“I’m excited and I’m nervous. I’m very excited to see everybody and just get back at it. Nervous because of a new staff, new structure we’re doing that’s new to me and my staff,” said co-owner Sam Jones. “I’m super excited to see everybody and so appreciative of the support.”
Jones, who co-owns the café with her husband Rick, said they initially closed last year because of staffing and thought about selling.
“It was very difficult to cover the hours. (We’re) open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.,” she said.
Those hours tend to be tougher for college or high school students, she said.
“(We had) a really hard time after COVID, it seemed it was harder to get staffing ... that was the reason to close in October.”
Throughout the time the café has been closed, Jones allowed people to order items for special events, birthdays, baby showers, catering and even companywide Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.
“That’s what kept me afloat through that time,” she said.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
She later started seeking enough employees to reopen, and was able to hire six new staff and train them.
With the reopening, patrons will see a few changes — the café will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday (no longer open Saturday), orders will be taken differently, and the menu has fewer items.
Instead of having an order taken at the table, customers will order at the counter and can still dine in. The menu has also been scaled back, Jones said, since most staff is new but she maybe will add more items in the future.
“This community is just fabulous. I always say we have the best customers because they’re so loyal. We’ve created so many friendships and relationship through the café,” she said. “For me it’s a lot more than serving food, it’s letting them know they’re cared about.”
The business initially opened about six years ago and will celebrate on March 31.
For more information, visit the cafe on Facebook at www.facebook.com/allinflavorcafesweets.
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