The Breakfast Caffe

When I established my business in 2022, I had already been working in food service for years. I worked everything from fast food to fine dining. One thing I noticed in most places I worked was an underlying and sometimes blatant misogynistic tone to the industry in my area. Regardless of the sexism we face in the industry, I have met some extremely inspiring women along the way. Having just entered recovery(I was an active heroin addict for several years and found my way to recovery in 2019. Been clean since November 4th, 2019.), I was still finding my way. One of my sponsors had previously been a manager at a fast food place I had worked when I was 16. She has always supported me, even when I was in active addiction, she saw the potential and hoped I would make it. When I started coming around, she gave me the encouragement I needed to get through this life and stand tall.
After I was a year into my recovery, I worked at a local legacy joint. It was dirty and unorganized as they were going through new ownership. This was where I experienced overt misogyny in the industry as I was doing the work of the kitchen manager with no title or pay. When time came for a new kitchen manager, I was passed up for a man who hadn’t been with the company long and wasn’t really interested in the position anyway, but had previous experience. For the record, I am not upset at the person who got the keys and the raise, I am upset with the owners. There was my assistant general manager who taught me how to order product, calculate labor, and other kinds of managerial items. She did a lot for me, but she always told me that it was I who showed her how to stand up for herself. I guess we both learned from each other.
Shortly after I left the aforementioned establishment, I worked at another small business. There, the general manager was a woman. She has such a good heart, almost to a fault, but like myself, she is also a recovering addict. She gave me so much inspiration in my early to mid twenties, to lead with confidence, even when you don’t feel it. “Fake it til you make it”, is what she always told me. When I came to her to tell her I was wanting to open my own restaurant, she wasn’t mad, just a bit sad I wouldn’t be working with them much longer. She was encouraging, always giving me advice on how to handle to front of house. I was always in the kitchen, I had never served before, so she taught me how to do things like roll silverware and gave me customer service tips. She is such an inspiration to me, to lead with ferocity and allow my heart to lead the right way.
Once I opened, I needed help, so I turned to my support system. My first FOH manager was also a sponsor of mine. It is she who comforted me when I was in doubt of my business, one of the many people who told me I could do this even when I didn’t believe I could. She pushed me to make my business the best it can be.
These are just a few of the women who have inspired me and helped me along my way to create a safe space for the beaten, the disavowed, and for those who dissent. I don’t care what your background is, what you look like, if you can do the job and not be an asshole, welcome to the family. That’s where it starts, with your employees. You treat the employees well, they will treat the customers well. If the customers don’t treat my staff well, they are not welcome back inside the establishment. I have and continue to stand up for the rights of my staff. Those who do not treat my employees like the human beings they are, do not frequent my establishment. Those who do frequent my establishment are those who show us gratitude for what we do. I have designed the menu to be mindful of those with all sorts of allergies, from gluten intolerance’s to soy, dairy, and egg. There is usually not an allergen or a combination of that we cannot work around. We offer completely vegan choices as well. Living and working in WV, I notice there are not many places that are conscientious of allergens, nor do many places care. But I do. Everything is made from scratch; for those items that are not, I have an ingredient list and know the product in my restaurant well. If I would not personally eat it, I will not serve it. I believe regardless of what your background is, sexual orientation, dietary restrictions, etc, a person should be able to go out for a good meal.