stop by the rest of May!

You can help Redamtè in the transition process by helping us finish strong here at 449 State St. A strong finish to the year will improve our ability to create a new space to better serve you when we reopen. That, and we’d love to see as much of you as possible!

And lastly, keep making change a part of your day - every day. 

Thank you again for all your support over the past few years. It really has been a joy and honor for us to serve you and the Madison community.

Join us in learning more and embracing the discomfort that comes with this issue. 

                      Over the past month at Redamte we've been focusing in on the issue of racial disparities. We've been sharing powerful and convicting statistics from the Race to Equity Report and hosting events that discuss the perspective and insight of college students and community leaders. This Friday we will be hosting another installment of Recipes for Change with Slow Food UW to again come together over a delicious meal and discuss issues of racial disparities in regard to the justice system. During First Wave's performance at Recipes for Change earlier this month, the word of the night seemed to be 'uncomfortable.' It could be uncomfortable for presenters to open up and share personal experiences, uncomfortable to come face to face with the realities of prejudice in our community, and uncomfortable to consider the prejudice within our own hearts. The Race to Equity Report exposed great inequities within our community that won't change unless more and more people are willing to endure this discomfort. Not just for a night, or for a month, but for as long as it takes to see lasting change. This Friday will be the last event in our series focusing on racial disparities but we hope that you will join us in continuing to seek out opportunities to affect change. Below are links to learn more about these issues and hopefully find a way that you can connect. Justified anger: Rev. Alex Gee says Madison is failing its African-American community Justified Anger Website Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development Boys' and Girls' Club of Dane County Urban League of Greater Madison

Racial Disparity in Wisconsin: This issue is real and prevalent.

Wisconsin was just named the worst state in America for black children, according to this article from PolyMic.

Wisconsin scored the lowest in ability to prepare black children for educational and financial success and showed a low percentage of black children living in economic security. Meanwhile, white children in Wisconsin are far more likely to be well-off in terms of education and economic security.

The results are staggering, and they cannot be ignored. 

At Redamtè, issues such as this one really stop us in our tracks and make us think, What can we do about this? How can we move toward a solution to this issue?

The first step is learning. We must be knowledgeable about the issue. We must share information, discuss causes and results, and gain an understanding of this issue that is happening in the very place we live. 

Join us as we seek to dive into this issue. Redamte will host a discussion about racial disparity, social entrepreneurship, and how you can get involved in making change happen. This Wednesday, April 23, Rev. Dr. Alex Gee from Nehemiah will discuss this with us at Redamte at 7 p.m. 

If you are interested in learning more, Redamtè also has resources in the cafe about racial disparity in Dane County from three charities: Urban League of Greater Madison, Boys’ and Girls’ Club of Dane County, and the Nehemiah Community Development Program. Come on in and learn with us!

Check out the events coming up at Redamtè this month!

New Menu and April Theme

Curious about what’s going on in the cafe? Read on for a full update on the new spring menu!

Spring Food Specials

Garden Veggie Grilled Cheese - Farmer John’s sharp cheddar, cream cheese roasted yellow peppers, spinach and tomato

Veggie Burger - Nature’s Bakery veggie burger with vegan cream cheese, spinach and roasted red pepper coulis 

Chicken & Brie - Chicken, Farmer John’s brie, avocado and organic raspberry jam

Sweet Potato Pesto - Renaissance farm sweet basil pesto, roasted sweet potato, almonds, Farmer John’s gouda cheese and spinach

Chipotle Chicken and Bacon - Ruegsegger Farm’s chicken, Jordanal Farm’s bacon served with avocado and chipotle ranch 

NEW: On-the-Go Sandwiches:

Chickpea Salad on Ciabatta

Summer Caprese on Ciabatta

 Spring Drink Specials 

Lavender White Mocha

Lavender White Steamer 

Coconut Mocha

Free coffee all month!

...Ok, April Fool's. However, there are a number of interesting events and delicious menu changes for you to get excited about this month!

New Menu Launches Today!  This part is not an April Fool's joke - our spring specials are now available. This new menu contains many new drink flavors, including our Lavender White Chocolate Mocha made with our homemade lavender syrup and the Nutty Caramel Latte, made with a hint of almond. And of course, with the warmer weather we are happy to ice your coffee and tea. The sandwich menu features the return of Garden Veggie Grilled Cheese and some new On-The-Go options. Come on in and check them out.

What else is going on in April? 

This April, Redamtè is focusing on Race Issues. Racial equity is more relevant today than many realize, and we will be hosting a series of events to encourage conversation and increase awareness of this topic. The proceeds from each of our events will go to three charities involved in awareness or alleviation of race issues in Madison.

Follow the links to explore the participating charities as well as the many events!

Urban League of Greater Madison

Nehemiah Community Development Corporation

3 things to do at Redamtè this month March is full of events and opportunities to connect with one another and discuss Redamtè's March theme, women’s issues. Check out these three ideas for you to stay involved at the cafè:

1. Get a raffle ticket and win prizes. Why get a raffle ticket? Because all proceeds go to our three charities for the month, each focused on some aspect of women’s issues and empowerment: Girls on the Run, DAIS, and WE International. Not only is this a worthy cause, but you also have a chance to win prizes from wonderful supporters like Ian’s Pizza, Little Luxuries, Endless Knot and Inner Fire Yoga. Tickets: $1, sold at the cafe OR receive a ticket when you attend any March event. 2. Attend thought-provoking events. If you’re into music, come to the benefit concert. If you’re into discussions and inspiring woman leaders, come to the TED Talk. If you’re just into connecting with a community of thoughtful people, come to any (or all!) of these March events centered around women’s issues. You can find a full list of March for Women events here.

Fair trade coffee can help end slavery.

In honor of February 27th, Shine a Light on Slavery Day, Redamte invites you to explore how fair trade can help to end modern day slavery.

Did you know there are still 27 million slaves in the world today?

27 million men, women and children trapped in various ways: brothels, mines, factories - even coffee plantations.

As a coffee house, Redamte has a unique opportunity to take a stand against this form of modern-day slavery. For this reason, from right here in Madison, Redamte strives to make a difference by buying fair trade coffee such as Just Coffee.

How does fair trade fight against slavery?

Generally, fair trade strives to promote sustainable living for producers. What most people don’t realize is that the families who benefit from this fair-wage living are also prevented from slavery situations. Slavery and trafficking situations are significantly reduced if families can produce sustainable living and live by fair trade standards.

Our question at Redamte is always, “How can we, as a business, make the world better?” Promoting awareness of modern day slavery and buying fair trade coffee are some small yet effective ways that we can answer this question.