a whirling dervish, new ideas, and tourists at the Blackbird Cafe

Alright! I'm back up and running! I've been delinquent in blogging for awhile because both our general manager and our head cook decided to leave our cafe this past spring! Both individuals are moving on to bigger and better things, and we wish them the best of luck. They were both fantastic employees and will be missed greatly.

Consequently, I, as the owner, have been a whirling dervish trying to hold everything together in the mean time. Even as scary as the whole prospect seemed at the onset, things are working out okay! I've found an interim cook for the summer (still looking for a head cook for fall though), and I've managed to delegate enough other responsibilities that I'm not running ragged.



Interesting tid bits to report on:

1. Summer is our s-l-o-w season and we've definitely seen an impact in sales (as was expected). One of the results is a change in our labor force. At the peak we had 17 employees on the books, but for summer there are only enough hours for 9 employees.

Another result is the need to cook up new ideas to draw people in. The result: A new summer dinner menu, radio advertisements (rare for us) and promotionals (never tried them before).

2. I have found a local pork producer!! So we've added pork chops and local sausage to our new dinner menu. (I am very excited about this.)

3. I've noticed an unusually high number of people filling out applications for employment.

4. The tourists are coming! In the summer we often get tourists stopping in, usually on their way to somewhere else, and I'm already noticing their presence.


'Til next time.

the unwinding, whirled dervish,

Katrina Hebb