Expect the unexpected

It has been about one year since we signed the lease for the restaurant. We spent 3 months remodeling and then opened up in August 2006. I knew people said the first year of any new business is the hardest, but I never thought it would be like this.

Since opening in August 2006, so many things have happened unexpectedly. Two days after opening, Comair Flight 5191 crashed in Lexington, where my mentor and friend, Pat Smith, passed away in the crash. I was crushed and devastated.

Then in mid-January of this year, my dad fell ill. He had lost over 20 lbs. over several months and had developed some very suspicious symptoms. It was several weeks before there was an accurate diagnosis. During that time, some doctors predicted the worse. His symptoms pointed towards pancreatic cancer, where he potentially would only have weeks or months to live. It shook my world like nothing else. It was one of the hardest times for our family. On top of that, the restaurant was broken into and robbed while we were closed. Talk about being kicked while you're down.

Later, the doctors found it was a cyst---a benign cyst that could be fixed with surgery. Dad had his surgery about a month ago and is doing great. We had to close the restaurant for many weeks so that my mom and I could be by Dad's side 24/7. He is on the road to recovery and we are all so so grateful that everything has turned out ok.

Now, the restaurant is back open for good! I'm so excited to be working again and to get the place going in full swing. I see only good things for our future. We have been through a lot, but leaning on each other, we have made it though.

I can't be more proud of my family. My sister, the doctor, saved us all by taking us up to the best hospital. My mom never left my dad's side and is still driving the momentum of his recovery. And my dad has been so strong and brave through all this pain, uncertainty, fear. It just amazes me how incredibly lucky I am to have my family! Go fam!

A New Year!

So I have been really bad about updating this blog...but I will get better!

I knew the restaurant would be a lot of hard work, but I never imagined it to be like this. When we started, I was working close to 90 hours a week. It's now cut down to about 70-75, so I'm much happier with that. There are many ups and downs to this business---I'd like to list a few:

Top 5 Reasons it's AWESOME to have your own restaurant:
1. Access to a fabulous kitchen with great equipment and tools (the 55 cup rice cooker rocks!)
2. My personal food costs are virtually zero --except for an occasional stop at Alfalfa's for brunch on the weekends
3. Job security is nice
4. I feel that I control my own success. The harder I work, the more results I see
5. Getting to work with my parents --we bond a lot after spending 14 hours together each day

Top 5 Reasons why it stinks having your own restaurant some times:
1. The hours and the number of hours
2. The unpredictability of your customer flow
3. Achy back, legs, and joints at age 25
4. The smell of food never leaves your work clothes, even after many washes
5. Inability to do much else but work---I miss my friends!

We've been open for about 4 months now and I've found that people have such varying tastes.

Here are some interesting order requests we have received:

~ "Pad Thai with pineapple"--a tropical twist
~ "Lettuce Wraps ---with flavor, please"--because we cook food without flavor?? sigh.
~ "Pad Thai without sprouts, tofu, egg, or chicken" -- leaving us with a plate of noodles
~ "Hot Green Tea with coconut milk" --I might actually try that, it sounds neat

To say the least, I think that we are very accommodating to our customers--special needs, vegans, and vegetarians have found a haven in our cafe. Fresh food, just the way they like it. DELICIOUS!