It’s been days since Cabin 12 closed its doors to the public, but the restaurant is anything but quiet.

In the kitchen of the eclectic space, the phone is ringing continuously.

“In my personal life, I’ve already slipped through all the cracks,” said owner Corey Judd to a representative at Employ Me B.C.

Within the hour, a return call confirms he doesn’t qualify for any grants.

“I generally don’t qualify for anything,” Judd said, hanging up the phone.

The bad news keeps coming.

Another call from staff alerts him to a bounced paycheque.

Things aren’t looking promising for Judd. Instead of appealing to investors again, he’s throwing an all-day bash to raise $7,500 he needs to reopen.

While more than a quarter of new restaurants fail during their first year, this isn’t a typical story of a start-up faltering.

Even if Cabin 12 closes for good, Judd’s story is one of resourcefulness and, in many ways, success.

In March, the 31 year old was unemployed after losing his job at a local diner. With $200 in the bank, he decided to open his own restaurant based on his vision of how things should run.

“Restaurants breed violence and they breed anger,” he said, admitting that not long ago, he was also an angry person and an alcoholic.

He decided to overhaul his style of communication and apply it to the workplace. Drawing on his years of experience working at summer camp, his business model is based on the same kind of mentorship, rather than top-down hierarchy.

“If I build a better workspace, I’ll have the best workers,” he explained. His goal is to hire people like him, “who have been beat up a little bit in their lives,” and give them a place where they’re trusted and not judged.

Through Facebook, he appealed for investors “to believe in this very risky individual with this idea that sounds outlandish.” Dribs and drabs of contributions added to $15,000 -- just enough to sign a lease at 607 Pandora Ave.

He hired 12 staff, acquired a loyal customer following and a reputation for lively open mic nights. It’s quite a feat considering start-up costs for restaurants that lease their space average about $450,000, according to Restaurant.com. Even the lower quartile of restaurateurs require $125,000 to launch their business, according to the same members’ survey.

To make it work, Judd gave up his apartment and lived for months in the back of his business.

There were also some setbacks. Six days after opening, a vandal smashed the front window, an unforeseen cost Judd couldn’t cover. Through the media, fans learned of the tragedy and chipped in. Two months later, a thief broke in and made off with Judd’s laptop, wallet and ID.

Despite these hiccups, the bills were getting paid, if only barely, for seven months. Then November hit.

A dip in sales wouldn’t mean as much for a restaurant with an overdraft or line of credit. But for Judd, a $3,000 deficit was enough to close the doors. He made the call Nov. 10.

Kenneth Randall began work at Cabin 12 within the first two weeks of business.

Staff respects each other and want to come in on their days off just to help, he says. Plans for the “Damn the man, save the Cabin” fundraiser party aren’t firmed up yet, but the event takes place 10 a.m. to midnight, Saturday (Nov. 21).

For details, call 250-590-1500.

rholmen@saanichnews.com