How we got to this point…

On March 16, 2020, exactly 350 days ago, I was sitting across the conference table from my business partner as we did each week, discussing the normal stuff. Finances, coffee sales, staff considerations and issues we are always looking to resolve. It was as routine of a weekly check-in as we ever have had. The last topic on the table was a simple open-ended question: What would happen if we lost 75% of our customers overnight? This was the first time I was forced to think about what was becoming a reality for our nation.

Within three days I had created an extensive questionnaire for my leadership team to examine. The purpose of these tough questions was to gauge the depth of our own understanding of what was possible in a time of uncertainty. It intentionally prodded at our inexperience in dealing with an problem of this magnitude. COVID-19 was not yet officially identified in Kansas and we had not even considered for a minute that it could shutter our business.

We took this opportunity to create a plan for how to carefully protect our business and the staff we had grown to 32 employees. We realized there would be an undoing of our operations, so our approach needed to be hyper-focused on preservation. The plan came together as rapidly as the information was coming at our community. Exactly 19 days after we completed our own internal survey, we shut the doors at our café for the first time.

Fast forward half a year, we shut or doors again after being open for seating for about a month because the community was simply not getting better. COVID-19 numbers topped at levels so high, Kansas was identified as one of the hottest of hot spots for catching Coronavirus. Way to go, gang!

Shifting back to a carryout only model was our next move. Slowing the spread of the virus needed to be priority, and we collectively decided that we could do our part by minimizing the exposure within our spaces. And the only way to reopen would be if the data shifted dramatically, indicating a healthier community. And that brings us to today. March 1st, 2021, 323 days after we first shut down. We are happy to report the community spread is solidly declining and we are comfortable reopening with some rules.