I had no idea so many people were looking up "The Starlight Cafe" online!  You've made my blog pretty popular, so thank you!

I helped open the Starlight and now I'm back in school for graphic design.  As a matter of fact, I'm doing business cards, etc. for them.  The new owners, Carri and Julie, are great.   They've got lots of experience in the business and have made plenty of improvements already.  Fun Friday nights and hopefully soon a Beer and Wine Licence!  Yeah!

But as for me, if you need any graphic design services, please check out my new website: www.starvingstudentgraphicdesign.com 

As a graphic design student, my prices are low low low and I'm full of enthusiasm!:)  Whether you're local or not, I'd love to work with you.

Ah, the joys and perils of expressing yourself in a blog.  I didn't mean to imply that the owner is giving me a hard time about profits.  I know restaurants can easily take a year or so to start turning a profit and our growth has actually been unusually good so far.  But everyone involved, including myself, is working hard to make the place profitable as soon as possible.  And I feel particularly responsible since I have not wanted to cut corners when it comes to providing healthy, high-quality ingredients.  I believe that eventually this approach will prove successful...I'm looking forward to that!

We started our downtown delivery and its been a little slower to catch on than I expected.  But I think it's partly that the time of year is difficult for restaurants anyway.  We have also started staying open later (8pm) Thurs, Fri and Sat.  This has also been slow to catch on, but I think it's just a matter of time.  We will have a radio spot next week, so it will be interesting to see what that does for business.

The spelt bread is definitely a hit.  So is the organic egg nog from "Organic Valley"...literally the best egg nog I've ever tasted.  The small amount that we have begun educating people on things like spelt bread and organics has been a good beginning.  I think that the more we can let people know why we are offering these things, the more they will value them. 

The staff is bonding.  We're planning a Christmas party for next week.  (I'm more of a Buddhist myself and I would call it a holiday party and be politically correct, but in as Christian a place as Lynchburg it's probably more accurate to say "Christmas"!)

Overall I'm very encouraged to hear customers thanking me for the healthy options and for offering "one of the only consistently great cups of coffee in Lynchburg".

The Starlight Cafe has been open for a month now.  I think it has probably been the most exciting, challenging, chaotic time of my life, but we've worked a lot of the bugs out in that time and now (after Thanksgiving) we're going to be adding delivery service to the downtown area which I expect will boost our sales to the level they need to be to continue functioning.  The next step after that is to stay open later (now we're only open until 4pm).  Even now when we get busy we have a little trouble getting the orders out quickly.  I think it's just a matter of organizing things better and everyone continuing to practice their job and we have been doing both.  It's really a process putting a cafe together!  And look at me, never done it before.  I've learned a lot in the past month and continue to learn.  Much fun.

You know, all day I deal with everything that's wrong.  From the staff to the food to the organization of the place to the stereo to the register to the fact that we're still in the red.  Just a couple days ago I came up for air and realized, "Hey, you know what?  We really have a great little place here!"  If I walked in here as a customer, I'd be impressed.  I'd come back.  And then last night I read some customer reviews about us on EverythingDining.com.  They were so enthusiastic!  It reminded me that even though I deal with solving problems all day I have to remember to see the big picture, which---what do you know---is actually pretty rosey!

It's also been exciting for me to see my Spelt bread and organic items well received.  Customers keep thanking me for the healthy options and I think that as long as they are cost effective I will be able to continue adding healthy-delicious to the menu.  It's where my vision is.  People like the healthier options I make and/or provide.  The only issue is that they tend to cost a little more and are people willing to pay a little more for their health?  If it doesn't fly so well here in Lynchburg, Virginia, I may take my ideas to somewhere like Oregon in a few years.  I know there is an audience somewhere for the "all American, yet healthy" food that I want to do.  It's just a matter of finding them.

The Organic Revolution is coming, with or without me.  But I want to be a part of it.

Hello, Lynchburg!!!  Had some customers call in saying that they read my blog while looking online for some info about the cafe!  Thanks for your interest!

We were officially open this week!  Very exciting.  And very chaotic.  Last week I worked over 60 hours....I have the cold from hell...my mom came from Las Vegas for a suprise visit...oh, yeah.  And my ex-boyfriend (off and on and we broke up for good 3 months ago) has told me that he's planning on getting married next summer.  (He invited me to the wedding.)  Talk about being on overload!  Thankfully we're closed this weekend before our "Grand Opening" tomorrow.  I took one full day off and today I'm still wrapping up loose ends. 

Anyway, the Starlight Cafe has been cruising along pretty well for the first week open without any advertising.  Word of mouth got us enough customers to kind of "practise on" this week and we worked out most of the kinks in the register, menu and opening and closing proceedures.  If it had been up to me, we would have been working on those things a month ago while they were finishing up construction and I could have spent this first opening week one-on-one with my staff developing their customer service skills.  It's the last piece in the puzzle, but oh-so-important. 

We got some free publicity on Friday when they put us on the front page of the local news paper.  Here's the link if you'd like to read the article online:

http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA%2FMGArticle%2FLNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149191256180&path=!news!archive

It's all very exciting and I'm so pleased and honored to be a part of it...and be able to steer the business in the direction that I want it to go...Organic and Healthy!  (Right now those things are a small part of the cafe, but if I can drum up customer interest, I'll be able to expand on those things.)  I do wish I wasn't sick, because it's hard to show my enthusiasm when I'm not feeling well.  But I am coming to the end of my cold now, and I'm ready to get pumped up (and try to pump up my employees) next week!  It really is such a unique thing we are doing to be opening up...actually pioneering 5th Street and incorporating these organic items, spelt bread, lactose-free milk.  In the midst of the chaos, overload and problem solving I must remember: It's something to be excited about!

We have finally set an opening date for October 7th.  (Even if it ends up getting pushed back, at least I now have a date to work with.)  The owner wants a "soft open" without a lot of hoopla so that we have time to figure out what the hell we're doing before the customers really start pouring in.  This is just fine with me since....I've never managed a restaurant before!  It has occured to me that when I decided to move here to do this, my friend was refering to it as a coffee shop which sounds a little more simple than what it really is turning out to be.  We're going to have basically a full breakfast and lunch menu.  I've never cooked in a restaurant before, so that's the only part that intimidates me a little.  Hopefully none of the cooks will call in sick for a while!

Lynchburg has a strange mix of people: very low-income, college students, artists, professionals.  (This sounds like Every Town, but there's something different about Lynchburg as compared to the other places I've lived.  It does seem more polarized somehow.)  There is nothing in town that caters to the alternative, health-conscious crowd that I'm really interested in but I think there's a market for it here.  There isn't even a Whole Foods Market but I've heard that there's a petition going around town to try to bring one here.  That says something.  (What a relief it will be to not have to drive 80 minutes to Charlottesville to buy bread!)  If the Cafe was "all mine" I would be focusing more.  We are trying to combine some mexican food with sandwiches with burgers and fries with traditional southern fare with my organic, lactose-free and spelt stuff.   I guess it makes sense to see what sells and then adjust the menu in the future but I do wonder if it will be hard to build up a clientel when the Cafe has what could be seen as an identity crisis. 

On the other hand, I would love to see the different sub-cultures of Lynchburg coming together under one roof.  That appeals to me.

When I talked to my dad yesterday, I told him how well things have worked out for me here.  He remarked that his first thought when I moved was, "Here she goes again making a huge decision without consulting me."  My dad is a worrier and not much of a risk taker.  He's kind and ethical and probably the most influential person in my life, but we are nothing alike when it comes to taking risks.  Basically, he thinks I'm a little nuts the way I forge ahead into the unknown and I agree that at times it hasn't served me well.  But it's amazing how perfectly things have been working out for me here in Lynchburg.  I'm absolutely sure that this risk was right.

And whether it's because I'm older and more stablized or because I've simply finally found the Right Thing, I believe that I will be able to "stay the course" on this project more than I have on others in the past.

As we were getting off the phone, my dad admitted that he probably prefered that I not drag him through the drama of my fast, drastic decisions but tell him when "things are working out".  See, I know what my dad can deal with and what he can't.  I know that once we open I will be busy and having a lot of fun but probably feel pretty overwhelmed for a while.  At the moment everything is lovely, but I'm grateful for you, my network, to see me through the darker times of self-doubt. 

Truth. Beauty. Love.

Photo is the inside of the Starlight Cafe still under construction.

I just started reading "Celestine Prophecy".  I have a new roommate.  She's an old aquaintance of mine from about 10 years ago in Idaho.  The friend who brought me to Lynchburg brought her here, too.  It's not some crazy wild coincidence, but it is kind of perfect timing.  Do you believe in coincidences?  I want to, but of course without going overboard and forcing meaning where there is none.  I still have to contend with the Pessemists, who let's face it always call themselves Realists.

Speaking of one, tonight I got an email from the ex (remember, he had been so critical of my decision to move) and he apologized and wished me well, etc., etc.  Funny connection he and I have.  One of those things where you are better off not having the person in your life day in and day out, but you don't want to lose touch with them all together either.  Not easy to navigate.

Opening of the Starlight Cafe is still another 4 weeks away...at least.  These construction deadlines do have a way of getting pushed back and pushed back, don't they.  I'm just trying to keep busy helping in whatever way I can in the meantime.  And I'm happy to do it.  It's funny, isn't it.  The vast difference between "the Dream"...what you think it will look like and feel like and "the Reality" of helping to paint the trim and dealing with the slightly shady neighborhood that we're trying to redefine and everything else.  "Everything looks perfect from far away." 

But actually I'm quite content.  What good is "the Dream" without a few bumps along the way to give the whole thing character?  It's funny, but people here keep describing me as, "Always laughing," and "Always happy".  I like to laugh, but I've never had so many people comment on how happy I seem to be.  And of course I have my moments of sadness or frustration, but overall I think I am happier than ever.  It's encouraging to know that others see the Joy in me.  And I think my happiness is also an indication of being in the right place, doing the right thing.  Finally.

(I know, don't get all philosophical on me.  It could be that every moment leading up to this right place and right thing was also right in its way.) 

This is the cottage where I'm living.

In Virginia for 3 weeks now and have been getting settled into the little cottage I'll be renting.  It's really charming with hardwood floors and a gas fireplace.  It's still pretty empty, since I had no furniture when I arrived and have only aquired a few pieces, all of which need to be painted or covered.  One thing I've discovered about the east coast is that there is no shortage of antique shops.  I think working on their home is what people do for fun here, which suits me fine.  More fulfilling than spending the weekend club hopping.  More expensive, though, too.  I wish I had the funds for every little project I have in mind, but I will have to be patient.  I've always hated having a "work in progress", which is good for keeping the progress going but not so good for keeping me satisfied.  I suppose everything is always a work in progress and unless I want to drive myself mad with discontentment I might as well learn to enjoy every stage of the process.  I know this intellectually: the journey is more important than the destination.  But I still find myself so eager for the completion.

And of course the cottage isn't my only "work in progress".  The Starlight Cafe was suppose to be opening in a week, but now it's looking more like a month...if we're lucky.  I'm looking forward to opening as soon as possible, but even more than that I am looking forward to a more steady income.  They decided to pay me by the hour so right now I'm basically trying to keep myself busy.  There is some work for me to do ordering supplies, promoting, etc., but I don't know if I will be able to keep myself occupied with these things for another 4 weeks.  I may end up helping the construction crew just to have work and it's not that I don't want to paint a wall, but the stress of continuously finding work is what bothers me. 
 
The salary that they have offered me was a little bit on the low end of what I was hoping for.  I don't want to appear ungrateful, because this is a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor of what I believe will be a successful business.  There are some pretty fantastic real estate  opportunities here in Lynchburg, too, and I also have tbl organics.  What it comes down to is that I need to be able to get ahead in the next few years, not just live pay check to pay check as I always have.  I'm so bad with money.  I should really hire a financial adviser.

But I am really excited about the Cafe itself.  We met with the coffee roasters and sampled some organic coffees.  I'm also going to try to push for having organic, lactose-free milk available to customers (for a little extra cost, of course) and eventually I may even see about adding in some wheat-free alternatives in the bread and baked goodies.  Lynchburg is not very progressive in these areas.  I've had to drive an hour and a half to Charlottesville just to find my own regular groceries!  But there are professionals in this town and lots of colleges, so I think that if  we introduced some healthier alternatives there might very well be an audience for it.

The building they are renovating for the cafe actually use to be a bus station.  The area that we're going into is dilapidated and slightly seedy, but the city has plans to renovate over the next few years.  (A similar thing happened in Charlottesville in the last decade and now it's beautiful...and property has really increased in value.)  The man who owns the cafe has bought the whole block and wants to fill it with all kinds of cute little specialty shops.  The Starlight Cafe is the pioneer.  We are the pioneers.  It's going to take not only a lot of hard work, but also vision and faith.

I've always been a bit of a rebel and a visionairy.   Guess I'm in the right place.

Photo of the Old Bus Station, which will soon be the Starlight Cafe.

A friend here at Zaadz has suggested that I blog about my current adventure and after a few bouts of, "Who?  Little old me?" and "Will anyone care?"  I decided, what the hell?  Maybe someone out there will derive some entertainment or learn something and if not....I do like to clarify my thoughts by getting them down.  So here we go.

I am 28 years old and you could say I have been rather undecided about my life.  In the past 10 years have changed my college major 5 times, lived in 5 states and had about 10 different types of jobs.  I feel that I am finally getting to the end of that exploring phase I've obviously been in.  (Don't worry, adventurers.  I know there will always be plenty of other ways to explore while I stay in one city with one career direction.)  Unfortunately, I had to leave behind The Boy.  The Boy I, ironically, just met.  But maybe that's a different Blog.  Suffice it to say, it made leaving much harder than it would have been otherwise.  But if my career-life is working itself out so splendidly, maybe eventually the stars will align for my love-life as well.  Sigh.

But back to the story.  After 3 and a half day drive across the country with my cat,  as of yestereday, I have found myself in Lynchburg, Virginia for the first time in my life.  Ben, one of my dearest and oldest friends lives here and I have come mostly just to hang out with him and to be out of Las Vegas, which is where I was living for the past 3 years.  I thought Virginia  would be a better place to focus on my organic skin care business, "t.b.l. organics", and get back to a slower, healthier way of life.  (I recommend Las Vegas if you like that famous "dry heat", smoking, gambling, working your ass off, working till all hours of the night and spending $5000 on a purse just to fit in.  I like none of these things.)

As fate would have it, Ben's business partner is opening a coffee shop in about a month and needed someone to manage it and eventually own it.  Guess what.  10 years ago I decided that what I wanted to do with my life was own my own coffee shop.  I worked at one for a year to gain experience, but by the end decided that I wasn't ready to take on the responsability of taking out a loan, etc.  I had put that idea on the shelf but this is a perfect opertunity for me to fulfill my dream without the risk.  Also, it's great for t.b.l. organics because it supplies me with a commercial kitchen to mix my lotions.

When I left Las Vegas on 3 weeks notice, I got some flak from people.  An ex-boyfriend (motivated not so much by my interests but more by his interest in my staying to see him at the end of the month) even called it, "The stupidest decision you've ever made."  Others just looked at me with indignation when I told them that it had always been a dream of mine, saying, "A coffee shop?"  What?  Is that not important enough?  I want to have my own project, make the decisions myself.  I want to offer organic coffee and make my businesses a source for change.  They don't understand that my life has come full circle.  What I'm doing finally really makes sense to me.  And that's what matters.

My mom, who got me to move with her to Vegas in the first place, was sad to see me go but knows it was the right decision for me.  She and her friend have talked about coming out to visit me and maybe even eventually following me here, which would be very cool.  As an only child, it's always nice to have family (what little family I have) around.

So that's the back-story.  I'll share the details as well as photos soon.