Favorite Memory: The Meeting
FAVORITE MEMORIES FROM YEAR TWO
In celebration of our birthday, we’re asking a fun question to our Tala community: what’s your favorite memory of the cafe? We’re reminiscing about the times shared, coffees tried and people met. To answer this question we’re having different people from the Tala team answer this question each day. Follow along to hear some of our highlights from this second year together. You’ll hear about life on the other side of the counter, life after hours, before hours, and lots of fun things that happen in and around the cafe. You’ll hear highlights and memorable moments as well as lessons and reflections. Thanks for following along with us.
Next up: The Meeting by Erin. Erin and I worked together before Tala (she was actually the first person I ever hired in any job), and when Tala finally opened I was really hoping she would want to come work with me again. Erin constantly provides inspiration to everyone she encounters. A fiercely loving friend, Erin’s compassion is clearly evident in all relationships. The best part is that you are always automatically Erin’s friend. There is no inner circle with Erin, just open arms. We are so thankful for the energy, love, maturity, wisdom and openness that she provides at the cafe.
The Meeting
Guest post by Erin.
We’ve made it to the end, folks. End of the week, last look back on year two before we shove all nostalgia down and stuff it into the vault until next August. I won’t have as colorful storytelling as Matt, as many footnotes as Conner, or as sentimental, tear-jerking material as Marcus, but what I can do is ramble on aimlessly for awhile like I normally do. You should all be used to that by now.
I’ve been around Tala since before it was called Tala. Back when it was only an idea. Then I watched as that idea got a name, then a warehouse, then a tent, then a firehouse. I joined the team within weeks of it moving into that firehouse, and outside of the owners themselves, I think it’s safe to say I’ve put in the most café hours of any Tala employee in all of American history. With such stats as most ounces of milk spilled, most rhinowares broken, most clock-ins and clock-outs forgotten, it is no wonder that I am the reigning self-proclaimed employee of the month for a staggering 24 months in a row. All this to say, I literally have countless memories accidentally accumulated in that space over that time from which to choose. Don’t judge me on my choice, it’s of the small but significant variety.
Back when COVID-19 was making its way across the ocean, as we all too well remember, things began to change rather rapidly. Suddenly all the toilet paper was gone. Suddenly everything I touched felt like instant contamination. Suddenly every cough, sneeze or runny nose meant quarantine. Then in the café, suddenly we were only giving to-go cups. Suddenly there was a six-foot barrier. Suddenly no one could stay. A brief pause while I let you in on what I think is the single most important thing I was told on day one at Tala. It’s the phrase: “Is this for here?” and it comes standard at Tala Coffee Roasters. Literally you can’t order a drink without hearing it because it is very important to us that you feel like you can stay, like we actually want you to. So when that lockdown hit, and there wasn’t a seat left in the house, trust me, we felt the difference.
It was in that first week on the brink of nationwide changes that we had a Tala staff meeting. I remember it was March, it was evening, still quite chilly, and I remember going into the café seeing for the first time the tables shifted and the chairs removed. It was shell of a place. It was strange, eerie, more like a movie than reality. And as I sat down in the circle with my co-workers, I’ll be honest, anxiety was creeping up slowly. I’m not normally one to feel anxious, I usually live in a blissful land of ignorance and relaxation, but for the second time in my life (the first being September 11th) I was scared by the thought that life was never going to be the same.
Then Stefan began to talk. Then Joanna and Keith. Then my co-workers. One by one, each of us. I remember only a smattering of what was specifically said, but it wasn’t even what was said that was important, it was more the sense I got from it. A sense of steadiness and calm, a sense of endurance. A sense of being on a team—the right team—and the hope of everything going to be okay. It felt like although the storm was brewing and the seas were about to get rough, we were on a good ship, and we were on it together.
I hope you’ve known the comfort of a good family or a good friend, one with which to ride out the storms of this last year. I hope you’ve had moments of calm interrupt your moments of doubt and panic. I hope for you an enduring hope, one outside of the reality of the circumstances around us, brought about by small moments of connection. This was one of my small moments this year at Tala. Small and seemingly insignificant moments, as far as I can see, are as big a deal as we make them to be. To my bosses, co-workers and customers, thank you for being a part of my life. You are a big deal to me.
What’s your favorite memory?
We want to hear your favorite memories at Tala! This week, we’re giving away a $200 gift card to one lucky individual who tells us their favorite memory. Full details are available below—make sure you post about your memory this week to be entered to win!