Moving On

I bought a restaurant. Well, actually, I bought a partnership in a restaurant with the intent to buy out the owners in the next 5 years. But, still, I’m an owner! I jumped in with both feet, no looking back. The Fresh Sourdough Express Bakery and Café usually closes in the winter so that the owners can spend it in Hawaii, but next May, we’ll be opening the restaurant and don’t intend to close the doors at all after that. You can Google the restaurant and find out about it online if you’re curious. Let me just tell you that the philosophy of this successful 30 year old business is to serve fresh, organic, local food in a way that is kind to the environment. Exciting? Yes!

When I came back to Homer last March, after having spent eight months in a Yupik village, my hopes and dreams were lost – forever, I thought. I had wanted to live the whole “get back to nature” life and thought the bush village of Kwethluk would give that to me. What an incredible disappointment. Coming back to civilization made me rethink my hopes and dreams. Did I really want to be a teacher? I thought so. Did I really want to live in the bush? Absolutely not. Did I want to just leave Alaska behind? No. Where did I see myself in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years? Homer.

As I began working at the Homer News, I truly enjoyed it. I like working in the world of advertising and marketing. I like helping businesses succeed, driving foot traffic through their front doors. I like meeting business owners in our area. I thought I knew a lot of people in Homer before, but now that has changed exponentially. I’ve made many new friends, gone into businesses that I’d never been in before, some of which I didn’t even know existed. It was definitely a positive change from the politics of teaching public school and made me question whether I ever wanted to go back to that world. As the months went by, I became better and better at my job and my income increased. Being on straight commission is a scary thing, but I learned to deal with the stress and came to feel like I was my own boss in many ways. I could see a future at the Homer News and was not looking for another job.

Over the summer, I stopped in at the Fresh Sourdough for lunch several times. It was close to my office, the atmosphere was casual, and many of my old students worked there. It just felt comfortable and the food was healthy but tasty. Their lunch specials were delicious – I particularly remember a pulled pork sandwich with a rhubarb bar-b-que sauce. The seafood chowder with a side of warm sourdough bread really hit the spot one very windy day. Then, there were the peanut butter shakes… If you’ve never had a peanut butter shake before, don’t bother getting one anywhere else but the Fresh Sourdough Express. I’ve had them all over town – Boardwalk Fish & Chips, Glacier Drive-In, Frosty Bear, even the Blue Bus in Anchor Point. They don’t even come close to the ones at the FSE. I know they’ve got to be a pain to make – gloppy organic peanut butter mixed with fresh vanilla ice cream in a blender with several restarts to manually stir the mixture to ensure the peanut butter gets incorporated before it gets hard from the cold… and then the blender has to be washed. But, Kevin (owner), never blinked an eye and served my peanut butter shake with a smile.

The FSE was one of my advertising accounts and when they started doing their end-of-the-summer advertising, it included the fact that the business was for sale. It’s been for sale for several years. I knew that. But, for some reason, this time it made me tilt my head with wonder. Hmmm. I called Donna, whom I thought of as a friend since I had briefly coached her son, Jazz, in DDF and we had worked together a lot on advertising issues over the summer. Donna and Kevin own the FSE. That’s all it took. Before I knew it, I was being coached on the nuances of buying a business by Bryan Zak, Director for the Southwest Alaska Small Business Development Center here in Homer. I had some money in the bank that I had thought I would use for a down payment on a house, but this seemed like a much better investment. So, here I am! New owner of the Fresh Sourdough Express Bakery and Café.

Why is this a good fit? First of all, I love to cook AND bake. I like to think that I’m a very environmentally conscious person and use organic foods when I can. I love Homer and this business is an icon here. I love working with teens and hiring and mentoring young people is a major focus of the FSE – they have a very low turnover in employees even though they’ve only been open summers for the past 15 or so years. I’ll get a chance to teach adult cooking classes in the fall and winter months. I’ll be my own boss and having worked at the Homer News on straight commission for the past year, by the time I open the FSE in May, the threat of an irregular paycheck will only be a ripple. I know a lot of people in this town and everyone I’ve told of this new venture is excited and supportive, promising to frequent my business often.

For now, I’m still at the Homer News, but spend many of my off-hours planning menus and new bakery items, theme nights and cooking classes, and preparing for my first catering job this December 30^th. Then, May 1^st, the gloves will come off and I’ll dive into an exciting new adventure!

I had someone once tell me that we all have a need to feel loved and when we lose a love, it is okay to try to fill that emptiness with a new love. Perhaps it is the same way with dreams. Cheers!