Just a little background
I really don’t want to bore you with too much background of the past 5 years, however there are things you need to know!
We didn’t know anything, at 57 years old and sheltered by corporate America, we didn’t know squat about running a business. We didn’t have a vision we would be here today; we didn’t plot out this step-by-step outline of how to get from point A to B. What we did know was we wanted to work together, we loved food and coffee and we knew how to problem solve.
So, we overpaid for a failing business and in fact our lawyer advised against the purchase. He said and I quote “You’re not buying a business you are buying a job” He was right!
With a few principals to guide us and a ton of project management skills we jumped in both feet, as employees. By the time we figured out what was wrong with this business we were in over our head, the proverbial water was way deeper than we could have imagined. There was no “quit” option, “find another job” option, “lay down” or “cut n run” option.
Guess what we did.
Once we had a solid handle on our coffee and food side of the business, we took on the music side. The community was looking for something and they were not certain what that was, however, suggestions for a “Open Mic” was the most common. Okay we will try “open mic”! We developed a structure of auditions and line-ups, sign-up sheets etc. Then came the first show. WHOA! Hold the phone, wait, this hurts and is not the image we wanted to promote let alone brand. That first show should have been the Gong Show!
We re-structured! Now knowing what we didn’t want we set out to do what we did want. Our generation had great songwriters with the likes of James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Joni Michell, and the list is so long that becomes another blog. One thing these artists had in common was where they began …. Coffee houses, small bars, venues that attracted artist to gather and practice their craft. Tiny stages that allowed them to feel safe and their songs were listened to by the patrons or other artist. So, we knew we wanted a vibe of the retro coffee house, I mean we are a coffee house. The second element was to incorporate the model I grew up with, the Variety Show. There were several, Glen Campbell Goodtime Show, Johnny Cash had one The johnny Cash Show, Tom Jones, Ed Sullivan, Jim Nabors, and the list went on and on. The last element was to create a showcase and not the overpopulated “puppy mill” writer rounds you would find in Nashville. No we wanted a listening room!
