Rainbow Shultz has been to hell and back as the owner of the Jamestown Mercantile, a restaurant and cornerstone for the tiny western Boulder County community.

The business survived the disastrous 2013 flood, which rocked the town and claimed the life of a beloved community member, survived the COVID-19 pandemic and, most recently, has weathered Xcel Energy’s public safety power shutoffs, which Shultz said during a Colorado Public Utilities Commission hearing in January cost the business thousands of dollars.

So, raising more than a million bucks to buy the Merc’s longtime home and ensure the business survives?

“We’ve had harder challenges,” Shultz said, later adding: “There’s so much strength and so much solidarity and a lot of love in this community, and a lot of people who are tougher because we’ve been through so much together. I think if anyone can do it, we can.”

The Save the Merc campaign is underway to raise $1.5 million by May 2027 to purchase the property at 108 Main St. in Jamestown. Burton Loupee, the property owner, intends to sell, the campaign said in a news release. The property was not yet listed on commercial real estate websites as of Wednesday afternoon. Shultz insisted that she’s appreciative of his patience and flexibility in giving them an opportunity to raise the funds. The news release said Loupee is supportive of the effort to secure the business’ status as a communal space.

There’s more than $8,500 raised as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the campaign’s website. The current fundraising drive is expected to run partway through the fall. The building has existed since the 1890s and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

“Organizers say traditional bank financing is not feasible due to the building’s age and deferred maintenance, making community fundraising the most viable path forward,” the Save the Merc news release said. Save the Merc is the public name for The Jamestown Home for Wayward Artists, Pirates and the Somewhat Feral, the newly established nonprofit that aims to purchase the property.

The property was last sold in 2019 for $735,000 and is listed at 8,932 square feet, according to Boulder County land information.

Shultz, who moved to Boulder County from Vermont, first set foot into the Merc as a hungry 20-something.

“I just went in there for breakfast and I had almost a physical reaction where I just could tell this was a really important part of my life, and I just started going there all the time,” Shultz recalled.

She began working there not long after that and became the Merc’s owner in 2010. Shultz said taking over was “the most special opportunity” she could have had.

A memorial service for former Merc business owner Joey Howlett, the town’s patriarch who was killed in the 2013 flood, was hosted at the Merc. The spot is a favorite for cyclists to grab a coffee and a bite to eat, for people to listen to some live music, or for folks to simply catch up.

In that sense, the Merc is the beating heart of the town.

“When the power goes out, or when there’s a fire or when there’s more of a social event, when there’s a death in the community, when there’s a new baby being born, this is our collective community space that has been the one meeting space that we’ve all been sharing for 100 years,” Shultz said.

Save the Merc organizers envision strengthening the business’ role in the community. That could include having a recording studio for musicians, writer-in-residence opportunities, community workshops and youth arts programming.

Organizers also hope to expand the Merc’s role in preserving and documenting Jamestown’s history by adding an oral history recording booth. There’s already “informal” documentation in practice, the news release said.

Anyone wishing to support the campaign can visit savethemerc.org/donate.

“Every dollar and every volunteer effort means a lot toward this effort,” organizers said in the news release. “It’s going to have to take every pirate on the ship to save the home of the somewhat feral.”