onwards and upwards

so our last 'official' day as a cafe was fairly nondescript. trade was exceptionally slow, which underscored that we need to make a transition. the next two weeks should see things taking shape.

I'll miss cooking dishes like this - thai beef, kumera and green bean curry:



but maybe I'll get back to creative dinners again.

haven't decided if I'll continue posting to this blog, as we're totally shifting the business model away from food. at any rate I'll leave it up, perhaps as inspiration (or even a cautionary tale) for anyone with a dream of having their own fooderie. as this blog will confirm, it ain't easy.

finale d'cafe

today's our last day trading as a "cafe". we've decided to take the rebranding approach, so we'll close for a couple of weeks of minor renovations and restock and reopen as a gourmet coffee/tearoom and roasting house.

we've put out feelers for second-hand books or antiques to fill some of the dining room that will no longer be required by us. so far, the response has been very good.

so we'll flip the closed sign about 4 or 5, have a few drinks across the road at the pub, and reemerge with what will hopefully be a more sustainable business model.

and a much less stress-filled one.

more course corrections

we're considering a fairly major change. the primary thrust of our business is coffee, but we've delved into the food end as we have a kitchen & the place has been known mainly as a cafe/restaurant.

as most in the biz know, however, the profit margins on food alone are very slim. we've done another hard look thru the books, and our coffee = food ratio is pretty good. so if we cut out the food menu all but entirely, our overall income would reduce but the margins would be greater. which might well work better for us.

another consideration is, we've been trying to develop a market west of the mountains to wholesale coffee to. but we're finding that there's a perception that as a 'cafe', they'd be buying from a competing business. so changing to a roasting house should alleviate that.

so at this point, we're exploring how best to turn the place into a gourmet coffee and tearoom, with cakes and a limited amount of snacks and pastries.

which means, we might just be able to survive a little longer.

random notes from mid-june

biz as usual. well, as 'usual' as we've come to expect. which is good for the sanity and stress levels, bad for the bank balance. and we don't expect much to change between now and end of july, when yulefest is in full swing.

can't believe all the hoo-hah that the gordon ramsay - tracy grimshaw feud kicked up. glad sarah palin wasn't in the country to add to the stupidity.

soups and stews are all the rage as winter's set in. wind chill dropped the temp down to -8c / 17f last week, and we've redesigned the dining room to take full advantage of the fireplace. the leather sofa, with coffee table directly in front of the fire is now the most-requested table.

the stripped-back menu is working much better, as far as the kitchen & aging equipment goes. but there were a few on the weekend who seemed a little disappointed with the menu.

mind you, you can never be everything to everybody. well, unless you buy-in everything and microwave portions, which we simply won't do. we've taken the tack that this place is what it is, and we'll make the most of what we can offer accordingly. at least it's fresh.

the g word

gordon ramsay's back in the country for the good food & wine show, and once again he's managed to rattle the ever-precious cages of aussie media.

you'd think by now, everyone would be hip to gord and his style. as bad as channel nine has been struggling for ratings, one would almost think the whole thing was a setup, anyway.

compare gord's histronics to, say, billy connolly. they're both mad scotsmen, intelligent and articulate. if billy unleashed on a tv presenter or journalist, everyone would think it hilarious. when gordon does it, he's in the bad books.

why? because one is an 'entertainer' and the other a 'chef'? I'd argue that gr's become more of a media personality than a pan rattler these days.

note to the aussie media pack: if you don't like what gordon's saying, stop asking for interview time.

great rain weekend

well, the big event came and went. only problem was, they couldn't get any antique trains to come up. some hiccup at the last minute meant the great train weekend became a clayton's train weekend.

we had quite a few in on saturday, familes seeking refuge from the cold.

then the rains set in around midafternoon and chased everyone away. sunday, the village looked like a ghost town as the rain and lack of trains kept the tourists away.

so we think we can expect a fairly steady but overall unremarkable trade for the next several weeks, at least until yulefest. then we'll see what happens.

steady on

gearing up for the coming weekend, an annual event here called the great train weekend. we're told that plenty of folks are in the village for it, anywhere from a hundred or two (local shops) or thousands (event organisers), depending of course on who you speak to. but we're expecting something along the lines of what we experienced over easter.

so we'll be staffed up, stocked up, and hopefully all the equipment will work. we've now moved to the new menu too. I'm sure our regulars will be sad to see the burgers go, but as stated in the last post, it's all about keeping the doors open.

luck o' the irish

the fabulous fergusson elliott performed on sunday:

if only there were a few more people here to see him and his amazing irish bouzouki prowess.

we're settling on what will be the new direction. for the past couple of weeks, we'd been considering whether it would be best to close shop, perhaps to relocate to somewhere more viable. we've got a couple of plan b alternatives on the table at present, but each will need plenty of time and money to implement.

meanwhile... we're both frustrated with the struggle to keep the place open. we've attracted plenty of great reviews, our regulars seem happy and everything's in place for a long, steady growth curve. except more customers. and it's not just us, everybody around seems to be feeling the massive downturn in regular trade.

so we're considering an option that will allow us to remain trading, but with much ramping back. we'll reduce the menu to soups, focaccias and other light meals only. this will mean we won't have to rely on (and spend big $$ repairing) the stoves, gas lines, fryer, walk-in refrigeration etc. readers who remember our first place up the coast will recall the menu there, this one may be very similar.

we'll save on gas, electricity, staff, stock and nerves. we can focus on our core profitable products such as coffee. and we can hang in for the winter season.

we'd also be cutting out our live music calendar, which saddens me. however, after six months we still haven't developed any kind of regular support. it's heartbreaking watching these incredibly talented artists like fergusson play to a half dozen people. or less. it's a sad state, everyone wants live music and sounds all excited, but when it's made available.... there's so many people around who supported the idea, but have never set foot in our place during a music session. guess they're all too busy watching football.

stay tuned, things are unfolding...

join the club

not much to blog about, just bizness as what appears to be usual. we haven't suffered any major equipment failures or other infrastructure related problems, and have just been coasting along.

from last week's specials board - chicken club sandwich, with avocado, cos lettuce, tomato on a triple decker organic spelt loaf:

we'll have a rather big announcement sometime next week.

bastardchef

so the much-hyped aussie masterchef made its debut last night. I have to admit, I wasn't overly impressed, and that's not because I'm a fan of the british original.

the problem seems to be the heavy-handed manner in which network ten churns out these 'reality' tv shows. execs have admitted that high hopes are riding on the success of mc after the cancellation of big brother, finales of biggest loser and dancing with the stars, and flagging ratings for australian idol.

but the only recent 'reality' food series to really connect with the aussie public seems to have been my restaurant rules, which network seven aired in 2004 & 05. viewers were allowed insight into the contestants' lives, hopes and dreams - and cared. ten's 'answer' show, the chopping block failed to deliver even after a hasty makeover for season two. and I can see the same rushed, "ignore the contestants, gush over the production values" style of mc australia.

the producers appear to have taken much inspiration from bravo tv's top chef series, right down to the padma look-alike host. but as with many of ten's productions, so far it's all style over any substance. and isn't 'reality' tv supposed to be about 'reality'?

misty mountain hop

the fireplace was put to full use over the weekend, and the diners seemed to appreciate it in the first pre-winter cold blast we've had this season. I put a hearty beef & veg stew on the specials board, we sold out by saturday afternoon.

also from the specials board: tempura fish & chips (sold huge, will probably move it to the permanent menu); chef's burger with wasabi mayo and aged bush pepper cheese; veg and lentil soup; cream of corn soup; and grilled chicken with roasted garlic mash & wild rocket:

the biggest hit from the expanded burger menu was this one - bacon chicken swiss cheese and avocado:

personally, I think the reason this one sold well was people are used to seeing a version of it on most of the commercial fast food menus.

caitlin harnett played to a comfortably full house. we met a few more regulars and welcomed some new arrivals, two who found us thru twitter. nice to see simon and amanda from pop tarts, carnsey and olson. happy b-day to ann, thanks for choosing our humble lil hideaway to have your lunch bash.

ironfest and anzac biscuits

those are two events on this weekend that may or may not have anything to do with our trade.

new opening hours are from 10am weekends, we're thinking about opening this monday but there seems to be some confusion over whether it's still a public holiday.

the new menu's ready, we're expanding our burger menu and adding more warm light meal items. the specials board will continue to feature whatever's interesting, in season and above all, of interest. it still amazes me what moves and what doesn't off of a specials board.

the sunday music sessions are finally starting to grow, we'd hoped that the cooler weather would help. grey misty days with a fire crackling and some top-notch solo singer-songwriters seems to be a good combination.

but we're still cautiously watching the bottom line. we've had to send a rather lengthy list of urgent repairs to the building's owner, and that's just the tip of the iceberg as far as what's in need of attention here.

one weekend at a time...

time for a few small repairs

after much discussion, we've decided on a slight course correction. we're scrapping the breakfast menu and will now open for lunch at 11am.

there's a few reasons, and we think it'll all be for the best. the capper was our recent gas problem, which has actually been an issue in this kitchen since before we took over. the problem seems to lie with the stovetop burners sucking too much air back into the lines and killing the pilots. we're told by a couple of gas plumbers that the 1972-era waldorf ain't worth fixing, and we haven't got a spare $10k to replace her.

the main use for the stovetop is breakfast, we usually get by with the grill & fryer alone during lunch. so today I pulled out the spreadsheet of what's been ordered, how many covers etc. we've been doing 3 lunches to every 1 brekky. mornings start early and the stock costs are high. so dropping breakfast should actually save us money, reduce the prep hours and allow the kitchen to focus solely on lunch service.

on top of that, most of the weekend tourists up here stay in b&b's or other accom that all provide brekky.

we'll likely disappoint a few brekky regulars, but the numbers - or lack of - add up. we're struggling and we need to run this ship tight and solid. we're also having talks about combining our dining room space with a second business to increase traffic.

so I'm kind of excited about having some morning time to work on expanding the lunch menu. I've been perusing my cookbooks and various online sites for ideas and inspiration. stay tuned.

easter recap

well, the much ballyhooed easter weekend has come and gone. we went into the trade week half-stocked as our primary supplier failed to deliver. some idiot in the office put us down for a friday delivery - which, of course being a public holiday wasn't scheduled. needless to say, we're changing suppliers.

friday's trade was pretty solid, saturday and sunday were busier. overall, it was a big weekend, but, to my thinking at least - it still wasn't the mega-huge trade that all the local businesses said it would be. in spite of the stimulus package talks, people are still tightly guarding their pennies.



anyway, we did enough over the three days to cover our stock, staff and running costs. monday was to be all profit, earmarked to go towards our mounting personal debts - car payments, phone, credit cards etc. monday morning was misty and drizzly, perfect mountain cafe weather.

then the gas mains died.

we're still not certain what actually happened, as we're waiting for someone to come and examine the lines, but the pilots simply wouldn't stay lit. the stove, grill, fryer and oven - all out of action. we have a couple of electric appliances, but it was simply impossible to do full breakfasts for the dozen or so orders on the docket rail.

the only thing we could do was switch to what was doable with the benchtop gear. soups, toasted sandwiches and salads were about all. and as such, we ran out of those within an hour or so. the cappucino machine sprung a leak and we'd had enough. we flipped the closed sign and shut down, watching dozens upon dozens of people walk up to the doors and away again.

to fix all this, we'd need to dump a whole ton o' money into repairing the place. part of our deal with the owners was a 12 month exploratory lease on the proviso that any repairs or maintenance is to be our problem. two big problems with that solution: a) we don't have any money; 2) we're still not convinced that there's ample trade here at this time to make it all worthwhile.

so we're deep in discussions. at this point, we'll likely hold out until the great train weekend (another much-touted busy event) at the end of may, then... we shall see.

rebecca hancock and john sandow performing:

april no foolin'

we finally had a busy sunday, which was welcome in more ways than one could imagine. it's giving us a hint of what to expect over easter. we're still having a couple of staffing issues, but will hopefully have a full crew together by tomorrow.

peter pik put on a fabulous set of fingerstyle guitar:

from the specials board: marinated grilled lamb cutlets, on a bed of wild rocket with roasted garlic sweet potato mash:

is that more rain?

arrived back from the city to discover two important things: a) it's still raining constantly; and 2) the roof that was repaired a couple of weeks ago.... ain't.

so the dining room has a half dozen buckets spread around, trying to catch the dripstreams, and the kitchen... ugh. not looking forward to the weekend, as the rain's not likely to lift and we can't get anyone to see about fixing things until it stops.

the upside is that we may pick up some trade as this is the pre-easter weekend. most of the local guesthouses have good bookings, we're hoping there's a few folks wandering around the village...

...in raincoats and galoshes, no doubt.

is that rain?

wetaher's starting to cool a little. firewood's arriving tomorrow. last weekend's trade was up a bit, which means we were just able to cover all the vital bills.

bring on april. I feel like making soups.

treading water

after seeing a bump in trade last weekend, we struggled thru another tough one. our music artist came down with the flu and couldn't appear, but there were only a few here to see her anyway.

we're beginning to consider (reconsider?) our long-term plans and the viability of growing a new business in such a tough economic market. running this place is enjoyable on so many levels, yet it's also a lot of work and stress. at the moment, we're both knocking ourselves out during the week to earn money to prop up the cafe. we knew we'd have to do that for a little while, but we're beginning to suspect that 'little while' may extend thru the remainder of the year - or more.

which is kind of frustrating, as the feedback we get from customers has been amazingly supportive and positive. we seem to be doing it 'right', yet there simply doesn't appear to be enough trade in the hills this season. and all the in-the-know economists are warning that the recovery won't be nearly as rapid as our politicians would have us believe.

from the specials board - roast pumpkin salad with english spinach, feta cheese and toasted pine nuts:

the two miss a's, proving they're considerably more than just pretty faces...

easter (and post-) weekend is proving to be a little tough for staffing. anyone up this way looking for some extra work, please get in touch.

the problems we like to have

after several weeks of less than stellar trade, we finally had a busy weekend. in fact, sunday's breakfast crowd caught us totally off guard, both staffing and stock-wise. by 11am, I had to pull the breakfast menu as we'd run totally out of eggs, sourdough, mushrooms, romas, bacon and sausage. pretty much 3/4 of the menu.

not sure what the difference was, there were a few local events, notably the blue mountains music festival over in katoomba. but I doubt if that made much difference, aside from some friends who dropped up to say hi as they were on their way. at any rate, we're hoping the summer slow season is finally drawing to a close.

on the lighter side

gotta love the onion.