Free thinkers?? This story is hysterical. These people are perfect, stereotypical over the hill flower children.
Honestly, this story reads like a piece of satire.
I bet their chosen solution is to write impassioned letters to wealthy liberals to give them the money to buy the building.
The funniest thing to me is that they have absolutely no concept of the notion that a business, be it a restaurant or whatever, has no independant right to exist. If they have supporters, they will survive. If they don't, they won't.