New Directions for Colette's

One of the advantages of being a small business is the speed with which new directions and choices can be implemented. Jerry and I just celebrated the one-year anniversary of Colette's: Good Food + Hungry Minds, LLC. Anniversaries are alway a good time for assessment. in the past year we have succeeded in many of our goals for the business. We donated upwards of $35,000 in goods and services (books, coffee, goodies, food certificates etc), held 13 concerts, hosted 13 different artists, plus open mics, poetry readings, healing and psychic faires, drumming circles, and classes on everything from stree management to working with energy. We had so many ideas on how we could serve the community and we were able to implement most of them in one form or another. While we wanted to be diverse in our offerings, we never wanted to be really big.

"Big" is a relative term. When the tasks of the day take more time than exists, we've become big.

One goal that got lost in the process was a very personal one. jerry and I went into business to spend more time together. In June, we were married in the store, joking that since "we are married 'to' the store, we thought we should get married 'in' the store." Unfortunately, we were more accurate than we knew. Our private time became non-existent. Every conversation we had centered on some aspect of business -- staffing, inventory, cash flow, menu items etc. Gone were the long walks, leisurely book discussions over lunch, sitting quietly together watching the ocean from the Cape Arago lookout point -- all the activities that bind and fuel a relationship's growth were things we had no time for anymore. Individually we stopped making music, knitting, reading, writing poetry, playing bridge, making art, sewing, camping or taking time for yoga, tai chi, meditation and spiritual retreat. The very things that give our lives the deepest meaning and satisfaction had given way to the endless daily tasks of running a business.

It is time for a change and we are choosing to transition our business into a different form in order to reclaim our personal lives and better serve the community. Instead of a large storefront, we've built a new website that allows us to sell online. www.goodfoodhungryminds.com All of our books, new and used will soon be listed for sale. Currently we have roughly 200,000 volumes in our inventory. We'll continue to be search for books or individaul titles that folks are looking for.

We will continue to offer locally made and fair trade gift items, bumperstickers and posters, as well as our famous blend of fair trade, organic, locally roasted coffee -- Colette's Choice. We have lots of plans in various stages of execution -- all designed to allow us to grow our business and maintain our connection with the local community. Folks can stay in touch with us via our blog (linked on our website).

Our interest in good food has not wavered and we will continue to bake and sell our cookies, muffins, and cinnamon rolls with the help of a rented commercial kitchen. Jerry and I will both be available as personal chefs to come into your home, or anywhere with a commercial kitchen to cook for your family or group. And, of course, we will continue producing our tasty gluten free offerings to order.

Thanks to all of you who supported us. We will miss seeing all the new friends we've made over the past year. Come by and stock up for Christmas and the holidays as we hold our Transition/Moving sale from Friday, November 27 to Sunday, November 30. Remember, we're not going away, we're just changing our form.

Jerry and Jessica