[PLUG] Jax dining room going away

[David Mandel]

Recessions stink!!  I have some good friends who closed their down town
restaurant about a year ago because of a combination of increased rents,
disruptive street construction, and simply not getting enough customers.

More to the point, we need to find a new location.
I think we should keep as many of our meetings at their normal times
if at all possible.  We have the room at PSU scheduled and reserved
for us on the first Thursday of the month for the foreseeable future.
I'm reluctant to change this - unless we have to.

Would it make any sense to go back to the Lucky Lab?
Of course, the Lucky Lab has noise problems - and they weren't willing
to give us the meeting room for free.  However given this recession,
they maybe willing to reconsider.  Should I talk to them?

David Mandel

On Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 11:40 PM, Keith Lofstrom <keithl at kl-ic.com> wrote:
> Jax is effectively going away in February.
>
> Tonight after Advanced Topics, Alan and I talked with Barb Davis,
> co-owner of Jax.  Her landlord won't let her have the large
> dining room area at a price she can afford, so it disappears at
> the end of January.  We have been using the room for advanced
> topics, and general meeting afters.  POSSE and Personal Telco
> also use it for their monthly meetings.  Jax will have a small
> room available, seating 10 people, behind the kitchen.  Not
> big enough, and not available until March or April or so.
>
> So, the hunt is on for another venue.  We need free, and a place
> we can set up a projector and screen.  The ideal site (which we
> are probably not going to find) would have these characteristics:
>
>   1)  Free (unless you volunteer pay for it yourself)
>   2)  Seating between 10 and 40
>   3)  Reasonably quiet
>   4)  Affordable food and beer until 11pm or so
>   5)  Not too far from downtown
>   6)  Parking
>   7)  MAX within walking distance
>   8)  Wifi (though we might help them set this up)
>   9)  Screen  ("")
>  10)  Projector ("")
>
> That is my ordering, YMMV.  If there is a screen and projector,
> I get to use MAX myself.  Some places (like McMenamins) are
> free if we order enough food, but sometimes advanced topics
> doesn't draw a big crowd, while other times we fill the room.
> On the small crowd nights, we don't want to hit the organizers
> and speakers with a bill for the difference.
>
> I imagine we will continue to schedule the general meeting on
> the first thursday, but we can probably move the Advanced
> Topics meeting to monday or tuesday if necessary.  We can use
> two different venues, of course, but we lose some leverage.
> Moving will cost us some attendees, while enabling others, but
> may be necessary if that is the only time a venue is available.
>
> I like ethnic restaurants, but many of you do not.  I live in
> Beaverton, but a move away from downtown would mean many of
> you would no longer appear.  Overall, I will gladly forgo
> many of my preferences if it means more of you show up.
>
> Ideas combined with action are 50x better than ideas phrased
> as "we should" or "why don't you ...".  If you think of a
> place, please contact the proprietor and see what the cost
> arrangements are, what nights are free, etc.  Then share what
> you learn with the list.  The first solid idea, soonest, wins!
>
> And send a big thank you to Barb and the people at Jax.  This
> is tough for them, too, and they have taken great care of us
> for a long time.  If any of you are rich, buy the building
> from her landlord, and lower her rent so we can stay...
>
> Keith
>
> --
> Keith Lofstrom          keithl at keithl.com         Voice (503)-520-1993
> KLIC --- Keith Lofstrom Integrated Circuits --- "Your Ideas in Silicon"
> Design Contracting in Bipolar and CMOS - Analog, Digital, and Scan ICs
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