Update on The Mill Fudge Factory:
We have been back in our building now since the fall of 2009. With each familiar face we greeted, and as we slowly returned to normal, the nightmarish quality of the year we were evacuated, due to the unsafe Mica building next to us, started to fade. Despite the fact that our bank account hasn't bounced back and we don't have a safety net any more, which is stressful, we feel that we have survived this far so we can make it! We are still providing full and part time jobs for Bristol people and the sense of community in our place is stronger than ever. A few months ago Noah, David and I attended the Stonyfield boot camp for entrepeneurs. Sitting in the room with a couple of hundred people all trying to survive running businesses in this challenging economy, made us realize we are not alone. I felt I belonged to a bigger community as an entrepeneur. It takes a certain kind of crazyness, workaholic tendencies, and to be someone who doesn't know the difference between work and play. As one person after another told their story, I was encouraged that crazy though it is behind the scenes at The Mill Fudge Factory, we were getting a lot right. I realized that we belong to a different breed, that it is not easy to create something from scratch, and I don't just mean fudge and ice-cream. I always have the attitude that if I can do it it must be easy) We have taught ourselves and are still teaching ourselves a heck of a lot. Accounting, marketing, managing staff, rules and regulations, equipment, not to mention a web site, on-line marketing, which we have yet to crack, and simply learning to get on with each other, and work as partners in extreme stress and still remain friends. We had to face our own weaknesses and the weaknesses of the other two partners, with humility. To celebrate our strengths, and to know when to bow out and let the partner whose particular strength was called for, step up to the plate.
I am enjoying being a part of an extended family who runs the business together. Terry who makes the ice cream and Meghan our fudge operations manager have become a part of that family. They have been with us now for years. Terry, and David have become grandfathers in that time, and Meghan will be a Mom in the Fall. We love the high school kids that work for us year round cranking out fudge orders in the winter, when the cafe is only open a couple of days. We have a new cafe manager Christine, who we are teaching the running of the business to. Mostly the difference between a corporate situation, ( she manged Subway's before) and a family business. There is a huge difference so it's stimulating for her to learn our ways, and for us to learn from her what we can improve. People drop by to say hi all the time, and of course we have come to know many of our customers and musicians well. It's a public life, and we love it. I know more people in Bristol than I have anywhere I have lived, and we have only been there four years.
It has been satisfying for me to add spoken word events this year. Once a month we have an open mic poetry with featured poet, and on another night we have open night story telling with featured story tellers. Both ventures got off to a good start and will build their own strong community in time, as the open mic music nights have. I also wrote a script for an ad for live music at the Mill. Lots of the musicians and open mic people got together and we filmed it with the help of a friend of mine who is a film maker. It was a lot of fun, and will appear on the web site just as soon as I can edit it and get it ready to launch. And of course the big break was to be chosen to be featured on NH Chronicle! Tiffany Eddy and Dan her camera man, spent an evening with us, filming all aspects of the business. Many of our regulars came and filled the room to give it the proper atmosphere, and we had a lot of fun. We have most definately been busier since it aired and for that we are very grateful.
The great news , and I am almost afraid to mention it, is that the selectmen voted to take ownership of the mica building as the taxes have not been paid for a long while. Joe Denning, who has always been incredibly supportive from the beginning of this drama, came over to tell us last week. The building is in terrible shape, even worse than it was last year, so we are waiting with bated breath to be told what they intend to do about it. We really hope that they decide to take it down, safely, and open up that area. We also hope we don't have to evacuate again for that to happen, we cannot be out of our building again for long or we will be in real trouble.
With the plans for the Bristol Square renovation moving forward, plans to possibly create a multi use nature trail from Franklin, through Hill to Bristol along the river, coming out at the square....THINGS ARE LOOKING UP! I am so glad to be able to write about good things on this blog at last.
Look forward to seeing you all this summer at The Mill Fudge Factory, a fun place to spend time. I know, because I practically live there!
