Bellden Cafe Launches a New ‘Social Club’ for the Bellevue Community
June 12, 2024 - by Soumya Sahay
Bellden Cafe Launches a New ‘Social Club’ for the Bellevue Community
Locals know Bellden Cafe as the spot on Downtown Bellevue’s main street to get your morning latte before work, or enjoy an aesthetic, fruity acaí bowl for breakfast. Few, however, know about Bellden’s efforts at helping the community through their new Social Club.
According to owner Claire Sumadiwirya, there are three ways the Social Club hopes to give back: 1) to create a cross-cultural and inter-generational space for the Bellevue community, 2) to donate proceeds from events to non-profit partners and 3) to show off Bellevue’s mix of cultures and backgrounds.
“We want to highlight the richness of the culture in our community,” said Sumadiwirya. “Bellevue is a minority-majority city, which means we have the whole globe here in our home. We experience so much rich diversity, and so much excitement and adventure about food, culture and history, and our goal is to highlight it.”
Bellden strives to connect the community by offering their space as a spot for local businesses and groups to hold events and better the area.
Their most recent event was held in late May allowing Dr. Shreya Kulkarni - certified Mastery Method life coach and licensed Naturopathic life coach - to discuss her advice and experience. She discussed mental health strategies for minority small business owners, who play a large, important role in Bellevue’s Downtown.
Other events that have been held include a cultural exchange of goods, where 20% of proceeds were donated to the Ichigo Ichie Foundation, a flower workshop for ovarian cancer research, and community craft night, to fulfill the cafe’s desire to bring Bellevue together.
“I felt as a small business, and also as a minority, BIPOC single mom, there’s a lot of things that have resources out there. But for me, if I don’t have the space, I cannot bother to look for it,” said Sumadiwirya. “Being in the community not only lets me engage with the relationships I really treasure and help me grow, but allows me to absorb the information I need, without having to search so hard.”
It must be noted, Bellden Cafe’s Social Club and its events are by no means exclusive. In fact, everybody is invited to be a part of it. Though there is a low fee for events, if someone is interested in attending but can not afford it, they can apply for scholarships with the cafe.
“We want everybody to be included in the table, and to hear their perspective on how we can improve and enrich the city as a community,” said Claire. “I believe it takes learning what the different voices are, and that’s really crucial to understand how we can improve and evolve.”
The cafe’s Social Club is in the midst of planning their summer events calendar, and community members can get excited - sidewalk sales, small business showcases and even speed dating can be expected soon! To stay updated about these upcoming events, visit belldencafe.com and sign up for their newsletter by joining the community tab.
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Bellden Cafe
10527 Main St
Bellevue, WA 98004
