RTD on the Return of Positive Vibes Cafe

A well-known dining fixture is set to make its triumphant return this week. RTD has all the details on the Positive Vibe reopening.

It shut down in March 2020 and has remained closed, though founder Garth Larcen hopes the restaurant will reopen by the end of summer with the help of funds raised this coming Sunday at Vibefest 2021, an annual music festival (it was held virtually last year) in the parking lot of Stratford Hills Shopping Center.

The event, from noon to 6 p.m., will feature eight bands, food and beverages for purchase. Admission is $10 at the door.

Unlike a lot of restaurants, the Positive Vibe Café falls in the nonprofit category because it is operated by the Positive Vibe Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that provides training and employment for young adults with disabilities.

“The training program is the whole reason we’re here,” Larcen said of the restaurant that opened in 2005 in the shopping center on Forest Hill Avenue at Hathaway Road.

As a nonprofit, the Positive Vibe did not qualify for the recent federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund program, which provides emergency grants for restaurants and bars affected by COVID-19.

“We need people to support us in other ways, as they have over the years,” Larcen said.

More information on Vibefest here.