Matt Victoriano is the owner of Intrepid Life Coffee and Spirits, a local coffee shop that has been forced to relocate despite a successful local campaign to keep it alive. The Chronicle's Emily Feng recently visited him for a one-on-one interview.
The Chronicle: Where did you get the idea for Intrepid Life Coffee and Spirits and its name?
Matt Victoriano: I got the idea to open it after ten years of quitting or getting fired from jobs. I wanted a business that would afford me the opportunity to help veterans and the community as a whole, and so to be a bar or coffee shop seemed like the best venue to do that. They’re inherently social environments by bringing people together and sharing knowledge. The name Intrepid comes from my experience from being in the military and since I got out. You know the definition, embracing fearlessness, fortitude and endurance; that’s something that has been a part of my life and and has enabled me to succeed in areas that I otherwise wouldn’t assume I would be able to succeed in. And as I’ve said, I learned that in the military, and I’ve taken that with me up to now, getting a college degree, doing national speaking engagements, running a 100 mile race, opening a business. I think that it’s important for people to embrace that in themselves and I’d like to share that with others.
TC: You just had a very successful Indiegogo campaign. How did that come about?
MV: It came about because I was past due on rent with my landlords, and they were giving me the boot, so I just posted online to let my patrons know that I was closing up shop. And they seemed pretty adamant–my patrons–and the community as a whole seemed pretty adamant as a whole that I stay open. I used a crowd sourcing mechanism to do that. I was hesitant at first, but given the community support I thought it was necessary to at least give it a shot. So I scrambled that together and then posted it. Went active. And then I guess, in conjunction, I was also honored at the White House for opening the business. [Laughs] The bitter irony! They didn’t know I was in the process of closing down. But that provided me with some national media attention through NPR and some other programs, and I guess that really put fuel to the campaign. And I was able to raise $27,000 in seven days.
TC: What was that like watching that or making that happen?
MV: I didn’t make it happen! [Laughs] I just posted something. I just created something. Everybody else commented and shared it. It was interesting. I went into it with the mindset that it would probably not succeed and also with the knowledge that if it did succeed it would be a lot of work and responsibility. I was inspired by the support and the speed that the money came in.
TC: Going forward, what are Intrepid’s plans?
MV: I’ve been in talks with Golden Belt (it’s a development on the east side of Main Street) to open there hopefully in a month. That’s not set in stone. That's the main focus. If not there I hope to open somewhere else. But that’s not set in stone. The best option right now is to use the Golden Belt facility.The advantage there is I don’t have to build anything out and it’s ready to go. It’s got free parking and plenty of it. It’s got a nice outdoors area and plenty of seating there. Overall it’s nice environment for people to come in and enjoy the space.
TC: Is there going to be anything different from the old space?
MV: I don’t plan on it. I plan on improving on the things that were already in the old space. So having our own run group that starts out there and have a good time. Once I open then I can plan the route. So events like that, trivia, live music, get that set in stone. I’m planning on teaming up with a jazz musician who is planning to use the adjacent space and almost make it a jazz music venue, but also as a means to do community outreach with kids and musicians that need the help. So it could possibly be a really great music venue with an emphasis on jazz, but I might add bluegrass and some other music. So a lot of opportunities to implement the events I didn’t have the opportunities before. Storytelling: I’d like to do that. TedEx type talks. I think there’s a spirit for here in Durham.
TC: What are your top three songs, artists, albums, that you would recommend to someone?
MV: [Laughs] That’s interesting. Well I’d always put Pete Yorn as my favorite artist. Most of his albums are pretty good. I’d say [the album] Night Crawler maybe, Back and Fourth. I’ve been listening to Greg Laswell lately.
TC: Originally Intrepid was supposed to be a microbrewery. What are your favorite beers?
MV: Yeah, that was the original idea. But it was just money intensive. The best IPA is Sculpin’s IPA from California. It’s expensive, but it’s rated 100 point rating on the BeerAdvocate.com which is justifiable. I got to give a shout out to Ponysaurus Brewing because they’re great guys and make really great beer. And I’d say Gizmo Brew Works. Everything they make is good. All of it.
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