![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Lion-Dance-Cafe-Hey-courtesy.png\")
Caf\u00e9 Hey\u2019s lion dance happens in the parking lot between the restaurant and Oceanic market in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Courtesy \/ Michelle Sawyer<\/p>\nCaf\u00e9 Hey\u2019s lion dance happens in the parking lot between the restaurant and Oceanic market in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Courtesy \/ Michelle Sawyer<\/p>\n
On most mornings in downtown Tampa, Caf\u00e9 Hey<\/a> hums quietly\u2013espresso machines hissing, neighbors drifting in and out, familiar faces exchanging nods across small tables. But later this month, that familiar calm could give way to drums, firecrackers and the bright movement of a traditional Chinese New Year lion dance if the community can raise enough money to make it happen.<\/p>\n The Tampa Heights shop\u2019s long-running tradition is now an uncertainty. Rising costs have put the annual tradition at risk, prompting Tampa-based muralist and community advocate Michelle Sawyer to step in with a GoFundMe<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to be the person who says, \u2018Remember when they used to do the lion dance?\u2019\u201d she told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. \u201cYou never know when the last one might be.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Sawyer is organizing the fundraiser to cover performers, musicians and basic logistics\u2014expenses that Caf\u00e9 Hey owner Cheong Choi<\/a> worried were no longer within reach. As of this publication, Sawyer\u2019s fundraiser at less than $100 of its $900 goal.\u00a0<\/p>\n Choi, a graduate of H.B. Plant High School in South Tampa, grew up in the Bay area before living across the United States, China and Europe. When he returned in 2007 he brought those influences with him, opening Caf\u00e9 Hey <\/a>with two friends he\u2019d known since high school.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe caf\u00e9 was just about making a place where people can be together,\u201d Choi said. \u201cThat part came naturally.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That openness is what drew Sawyer to Caf\u00e9 Hey more than a decade ago. In 2015, she helped paint a mural on the exterior of the building to raise awareness about a proposed interstate expansion that threatened the space. Since then, the caf\u00e9 has remained a constant in her life\u2014something she describes as \u201can extension of family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n At the time, downtown Tampa was quieter and less developed. Caf\u00e9 Hey became one of the few spaces consistently hosting art shows, music nights and informal gatherings, long before the area became desirable. Over time, it evolved into a cultural anchor, especially for artists.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cArtists tend to show up at coffee shops,\u201d Choi said. \u201cSo I tried to make it an environment that\u2019s nonjudgmental. If you can behave, you\u2019re welcome here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That openness is what drew Sawyer to Caf\u00e9 Hey more than a decade ago. In 2015, she helped paint a mural on the exterior of the building to raise awareness about a proposed interstate expansion that threatened the space. Since then, the caf\u00e9 has remained a constant in her life\u2014something she describes as \u201can extension of family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n She worries about losing that. As Tampa changes rapidly, Sawyer has watched long-standing businesses disappear.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEvery month, every week, someone\u2019s saying, \u2018That place is gone,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cI have a soft spot for the little guys who\u2019ve been here a while.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the last two decades, Cafe Hey has proudly been the quietly consistent, artsy underdog<\/a> in a rapidly expanding downtown. While it\u2019s fairly isolated, the nearby expansion of the Riverwalk and Armature Works has brought a much more corporate crowd to the area. Still, the shop regularly hosts budding artists at its local mic nights, on its walls, and at\u00a0 one of the area\u2019s best markets for punk zinesters and budding vendors<\/a>. Not to mention its period pantry<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n For Sawyer, the fundraiser is about more than one afternoon of music and movement. It\u2019s about preserving the places that shape Tampa\u2019s creative identity.\u00a0<\/p>\n The fundraiser has no hard deadline, but the tentative date for Caf\u00e9 Hey\u2019s Lion Dance celebration is Saturday, Feb. 21. Sawyer said raising the money at least two weeks before a potential event would allow organizers to confirm performers and logistics.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese are the places that make people fall in love with this city,\u201d she said. \u201cNot the flash-in-the-pan stuff. This is where Tampa\u2019s roots are.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In past years, the celebration unfolded quietly as part of the caf\u00e9\u2019s rhythm.\u00a0<\/p>\n Inside, the lion blessed the doorway and counter. Outside, crowds gathered for photos and red envelopes, symbols of luck, were exchanged. This year, nothing is guaranteed.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a happy event,\u201d Sawyer said. \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s something people really need right now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Choi, who now balances the caf\u00e9 with the neighboring Oceanic <\/a>restaurant supply business and family responsibilities, feels the pressure of rising costs and a changing customer base\u2013but says the mission hasn\u2019t changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s harder for weird people to survive,\u201d he said with a laugh. \u201cBut we\u2019re still doing the same thing we\u2019ve always done.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.<\/a><\/p>\n Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0BlueSky<\/a><\/p>\n This article appears in Jan. 29 \u2013 Feb. 04<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t