 With our 9th fair just behind us, I've now had time to reflect on this wonderful journey we started back in April of 2017. All I can say is I still love it! I've had the great luck of hiring such strong, amazing women to manage the coffeehouse and this dream could not survive without them. I spent time recently watching Tanya and Melissa work together on a very busy weekend morning, and I have never seen such collaboration. They anticipated each other's moves. It was if they had rehearsed everything as they worked to provide the best customer experience, all while smiling. I've gotten so many compliments on their good-natured style and professionalism and I'm so proud they chose Mimi's. During the fair, I watched Abby, Hannah and our newest team member, Kianna, work so well together with each other. As we say good bye to Abby who moves on to a brighter future, I hope she knows that she will be missed for her infectious smile and efficient style! Go get em, Abby!
9th time must be the charm because this year's fair was our most efficient operation yet! I received so many comments about how great it was to order food and have it served so quickly and hot. The fair is truly a family operation for us. If you visited our grill tent out back, my husband worked tirelessly with Tanya's husband to prepare your orders as quickly as possible. My thanks to Ed and Larry! On Saturday, they were helped in the grill tent by Tanya's son, Ryder. Awesome 1st fair, Ryder! Friday night, our order takers were my grandkids Madeline and Henry Boyko, who live right down the road on Greenwich Rd. They love to walk down to the coffeehouse with friends to grab a quick treat and working the fair was a fun way to share their appreciation for Mimi's. I hope some day you may see Madeline, Henry or any of their siblings behind the counter taking orders!. If you wet your whistle from our beer tent, you met my 2 youngest sons, Evan and Ryan. They do love to chat! When I first introduced the beer garden to the fair 9 years ago, who knew it would take off so well. As a proud fair supporter, I love to see how well this beautiful community comes out to support the fair and each other. It is what makes Hardwick such a special place. While we are here everyday for you and we appreciate your support, your continued encouragement and patronage are everything to us. As we begin planning our 10 year anniversary activities, we'd love to hear your thoughts. While the team takes a well-deserved break this weekend, I hope you can pop your head in to welcome them back, maybe share a thought on how we can improve and say hi to a friend you may not have seen in a while. Hardwick, you have my sincere thanks for these 9 years, and I look forward to a bright future. See you on the common!
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 It seems to happen every year, we can't wait for winter to be over, then spring seems too short and summer flies right by and here I am amazed that September has snuck in. Kids are back in school and before we know it, it will be time to look for new calendars (of course I mean the Town of Hardwick calendar!) I felt as though we were preparing for so long for the fair, and it was a full month ago already.
Mimi's celebrated it's 7th anniversary this past June, a milestone I don't take lightly, and my family and I were overwhelmed by the support during the fair and the many kind words offered. To everyone who stopped to say hello and raise a glass in fellowship, you have my profound thanks. We are here to serve and look forward to many more years in service to this amazing community. In keeping with these last few years, this year has been a year of change. I have said it before but I have had the privilege of hiring the most talented group of women to undertake the role of general manager, and as Stephanie Mansfield steps down, I am very pleased to announce that Tanya McGee has accepted my offer to succeed her as the new GM for Mimi's. Tanya has been with us for over a year, and I am quite confident that while the transition will be smooth, she will be able to bring new ideas and offer some fresh perspectives from menu planning to events. I hope you will join me in welcoming Tanya to her new role and introduce yourself the next time you stop in. I know many have reached out concerning our Thursday night dinners and were disappointed to hear that we are taking a bit of a break. For the moment, we are trying to determine interest level for scheduling dinners at the coffeehouse. We had worked hard to incorporate local products into our menu selections and tried to schedule a dinner night that did not interfere with other business' pre-set schedules in an effort to be the best local partner possible. We take our direction from community support and found that there may not be a need for an additional, local vendor but this may be a seasonal need. We would welcome your feedback on this topic. Please keep an eye out for updates on upcoming events, and we hope to see you at the coffeehouse soon. Your feedback is important to us so don't hesitate to reach out if there is anything we can do. Remember it's always a great day on the common!
What is it that they say about change? As soon as one gets used to something, it’s time to do it differently? Well, ‘they’ must be right! I have had the privilege of working with amazing young women at the helm of the coffeehouse these last 6 years. (It seems unbelievable to say 6 years!!). And, it seems it is time to say good bye to one more talented young woman off to conquer the world.
After a good year at the helm, Megan Jolin will be leaving us as she moves to points south to continue growing her skill set and going on all new adventures. She has been a tremendous asset to the Coffeehouse and I hope you can stop in to say good bye before she leaves and to thank her for her great service. I am very excited to announce that taking the reins will be Stephanie Mansfield, most recently of Hardwick Crossing. Many of our customers have already told me what a great catch she is for the coffeehouse, and having a familiar face will make the transition a little easier. Stephanie brings many years of experience with her as well as a head full of ideas to kick off a summer season of activities. We are already in full fair planning mode. 6 YEARS! We really did celebrate our 6th anniversary. And, while we chose to let the day pass quietly, in my mind, it is no small milestone. We survived a flood, COVID and other economic pressures, and we are optimistic about our future. With each challenge, we learn something new about ourselves and how best to serve this community we love so much. We exist to serve so if you have any ideas, we’d love to hear them. Do you miss dinners? Can we help plan an event? Would you like to see more activities? Let’s hear your ideas. And, as always, stop in and say hello. See you on the Common!
 Every year we create a list of all the things we want to change, and every year the task seems so big that things fall off that list one by one until we are down to those items that really matter the most to us. Businesses are no different and the start of every year brings another opportunity to refresh goals and refocus energies on those things that are most important to success. Here at the Coffeehouse, that means starting to rethink what will work best on our menu. Are there enough hearty meal options for those folks who work hard and need the fuel? For those of us trying to create healthier eating habits, do we have enough options that we can look forward to eating? And, what about simply adding new items to give our creative cooking sides room to work? We heard you on that Italian Sandwich but keep your ideas coming; what else would you like to see? Another January focus is creating a work environment to meets the needs of our employees. We applaud the state's efforts to improve the lives of the state's workers as the minimum wage, again increasing this year, on it's way to $15.00 per hour by 2023. The raises went in to effect a couple of years ago, and during this time, we have tried our best to absorb these costs. We take our commitment to the community very seriously, and that includes pricing our menu items appropriately so as not to be a burden. Our entire work force lives within 10 miles of the Coffeehouse, and I am grateful every day for having been so lucky to find such a quality workforce right in our own backyard. Every penny we make goes right back in to the business (as owner, I do not draw a cent) and stays right here in this area. To be able to achieve self-sufficiency, we will be raising prices to keep in line with the rising cost of doing business, and we hope you will continue to support us in our efforts. Now that we have had our vacation, we are ready to get back to the business of serving you, and we are so ready for a great year! Dinners have been such a hit that we'll be continuing them. Make sure to check back for other announcements and happenings. With our newly finished backyard space, there's so much we can do back there! What a year it will be! Caitlin, Emily and the gang are doing such an amazing job but we'd love to hear your ideas for anything new, and as always, thank you for being so supportive of our small business. See you on the Common!
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