I feel rather sad about doing this....there's bad news and good news....
After three years of existence, we're cutting our opening hours back to 5pm. There are a couple of good reasons:
- there just isn't enough business coming through the door after 5pm. We get busy after 7pm but it's rarely enough warrant being open. The cafe has experienced some fantastic growth this year, but the majority of it has been between 9am-4pm.
- a quality of life decision. When the cafe is open, as an owner, your brain is switched on. And guaranteed there will be some kind of crisis or issue to resolve. That means, more often than not, we have to remain near the cafe in case something goes wrong. Every single weekday. Of course, if we were busier then we would make it work. But after three years, well, we're just taking it as a sign that it is not meant to be!
It hurts to do this because we think we have a rather nice spot to hang out in the evening with a friend over a nice cup of coffee and dessert. It is also sad because choices for places to go in the evening in Sherwood Park that are not bars or restaurants are limited.
Part of the challenge I think is that Sherwood Park has such a huge family-orientated population that so many of the residents' lives are filled up with their childrens' activities or their own past times. And that's a good thing: after working so hard during the day, the hours are precious family or personal time. It is an admirable trait of the people of Sherwood Park.
And of course, Julie & I will soon be fitting into this above role with little Matheo growing up ever so fast. And that is why we are shaping our hours to suit the population and to suit our lives too.
The good news?
We're going to continue with the music night on Thursdays. It has fluctuated in popularity but we are keen to continue offering Sherwood Park the chance to listen to some of the exceptional talent floating around Strathcona and Edmonton. If you know of someone who would like to play, please contact saturday@cafehaven.ca
Thanks,
Michael, Julie & Matheo
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2 comments:
Indeed, sad to see the number of nice evening hangouts in the Park reduced to, well, zero ... but good call, and great decision for your family!
Great idea M! Take a breath, enjoy Christmas. Then dream... I love the idea of a coffee club and now you have any number of evenings to host it! Cafe haven gives me everything I wanted!
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