It was this week 3 years ago that I signed the lease for 18-20 n washington... I can't believe how much work & time & downright insanity the last three years has encompassed...
I'm sitting at home today, while my highly capable & wonderful staff are giving me my 2nd day off in a row, and beyond grateful & amazed that this is happening.
I was 25 when I decided I wanted to make the restaurant life be my work- and the last 8 years has been a steady climb [and clawing, gnashing, stomping & crying] of culminating the relative success of beezy's. I couldn't imagine, just shy of 3 years on my own, that things would be working this well.
Financially, the business is sustainable and there's a long way to go in paying off the loan, but all the right stuff is happening. We made a bold move deciding to close at 4 daily, but it has been paying off in ways,again, I couldn't have dreamed of.
One of the cornerstones of leadership for me is that without healthy, real people working for & with me, I can't have a healthy business. The importance of having a life beyond the business is tantamount to bringing vitality and energy to our food & service~ of course, I've always wanted this for my crew even before I had my own place, and often I've sacrificed my life & sanity to create a better foundation [in some respects]. Here I sit today, in awe that I AM A PERSON too!
The funny thing is, this business is more like mothering. When my daughter was born, I spent the first three years absolutely immersed in her future success. From sleepless nights and untoward accidents, to napping whenever possible, to guiding, teaching, talking and occasionally losing my mind- I witness today her foundation. She is well rounded, resilient, loving, intelligent, and has a mind of her own- I'd venture to say beezy's is the same way and it hasn't taken 11 years!
I feel blessed that I love my work, and that others "get it". I work hard to be better, faster, more efficient while recognizing that any good system only functions if all the parts are working. There's more to business than systems, and humanity is imperfect and messy, but beautiful when engaged in the business of LIFE. So here's to more balance, more days off, more opportunities for my crew to have a full life outside of work, to nurturing a business that is an organism that grows beyond the foundation I've lain.
thanks for making it happen, and for its continued growth beyond numbers & systems.
love
bee
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
where DOES the time go?
I've been thinking for a while that I should get back to posting about beezy's- I'm working on setting up a new blog combining my personal thoughts & whimsies & explorations and I came back here to do so... It's invigorating to read the beginning of this, like a time capsule; I miss the unabashed honesty and downright gamble of every word.
Now, I'm more reserved, more careful- like tending a bonsai rather than than letting the garden take over the lawn. I don't think it's a bad thing- I suppose it's something akin to 'maturity'.
We're open Sundays now, have been since Halloween. We scaled back our hours and now close at 4 pm daily. We've got a few 'readers' choice' awards under our belts and quite a run of positive press. It's crazy busy even when the cafe isn't full of guests- always catching up, always trying to make something else better, going back to forgotten fix-it lists... if I'm ever caught up, I don't think it will bode well- it'll mean complacency and ultimately failure. Keep me busy busy busy.
Now, I'm more reserved, more careful- like tending a bonsai rather than than letting the garden take over the lawn. I don't think it's a bad thing- I suppose it's something akin to 'maturity'.
We're open Sundays now, have been since Halloween. We scaled back our hours and now close at 4 pm daily. We've got a few 'readers' choice' awards under our belts and quite a run of positive press. It's crazy busy even when the cafe isn't full of guests- always catching up, always trying to make something else better, going back to forgotten fix-it lists... if I'm ever caught up, I don't think it will bode well- it'll mean complacency and ultimately failure. Keep me busy busy busy.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
bad bloggin'
but, I'm on facebook and twitter!
things are progressing nicely- if you've been around you know I'm still trying to get the third room open and my philosophy for sanity right now is to let it happen as it happens- coming out of a crazy first opening months and the emotional and environmental ping pong of spring is making a racket of my already addled brain!
upcoming awesome: starting June 5th we'll stay open late on Friday nights for Crossroads Summer Music Festival on Washington Street; every Friday through June, July and August! We'll start with staying open til 10:30 and see how it goes...
also very excited about this summer's Shadow Art Fair!! Beezy's had just opened when the Winter one went down and we made a lot of friends and I'm working on a little thing or two to pull off a late night breakfast buffet for that... (sponsored by the as yet to be created 'no starving artists in ypsilanti' fund....)
and then there's been just a fantastic run of publicity for beezy's; perception is 99% of the truth I believe and hell, for as rotten as some days are, as stressful as it all it, as much as I still haven't finished (or even started) it's beyond wonderful that we have so much support from so many places- check out www.beezyscafe.com and click on the recent press link to get a good overview of what They are saying...
and the internets is my friend, and so are you I hope, so if you have a moment to spare give us some props over at Yelp and Urbanspoon!
this message is brought to you for the love exuded by to and for my awesome neighbors, pals, friends, fans, bartenders and sundry other awesome:
the elbow room
dreamland theater
michivore
emYou the magazine
the tap room
hullaballoo
misty lyn and the big beautiful
jim roll
drunken barn dance
chris bathgate
matt jones
vg kids
hooray forever
dave lewinski & concentrate media
nick roumel & current magazine
and so too many more that I'm bound to have forgotten several already...
but mostly, thanks to my awesome staff and my amazing daughter and my super pal, jim roll.
things are progressing nicely- if you've been around you know I'm still trying to get the third room open and my philosophy for sanity right now is to let it happen as it happens- coming out of a crazy first opening months and the emotional and environmental ping pong of spring is making a racket of my already addled brain!
upcoming awesome: starting June 5th we'll stay open late on Friday nights for Crossroads Summer Music Festival on Washington Street; every Friday through June, July and August! We'll start with staying open til 10:30 and see how it goes...
also very excited about this summer's Shadow Art Fair!! Beezy's had just opened when the Winter one went down and we made a lot of friends and I'm working on a little thing or two to pull off a late night breakfast buffet for that... (sponsored by the as yet to be created 'no starving artists in ypsilanti' fund....)
and then there's been just a fantastic run of publicity for beezy's; perception is 99% of the truth I believe and hell, for as rotten as some days are, as stressful as it all it, as much as I still haven't finished (or even started) it's beyond wonderful that we have so much support from so many places- check out www.beezyscafe.com and click on the recent press link to get a good overview of what They are saying...
and the internets is my friend, and so are you I hope, so if you have a moment to spare give us some props over at Yelp and Urbanspoon!
this message is brought to you for the love exuded by to and for my awesome neighbors, pals, friends, fans, bartenders and sundry other awesome:
the elbow room
dreamland theater
michivore
emYou the magazine
the tap room
hullaballoo
misty lyn and the big beautiful
jim roll
drunken barn dance
chris bathgate
matt jones
vg kids
hooray forever
dave lewinski & concentrate media
nick roumel & current magazine
and so too many more that I'm bound to have forgotten several already...
but mostly, thanks to my awesome staff and my amazing daughter and my super pal, jim roll.
Friday, February 20, 2009
beezy's closed for a few days
apologies world, for not getting this to the blog sooner!
we're closed for winter weekend over at beezy's- from today through Tuesday the 24th!
we'll see ya wednesday February 25th for deliciously fun times!
we're closed for winter weekend over at beezy's- from today through Tuesday the 24th!
we'll see ya wednesday February 25th for deliciously fun times!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
the black path breakfast afterparty
tonight, late night 2 am to 4 am with matt jones & co.
post elbow room show, join us at beezy's for a tight little menu of deliciousness:
Sunday, January 4, 2009
"bee, I love you AND
...the toilet is overflowing."
ah. the life of a restaurant owner.
As I watching the most fetching janitor mop up the overflowing water while I plunged, I told her the story of how back at Roast & Toast every time something like this happened, we had to go talk to the bookstore that (was awesome! go McLean & Eakin...) expanded their office directly below our bathrooms. Ouch.
So while overflowing toilets, breaking down coolers, water heaters from hell, plumbers from outer space, raining apartment ceilings, flash flooding, slippery stairs, creaky doors, broken tiles, drippy valves, shaky legged sinks, and the al capone/abu ghraib basement room are without much charm, at least there isn't a bookstore underneath me.
that day also started with the first-ish guest walking in and immediately informing us that this was her first and last visit; before she even talked to us or tried anything. Like Bob Keedy used to say: "at least you don't have to be her".
just don't ask me about the day I made eye goggles from poblano peppers. No, it wasn't intentional, but you aren't gonna ask, so we won't talk about it. And floor muffins. Cunningham muffins hasn't even made those.
I spent 93% of my day in bed today. forced laziness was necessary. it's been nonstop since two days before the doors opened way back in November. And in the last 2 weeks I had an "extra" day off, I spent those days moving in to my apartment finally; unpacking boxes from the July move (that coincided with the lease signing for Washington St.) and cleaning up (on so many levels)...
oh, and you know adding several unconventional hours to my week with the breakfast buffet; which in turn inspired several more hours of brainstorming (oh, just wait, ypsilanti...) and popcorn brain... and beezy's was WAY busier than I could've hoped with 4 less staff on schedule. And I went and got smitten besides. And drunker on NYE than I've been since my 21st birthday.
yes yes, the glamour, the glory!
and to the 2 anonymous people who said I shouldn't use 'ass' when referring to recipes: suck it. As a person who's very particular about the words she chooses, a certain level of crASS is very
important when referring to some inspired moment. Lighten up. I also ordered a bunch of this ass milk for lattes.
Besides, the health inspection was FINE.
Those are kale flower stalks holding up the caution tape. They were not used in the soup.
Seriously though, I take asses and food safety very seriously, and while I appreciate the concern... food is sexy and asses are sexy and while ass food, okay.. I'll stop, just had to get it out of my system. Nothing if not inappropriate is a tagline I've not been able to shake and I don't see that changing any time soon. I always thought it was part of my charm. But I'm also delusional. So there's that.
Other things we've experimented with the last couple of weeks sans recipe and with extra supplies (fortunate how when a freezer breaks you're loaded down with 4 bags of once frozen berries and cinnamon roll dough and cookie dough and... not wanting anything to go to waste, inspired moments and creative refrigeration and utilization become inspirationally mandatory- nothing like crisis to motivate)
and probably three hundred other things.
did you know:
buff wizard calendars are available at beezy's? [19.99]
growing hope calendars too? [12.95]
erin kelley's [of tarte.] handmade groovy owl, heart and bird ornaments [11.-24.] are for sale?
a note to all of you fantastic guests and supporters: thank you SO SO SO much for your feedback, your help, your bits of delciousness you share with me- I wish I could sell everyone's everything and probably eventually will; it's just [excuse time] there is so much to do, and so little is working equipment wise that logistically, until I can afford 2 new reach in refrigerators (one just for desserts so they don't reek of leeks and roasted poblano! and another to run our ever busier breakfast days that will replace the [broken] freezer) I just can't take anything else on. Unless it's dry, easy to store and virtually indestructible :D
other things in the works that need work/visioning/writing/future blog posts:
more soon.
all my love,
yours in service-
bee
ah. the life of a restaurant owner.
As I watching the most fetching janitor mop up the overflowing water while I plunged, I told her the story of how back at Roast & Toast every time something like this happened, we had to go talk to the bookstore that (was awesome! go McLean & Eakin...) expanded their office directly below our bathrooms. Ouch.
So while overflowing toilets, breaking down coolers, water heaters from hell, plumbers from outer space, raining apartment ceilings, flash flooding, slippery stairs, creaky doors, broken tiles, drippy valves, shaky legged sinks, and the al capone/abu ghraib basement room are without much charm, at least there isn't a bookstore underneath me.
that day also started with the first-ish guest walking in and immediately informing us that this was her first and last visit; before she even talked to us or tried anything. Like Bob Keedy used to say: "at least you don't have to be her".
just don't ask me about the day I made eye goggles from poblano peppers. No, it wasn't intentional, but you aren't gonna ask, so we won't talk about it. And floor muffins. Cunningham muffins hasn't even made those.
I spent 93% of my day in bed today. forced laziness was necessary. it's been nonstop since two days before the doors opened way back in November. And in the last 2 weeks I had an "extra" day off, I spent those days moving in to my apartment finally; unpacking boxes from the July move (that coincided with the lease signing for Washington St.) and cleaning up (on so many levels)...
oh, and you know adding several unconventional hours to my week with the breakfast buffet; which in turn inspired several more hours of brainstorming (oh, just wait, ypsilanti...) and popcorn brain... and beezy's was WAY busier than I could've hoped with 4 less staff on schedule. And I went and got smitten besides. And drunker on NYE than I've been since my 21st birthday.
yes yes, the glamour, the glory!
and to the 2 anonymous people who said I shouldn't use 'ass' when referring to recipes: suck it. As a person who's very particular about the words she chooses, a certain level of crASS is very
important when referring to some inspired moment. Lighten up. I also ordered a bunch of this ass milk for lattes.Besides, the health inspection was FINE.
Those are kale flower stalks holding up the caution tape. They were not used in the soup.
Seriously though, I take asses and food safety very seriously, and while I appreciate the concern... food is sexy and asses are sexy and while ass food, okay.. I'll stop, just had to get it out of my system. Nothing if not inappropriate is a tagline I've not been able to shake and I don't see that changing any time soon. I always thought it was part of my charm. But I'm also delusional. So there's that.
Other things we've experimented with the last couple of weeks sans recipe and with extra supplies (fortunate how when a freezer breaks you're loaded down with 4 bags of once frozen berries and cinnamon roll dough and cookie dough and... not wanting anything to go to waste, inspired moments and creative refrigeration and utilization become inspirationally mandatory- nothing like crisis to motivate)
- housemade blueberry jam, blueberry sauce
- raspberry jam and sauce
- cinnamon roll bake off- then soaked in egg happiness for 2 different baked french toasts:
cinnapear crunch and apple crisp baked french toasts - banana mash and calder yogurt, peanut butter and omanhene single origin Ghana chocolate becoming happy banana french toast
- sugar BUTTer cookies filled with raspberry, blueberry and happy peanut butter sauce (that also filled peanut butter cookies....)
- Chula Vista flashbacks of higas/chilaquiles; frying corn tortillas with eggs and refried beans
- smittenfest corn chowder for a new friend and who doesn't want a soup dedication? really!?) that combined a mess of roasted poblanos with potatoes, roasted garlic, roasted corn, sour cream, toasted cumin and love... then upon reheating it started to scorch (New Year's Day at breakfast- thanks to my crew of best customers ever being a posse of 18?) while kicking breakfast ass (there I go with ass again) like some breakfast ninja with a wicked hangover... still, my little 4 burner range took it's aggression out on the poor chowder which was repaired with the magic of bacon and cheese and more more more poblano peppers. It started vegetarian, but ended in bacon. (like most things should)
- a rippin' delicious vegan mushroom veggie barley
- a slew of delicious vegan entrees of fun for the VG Kids Christmas party all with recipes I conjured (is that more appropriate?). I was especially pleased with the sweet potato and wild rice casserole- roasted sweet potatoes (man, I am SO hawt for sweet potatoes! orange vegetables in general...) wild rice, celery, roasted pears, dried Michigan cherries, hickory seasoning from Alden Mill House and topped with housemade sourdough croutons and drizzled and baked with maple syrup... and the vegan mushroom and spelt noodle stroganoff was fun too; using no 'substitute' ingredients like margarine or fake sour cream: red wine, mushroom stock, coffee and almond milk are magical...
and probably three hundred other things.
did you know:
buff wizard calendars are available at beezy's? [19.99]
growing hope calendars too? [12.95]
erin kelley's [of tarte.] handmade groovy owl, heart and bird ornaments [11.-24.] are for sale?
a note to all of you fantastic guests and supporters: thank you SO SO SO much for your feedback, your help, your bits of delciousness you share with me- I wish I could sell everyone's everything and probably eventually will; it's just [excuse time] there is so much to do, and so little is working equipment wise that logistically, until I can afford 2 new reach in refrigerators (one just for desserts so they don't reek of leeks and roasted poblano! and another to run our ever busier breakfast days that will replace the [broken] freezer) I just can't take anything else on. Unless it's dry, easy to store and virtually indestructible :D
other things in the works that need work/visioning/writing/future blog posts:
- the milkshake buffet in 18 (18 is the room behind the curtain- where I play wizard {priestess} of Oz) as soon as the floor is laid and the lights are installed
- the soapbox saturday shindig leading into the...
- the late night beezy's events (hoping jonathon will dj, BZ will move back to ypsi and help host sweet ass indie folk rock in an alcohol free venue)
- more tables, more chairs, community table and benches
- finish painting, the tin ceiling, and finish finishing in general
- sami's fashion club
- the record player will work
- secret benefit breakfasts, dinners, brunches, etc.
- the mystery machine catering van (think A Team, but with beezy's flair; think Velma baking with cocaine laced flour)
- tables and chairs and permits, oh my, for spring & summer outdoor seating
- the grrls of beezy's calendar to benefit alex's change the vu project
more soon.
all my love,
yours in service-
bee
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