February 2009. That’s when Christy and I took the step to start this new adventure!
Our first event was a wedding reception at Elizabethtown’s Historic State Theater for 200+ people. We really hit the ground running! I’m happy to report that the couple is still happily married! (And that means we’re 100% — if we serve at your wedding reception, history says you’ll stay married! So, go ahead, book us now!)
Since then, we’ve catered teacher appreciation events, Chamber of Commerce events, church conferences, and more. We spent almost 9 months of last year doing no events because so much of my time and energy was focused on ministry work. We partnered with a local restaurant for 12 months, providing espresso equipment for their cafe. I also trained all their employees over that time – I loved it! I learned so much about making great coffee by teaching others. This year, we’re joining with another small cafe to provide equipment and training for their business. So, this training and equipping of other small businesses has been and unexpected, unplanned-for aspect of the business. It has just kind of evolved and it’s been a lot of fun!
As I look into our third year, I’m not sure what 2011 will bring. We’ve not done any marketing for the mobile cafe in over a year. So, who knows where the events will come from! We’re wishing the new cafe lots of luck – as we’re in it with them! And who knows, maybe we’ll get serious about selling coffee beans … I wonder if there’s a market locally for people to buy fair-trade, organic, single-origin beans from the best coffee growing regions in the world?! Maybe we’ll find out …
We’ve loved the adventure so far! Glad you’ve been along. We’d love to hear from you in the comments below. What are your ideas for the next steps of On the Ground?
I had the privilege of hanging out with Ginny and fellow-barista-in-training, Terri, for a couple of days. I trained them on preparing killer espresso and helped them with texturing milk to make great lattes and cappuccinos.
In addition to unique gifts and home decor that Whitt’s End has always offered, they’ve now made the front of the space a welcoming cafe with casual seating and easy access in and out for a quick cup to go. They’re also offering several frozen Lotsa Pasta selections. The glass display freezer is also a new addition to the store. I had a couple of their personal size gourmet pizzas! Very good!
Part of the reason I’m so “excited” about these beans is because we had run out of espresso at the office, and before that we were finishing off some seriously old, dried out beans! But, there’s nothing like it … dialing in the grind just right, the perfectly even tamp, 
