Community Launches $1.5M Campaign to Save Historic Jamestown Mercantile Cafe
JAMESTOWN, Colo. (July 14, 2026) — A newly formed Colorado nonprofit, SAVE THE MERC, has launched a community fundraising campaign to purchase and preserve the historic Jamestown Mercantile Cafe, one of Colorado’s oldest continuously operating businesses and Jamestown’s only public storefront. The campaign seeks to raise $1.5 million to secure the building at 108 Main Street and keep it in community hands for generations to come.
SAVE THE MERC is the public name of The Jamestown Home for Wayward Artists, Pirates and the Somewhat Feral, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 2026 to steward the beloved Mercantile building as a permanent community asset. The organization’s goal is simple: buy the building, keep the cafe operating, preserve affordable community space, and expand arts and cultural programming.
A Historic Tradition Built Over 134 Years
Built in 1892, The Merc has served generations of residents, miners, travelers, artists, musicians and visitors. The 2.5-story, wood-frame building constructed in a classic western style was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. Over the decades, it has evolved from a mercantile and post office into what locals affectionately call “the community living room.” It has hosted live music, poetry nights, community dinners, classes, celebrations, fundraisers, and countless everyday conversations that bind rural mountain communities together.
“The Merc isn’t just a restaurant,” said campaign organizers. “It’s where people gather in storms and natural disasters, celebrate milestones, meet neighbors, hear music, and feel welcome. Places like this are rare, and once they’re gone, they’re gone.”
The crowd-funding campaign comes at a pivotal moment, as the current owner has made the property available for sale and is very supportive of the nonprofit effort to preserve the building’s future as a public gathering place.
After purchasing the property, SAVE THE MERC plans to operate as landlord and steward of the property while existing tenants, including the cafe, continue operating. Rental income from the building’s eight units is expected to help cover maintenance and operating costs, while future grants and donations would support expanded programming.
Future plans include a recording studio for musicians, writer-in-residence opportunities, youth arts programming, community workshops, and preservation efforts documenting Jamestown’s history.
A Critical Community Resource
The Merc has already proven its resilience. It survived the devastating 2013 flood that affected a large part of Boulder County, serving as a FEMA meeting point and source of support during recovery efforts, and later adapted during COVID with outdoor dining and virtual concerts.
Campaign organizers emphasize that support is needed not only from Jamestown residents but from the broader community of people across Colorado and beyond who have found connection there over the years.
“It’s going to take every pirate on the ship to save the home of the somewhat feral," said Rainbow Shultz, owner of the Jamestown Mercantile and board member of SAVE THE MERC. Shultz notes that the all-volunteer board is comprised of a passionate, multidisciplinary group of community stewards dedicated to preserving The Merc as a vibrant, inclusive hub for food, music, community, and connection in Jamestown.
Honky Tonk Fundraiser, July 25
To support the SAVE THE MERC initiative, fellow mountain venue The Gold Hill Store in Gold Hill, the renowned mountain town west of Boulder, will host a Honky Tonk Fundraiser on Saturday, July 25, 3-7 pm. The event will feature a silent auction and three musical acts, and tickets include a BBQ dinner and wine tasting. Proceeds will benefit the SAVE THE MERC campaign. Visit here for more information and to purchase tickets.
How to Help
Donations can be made online at savethemerc.org/donate. Supporters can also volunteer, host fundraising events, or inquire about major gifts and naming opportunities through the website, savethemerc.org.
About SAVE THE MERC
SAVE THE MERC is a Colorado nonprofit dedicated to preserving the historic Jamestown Mercantile Cafe building as a permanently accessible community space rooted in art, hospitality, culture, and connection. Learn more at savethemerc.org and follow us on Instagram.
Media Contact
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, steve@compassnatural.com, tel: 303.807.1042
Life, Lube & the Pursuit of Happiness: Women's Sexual Wellness Company Lark Love's Success Is No Lark
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
With sales of Lark Love’s botanical lubricants and body love products for women growing at specialty retailers including Goop, Erewhon and others, the woman-owned company is taking the lead on vaginal and sexual lubricants and wellness products.
JAMESTOWN, Colorado (Feb. 6, 2023) — “All hail the vagina,” say Lark Love cofounders Corrie Bradley and Rainbow Shultz. The two Colorado-based, longtime friends are on a “mission to give vaginas the respect and care they deserve.”
As such, Corrie, with a background in herbalism and product formulation, and Rainbow, an entrepreneur, chef and owner of the Jamestown Mercantile, one of the oldest restaurant/bars in Colorado dating back to the 1800s, combined forces to launch Lark Love. The company formulates luxurious, safe, intimate care products made with pure, luscious, all natural ingredients. Through their work, Lark Love’s cofounders seek to celebrate and de-stigmatize the female body.
Lark Love cofounders Corrie Bradley (left) and Rainbow Shultz.
And in little time, the company has received positive response from such leading retailers and trendsetters as Goop, the wellness and lifestyle company founded by actor Gwyneth Paltrow; Erewhon, a celebrated natural foods retailer with seven stores in Los Angeles; Clark’s Nutrition in Southern California; Lucky’s Market in Colorado; and others. According to Shultz, Lark Love has seen its sales double on Goop in the last month alone.
“We started selling on Goop before the holidays. Our products also appeared for the first time on the shelf in Erewhon stores this past December. Since then, we are doing well on Goop and in Erewhon. We’re also excited to expand into other brick-and-mortar and online retailers with a like-minded mission and demographic,” says Shultz. Lark Love’s owners are seeking investors and strategic partners to help accelerate growth. “This is a fun part of our company where we are finally getting out there and excited to see growth.”
Body Positive, All Botanical, Women-Focused
Using the power of active botanicals with the hydrating benefits of hyaluronic acid, Lark Love’s products are much like a fancy face serum, except made with reverence for the world’s most important organ. The women founders of Lark Love looked around and saw that there were luxury products available for every body part, including face, hair and even feet, but none available for the vagina! Through Lark Love, they decided that it was time to change that dynamic.
“From our daily hydrating elixir to our botanical sexy time serum to our most gentle organic personal lubricant, our products are made with women in mind, because women deserve luxury shame-free sexual wellness. Women experience vaginal dryness many times throughout the course of a year, the course of a month, even a day. There is a myriad of reasons for skin dryness, but what doesn’t change is the fact that women deserve a beautiful shame-free product that is thoughtfully formulated for their health and wellness," Shultz says.
Lark Love offers premium intimate care, body care and facial care products formulated specifically for women. For wholesale inquiries and/or strategic partner interest, contact rainbow@larklove.com. Lark Love also works with affiliate partners; visit here for more information.
About Lark Love
Lark Love was founded by women for women. Their mission is to abolish body shame and to change the way that women view and treat their bodies by creating luxury plant-based intimate products formulated for and worthy of the world’s most important organ. Lark Love products are available online at www.larklove.com, at leading retailers including Goop, Erewhon, Clark’s Nutrition, Lucky’s Market and others. Follow Lark Love on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Media Contacts
Allison Salvati, Compass Natural, allison@compassnatural.com
Rainbow Shultz, Lark Love, rainbow@larklove.com
The above statements regarding these products and ingredients have not been evaluated by the FDA. The efficacy of these products has not been confirmed by FDA-approved research. These products and ingredients are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent pregnancy or disease.
