Save Lylas cafe

Hello friends, Welcome to one of the hardest things I have done in my life - putting my pride out front and asking for help. As many others during these times I have experienced the ups and downs life has presented, and thankfully through hard work and a strong faith , I have been able to work through most difficulties.

Until now. For 25 years of my life I worked for a big box company. I started as a part time cashier and worked my way up to store manager. I raised my children working retail hours - spending hours at the store and missing out on many things because I wanted to give my children better opportunities than I had and to show what can result from hard work and determination. My family grew stronger and are doing well today with families of their own. Was the sacrifice made worth it - yes - it was worth it - I was able to put together enough funding to make a dream of mine come true - opening a cafe/coffee shop where people could come and spend time chatting with friends and family - where groups could gather over a cup of coffee and enjoy a pastry or a meal.

This is how the dream started - a little over a year ago I received a call that a local cafe was up for sale. I had just left the big box company and was in the process of selling my home and making a big change for this hometown girl - a move across the mountains to begin a new chapter in my life. But I was intrigued by this cafe and the thought to check it out kept coming back to me. A few weeks later, with my adult daughter Sarah, we took time to meet with the owner and discuss the Hanky Pies cafe sale. The cafe was struggling and the previous owner wanted to pass on this cafe to someone who would bring it back to life. She expressed how the cafe is such a big part of the Granite Falls community and was hoping it would continue to be. I fell in love with the cafe and started to believe this being the opportunity to make a dream come to life. We came to a sale price agreement and on December 30, 2021 I made a cash purchase and became the new owner!

Thankfully when I took over the cafe I had a few staff members already in place - I added a few more hands and although I did not have baking experience and was not yet experienced in making coffee , I knew customer service and community connection. I had always managed buildings but owning my own business was all brand new to me and the learning hurdles have been quite a challenge. I mentioned my daughter Sarah but did not mention how amazing she has been during this past year. She shared the experience of every high and low of each hard worked day ,becoming my baker and manager and standing by my side each step of the way - she loves our community and they love her. With her, our local high school students, our weekend supervisor Steph, and long time friend Hartley this would have felt impossible. As we grew ,Lylas cafe has provided a place to gather and catch up on life and have been able to introduce new and fresh items the community has embraced. A great example is the introduction of coffee flights - this has been well received and very fun watching the reactions of the community as they try them with a friend. At the beginning of this new adventure I traveled back and forth from my new home - but this soon had to change and i moved back into the area working passionately as I always have to fulfill this long term dream.

The cafe has been growing over time and changes brought in new pastry items, sandwiches and soups and various hot and cold drinks as well as holding on to old favorites that the community had grown to love. We were able to keep Andy's Wall going - giving back to those in need in our community. During this time we continued to add new staff and started rebuilding a solid customer base. The commitment to community is strong with becoming part of local food drives, clothing drives, being part of the Farmers Market during the summer months. The cafe has become a place of fellowship for church groups, women and men groups, homeschool groups with our kids area and various other groups looking for a place to meet and enjoy shared time. Also, we have been honored to host Coffee with the Chief as well as Chamber of Commerce Meetings.The community embraced us and we completely embraced the community.

All was good, we were holding our own...then the first of many calls came "the freezer is not cold, the sandwich bar is not working, the mixer broke". This began the string of overwhelming expense for repairs and the cost of lost food inventory was staggering. I began having to use my personal funds. Sadly with the unexpected extra expenses of repairing appliances, cost of goods going through the roof , raised rent and increase in hourly wage in payroll -plus downturn of sales during winter and spring months those personal funds have been depleted and the debt incurred has been tremendous.

Which brings me to this gofund me request. I am struggling and cannot get ahead enough to keep the cafe open. Believe me this breaks my heart - not only for me but for the loyal staff and great community that have been a part of who we are this past year. I am told that the first year or two is the hardest in a new business and I want to keep this dream alive and continue to be the hub we have become in the community.The decision to close is becoming a reality and It breaks my heart to have to have the talk with my employees, landlord, and debtors and close these doors I love so dearly.

With that being said, I believe we have the potential to stay open if we continue to push forward with the same passion and determination and help from the community and really see what the potential of this cafe can be. Please help us keep Lyla's Cafe open.