Regardless of where you are in life or what you're going through, life has a funny way of bringing you joy. In my case, everything began changing for the better when I came to Tala. I was brought on board to the team the day before the cafe's first birthday last year. And let me tell you, so much has happened that this past year has felt like three.

I happen to be fond of a poet named William Carlos Williams. You may know him from high school English class. Chances are he wrote one of, if not the poem that caused you to think poetry is dumb.

I was off work the fateful day. That didn’t stop me from cruising right on over at 1 o’clock. The sun provided an excellent ray of brightness into a rather dry and frigid day. I don’t like cold. I wear pants any degree under 71…

I’ve spent the last eight-ish months about 3,000 miles away from Highwood due to the COVID situation. If the whole virus thing hadn’t happened, I’d probably be in the café right now—either on shift or doing some academic work or playing a card game...

When I think back at the second year of our cafe, so many memories come to mind. From throwing parties to meeting new people to sharing conversations. The thing that stands out immediately for me above the rest is actually day one. We kicked off year two with an amazing birthday bash.

Lockdown obviously has changed all of our lives in a lot of ways, but the good news is that outside is still open! It isn’t exaclty atypical for me to spend lots of time outside but in this season the time feels even more important. There’s something about the fresh air and the open spaces that feels so safe and comforting. In the midst of the lockdown the outdoors is the gift we didn’t know we needed.

Coffee—and in particular a coffee shop—brings together people quite unlike most other things. We see people meet in the cafe and later become friends. They bond over their dogs or their cars or their drinks. Our cafe is a place of connection and reconnection; old friends get together to catch up, spouses sip their lattes on a nice morning away from the house.

We threw our second annual Holiday Party last night for our staff. These moments are, I think, what makes our company so special. We have an unbelievably amazing team of staff who are great at their jobs, exemplify our values and offer genuine value to our customers.

Happy Small Business Saturday! I might be biased, but I really appreciate this day every year. It solidifies something we have always believed at Tala, and yet often forget: there is something we can offer as a small business that a giant company cannot. We absolutely love that we get to know our customer’s names, that we can offer a place of genuine connection and also a high-quality product that isn’t watered down by big business agendas. So thanks for celebrating small business with us—we’re in great company.