Meet Chey, Marcy, and Michael Spadafore of Sumūjī

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chey, Marcy, and Michael Spadafore.

Chey, Marcy, and Michael, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In early November of 2017, we reached out to friends and acquaintances to see if anyone would be interested in helping us bring an idea to life, and this single attempt garnered the attention of 12 remarkably enthusiastic and committed people. This was the beginning of Sumūjī, a traveling group inspired by the maid cafes of Japan!

If that sounds overly crazy or wacky, please let us explain! These cafes are simply themed restaurants where patrons can go to relax, enjoy some food, dancing, play games, and have an overall fun and unique time! Our goal is to recreate this encounter for the American audience at local pop culture events. We are passionate about bringing the finest and most authentic maid cafe experience to the southwest geek communities!

Our name comes from the Japanese word for a smoothie; スムージー, or sumūjī. In the year and a half that we have been operating now, our staff has grown to 21 amazing members, and each boasts their own fruity theme as everyone is adorned with colorful and personalized accessories!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The goals of Sumūjī are simply to bring joy and entertainment to our patrons and fans! It is certainly hard work behind the scenes, but the end results are always well worth our efforts. Something that is not illustrated during our events or on social media is the immense amount of work put in between events.

The uniforms are designed by one of the founding members, and each dress is hand sewn from scratch, even the accessories are handmade! A single outfit is costly and can take about a week from start to completion. Thankfully, all staff members are highly committed, and those who are not seamstresses help in any way they can to ensure the process of crafting and designing is smooth!

Additionally, we hold weekly practices for our dance team! A handful of our members have a great deal of experience in the performing arts, and while our dancing may be less than traditional, it takes weeks of practice to put together performances!

Please tell us about Sumūjī.
As noted earlier, our group is heavily inspired by the maid cafes of Japan, particularly the emphasis on the charming atmosphere and energy to their patrons to invigorate their stay. We try our best to emulate that and bring it to our local geek focused conventions and festivals.

We are immensely proud of the visual presentation we put in our company and our worth ethic as a team. Through our endeavors, the staff has become close with one another, and we have made friendships that will last a lifetime.

Moreover, our staff highly values the connection we have made with the community and the many wonderful characters we have had the opportunity to meet.

Is there anyone, in particular, you would like to recognize? Mentors, etc.?
Our company has three heads of staff, and everyone has put an extensive amount of work in to creating our path to success. Each admin has several years of experience in event organization and management.

Aside from those within our own staff, we receive a great deal of support from similar groups across the United States and even around the world! We love supporting each other and our niche passions. Additionally, we have had the amazing opportunities to meet indie artists and other small businesses within the community, and we all do our best to contribute in creating memorable experiences for attendees!

We would specifically like to mention Ikudansu! イクダンス! A dance team based in Arizona, specializing in Japanese and Korean pop dance covers. They can be found on Facebook and Instagram @ikudansu or emailed at ikudansu@gmail.com.

Another group is Dōbutsu Lounge which is an Arizona convention based late night lounge entertainment group. They can also be found on Facebook and Instagram @dobutsulounge or emailed at dobutsulounge@gmail.com.

Finally, our group would have a gaping hole without the help of Connor Heinzmann, a dedicated and talented photographer. He stepped up to the role of covering nearly all our events and has become a cherished member of the team! He can be found on Facebook and Instagram @chocozumo or emailed at connor.heinzmann@gmail.com!

Contact Info:

• Email: sumujicafe@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sumujicafe/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sumujimaidcafe/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/SumujiCafe
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0F58WNyNe2hNVbE9FGiF1Q/featured

Image Credit:
Connor Heinzmann – connor.heinzmann@gmail.com

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