Great Morning to everyone.... Been long time.....So where to begin ?????

I have been thru ups and downs with the cafe during covid. We returned from Florida on March 10th 2020 and on March 16th we were shut down by the Governor of Illinois. We were down for indoor dining for about three weeks. We began outdoor dining and carryout along with doing dinners and heat and eats to get us thru. The indoor dining will not return for a few months.

I worked harder than ever on the garden to sell extra produce at farmers market allowing me to keep going for a while. And then........ the fire. We had a fire in kitchen  June 10th 2020 that knocked us down for another month and half. Thank goodness for all those insurance payments I made. I thank God none of our staff was hurt. We opened back up and got to do indoor dining once again for about 3 weeks and they closed it back down again. We then continued on for carryout only. 

So I had a side gig at a year round farmers market to help out. I sell Amish goods, baked goods and produce here. In September of 2020 I was informed there was going to be new owners and that the new owner didn't want my items in there. So here I sat with so much inventory and what to do with it ???  Well I could have no indoor dining , so I turned my little cafe into a store. I sold my inventory and baked goods and did a tremendous amount of sales for the holidays. I was on my last leg at what to do next. I hung my head low and told my staff , we are going to have to close until Spring to save what little money I have to be able to open back up. So shut down we did once more. This lasted about a week and I received the news of a grant. The good Lord was looking after us once again. So we opened the doors once again for carryout, and baking. We received the news we could open back up in mid January of 2021, but only to half capacity. For me this was easy because we are a small cafe. We are down 10 seats, but sales are still down because people are afraid to come in and others are not happy with mask rule. 

I go to Florida in February of every year. I have a brother in law there to stay with or otherwise I wouldn't be able to go as long. My staff at the cafe is very dependable and responsible. They are huge Assets to me. Wonderful staff is an asset to have in any business. They are your business. Without them the garden would also be a loss. So as I sit here in Florida I have come up with ideas for the Cafe and the Garden to get us back on our feet and assure my staff have jobs.

I pray that we make it thru all of the covid, minimum wage increases, and any other thing life wants to throw our way. I am not giving up.......

See ya again soon. 

"The Homestead Honey"