Week 1 at the Cafe

My little cafe is now just over a week old and I'm pleased to say that I think it has potential.

We offered free coffee all week, including espresso drinks, and that generated some buzz. People tweeted about it and retweeted about it. You don't see free espresso every day.

We met many of the neighbors, who wished us well and said they desperately wanted a business to succeed in the spot, although they also warned us about all the endeavors that had failed there. I'm taking those warnings to heart, though I also think we have a better thing going than our predecessors had. It's easy to look at an operation from the outside and think you know better, but it's hard to look at the remnants of those previous businesses, from scribbled signs to bizarre inventory, without speculating about the reasons they didn't make it.

Customers enjoyed the food and the coffee. There were times when we felt downright busy. Having started several similar operations in the past, I know that it takes time to get established. I keep looking back to our first few weeks in Ballard as reference points. Our sales at this location are considerably higher than they were at the old spot during this period, although we still have a way to go before we break even.

When I opened the shop in Ballard I was having issues with the plumbing inspector, who took weeks to approve the gas line running to the grill. I'd said I was going to open on the 2nd of November, and I was determined to do so with or without a gas line. I cooked on a hot plate and kept food warm with a chafing dish. The first few days it felt heroic. By the time nearly 2 weeks had gone by I was feeling like a loser.

I kept reminding myself of that experience last week when we opened. The new place felt ready and I had plenty of support from my wonderful staff. It's not going to be easy, but I've got a good feeling about this one.

Picking Collards

Recently I drove out to Jubilee Farm to harvest some collard greens. I needed the greens for my grilled veggie mix but, more than that, I just needed to get out of town and slow down a bit. I'd been running hard all week working to get the cafe open and I still had a long list of things to do, but I went with my gut feeling that said to go harvest the greens.

It was a gorgeous day. It had rained a lot recently so it was too muddy for me to drive out to the rows of greens so I hiked with my big plastic totes. The leaves snapped right off so I was able to gather a lot of them very quickly. I was getting a very good deal so I looked for leaves with some bug holes, perfectly good food that might otherwise have gone to waste. Even the slightly damaged leaves were healthy and gorgeous. I was happy with my haul.

I can't think of a better way to have used my time on that particular afternoon. I came back feeling rejuvenated, and rich in collard greens.

I love collard greens. I've heard that I shouldn't eat a lot of them because they have some chemical that impedes thyroid activity and I have thyroid issues, but they've got so much else going for them nutritionally that I figure the benefits outweigh the negatives.My favorite way to cook collard greens is to slice them really finely, to pieces the size of cole slaw cabbage. It's easiest to take a few leaves and roll them tightly before slicing. Then I heat some olive oil, saute a few chopped cloves of garlic, and add the collard greens with a bit of salt. They cook in just a few minutes, and they're great with beans and rice, Brazilian style.

Pumpkin Season at Jubilee Farm

Weekends this month we've been vending out at the Jubilee Farm pumpkin patch. It's a good time, with hay rides, hot cider, a corn maze and a catapult that shoots pumpkins far out into the fields.

I love going out to this farm. I headed out there one day this past week to pick up some produce to use in my veggie mix. I'd had a stressful morning, with time constraints and everything taking longer than it should have. Then I hit farm country and I just felt the tension easing.

Jubilee has an unusual business model, doing most of their business through their CSA and offering work shares, where folks come out and work in exchange for a lower rate on their weekly boxes. As a manager, I imagine this must be a nightmare from an efficiency standpoint, with so many workers working such short shifts that few of them really gain the knowledge and experience to do things right. But that doesn't seem to be the point. The point is to get folks out to the farm, getting their hands dirty and feeling at home in the fields. And the members really do see to feel at home there. They know their way around and they talk about the place with proprietary pride.

I also love the name "Jubilee." The biblical tradition of the Jubilee Year designates periodic intervals when everyone who lost their land because of debt and misfortune would have it returned to them. Think about how different our recent history would have been if we'd had a similar tradition in this country. The families displaced during the Dust Bowl years and even folks who lost their houses during the recent foreclosure crisis would all have been allowed to keep their property. It's a wise tradition, one that spreads dignity and justice, and honors the struggles of small-scale farmers.