Help Save Rogers Park Institution Heartland Cafe

Since 1976, Rogers Park's Heartland Cafe has been serving up vegetarian fare, organic ingredients and a whole lot of folk and bluegrass music. It has happily and heartily served the community for nearly 35 years, but now it needs the community to help make sure it survives.

A notice on their website describes its 2010 membership and fundraising campaign stating the "Heartland Cafe has arrived at a crucial fork in the road in terms of our financial survival." The restaurant has accrued $118,000 in debt in the last 18 months and needs to raise $30,000 in the next week and another $20,000 by mid October.

They need to ultimately raise $100,000 to get through the upcoming winter and the long-term goal is to raise $1 million. The Heartland's owners are asking patrons to continue dining with them, but more importantly are seeking donors to help them our of their financial hole. They're also selling membership cards for ongoing discounts: $1,000 gets you lifetime discounts; $500 is good for five years and $150 will keep you going for a year.

This place has been a mainstay for decades and would be heartbreaking if it had to close its doors.