Wow, where has the time gone? I guess we were all too busy soaking it up. The good times, and plenty of bad ones.
We can't believe we are just a few weeks and days away from our big 5 year anniversary. The amount of gratitude, and thanks we owe to our community are absolutely endless. I mean, we truly would not be here if it was not for each and every one of you that believed in us since day one.

Day one started a long time ago, I remember my brother & myself sitting outside of our old (and dearly missed) cafe in San Francisco. We spoke about moving back home to Cincinnati, Ohio for plenty of reason. Our most common reason was to be back around family, and to be able to afford a basic life again, something we found hard to obtain while living in SF. Our Mom was also in transition, trying to find a new job away from the heavy lifting and laborious work as an interior painter and general contractor. She was just at her wits end.

Tony and I sat and thought about the opportunities we could have in Cincy. We were approached all the time, but as we all know in life, some things are just about timing.
In 2015 we began our plan for what we wanted to build and create in Cincinnati. What was it that we wanted to see, and where.

We knew we wanted our Mom to be part of our journey in this creation (at the time, it had no name), and we knew we wanted to stick out like a sore thumb. Do the opposite of what everyone told us. Prove something!
We landed in Camp Washington, in an old house that was supposed to honestly be my brothers rehab home. Our original idea was to be inside of an airstream trailer (Dominic Sansalone can tell you this story).
Instead, the project never worked out, the city had a lot of push back. Too many rules, too much money to make a simple little project viable (of course, we see airstreams all over the place today, go figure).

We moved into the house, because it was empty, it deserved love. We were in a community (Camp Washington) that we really enjoyed, and we wanted to be part of. Help it grow, be part of its growth. It was a cozy corner. It was not OTR, people were so surprised. They were scared for us. We had friends tell us "not sure about that place, we don't think it will work out. I mean, nothing is in Camp Washington. You all will fail." Alongside the negatives, we had positives behind us though. Plenty of folks rooting for us. I remember Ryan & Adam from Deeper Roots telling us "you have fear & anxiety because you care, if you did not feel that, then it would mean you didn't care at all!" They were right, it was all nerve wrecking day and night imagining opening a cafe on a random corner in Camp Washington.

We blinked and before we knew it Mother's Day, May 12 2019 was here. It was not really planned this way, but just so happened that became our opening day!
Our mom was in tears, what we worked so hard to build is now about to start its beating heart, and the community & our team have been there for us ever since.

Now, this month, we are turning 5! We have been through the motions and emotions. I like to always relate to having a business is like a child. It is a constant, and I know we would not change it for the world!
We started with the 3 of us, plus 1 staff member, and today we have a total of 25 team members. Very grateful to have such an amazing & beautiful team to help us get to where we are today.
Thanks to each and every one of you that started with us in the beginning, 'til today. We know who you are, past & present. And to our wonderful community, Cincinnati and beyond. You've kept us alive, and the heart continues to beat every single day.
Can't wait to see you all for the big celebration!

❣️