Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Starting Anew



So as some of you know I have started a new venture. I recently was given the opportunity to run a new cafe in Columbiana. My good friend Don who is renovating the Main Street Theater and the building adjacent to it that is now called the Encore Cafe approached me with the idea and although it was a really hard decision, because I have been with my other job for 12+ years, I just couldn't pass up the chance for something that I have always wanted to do, which is start up and run a cafe. I get to make the menu, order equipment, hire and train employees, deal with the Health Department, and all the fun things that running a business takes. My first week of non-employment at the Dutch Haus started this week and it has been really wierd. I feel out of place not having a set schedule yet. The Cafe is set to open in mid September and until the building crew is out and we are ready to move stuff in then I will be mostly at home and traveling to meet food distributors and other vendors. Once open we will have all the things that you can expect from a Cafe. Coffee, Lattes, Mochas, Pastries, Soups, Salads, Caramel Apples, Sandwiches, etc. and various other things to make people feel at home there. I am really excited about this new venture and I love the challenge of taking it on, at the same time I am really nervous and expectant for the future of the Cafe and how it will do once it is open. I will still keep my plans of nursing in full tilt. I will still be a full-time student and Kent State and I, in no way, will drop those plans. The owners of the Cafe are giving me free access to whatever hours I will be able to work once school starts and I will be able to fit in a full time schedule there whenever is most convenient for me.