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Happy New Year!
Every year has potential – every day has potential – but this year is looking like it will be particularly full of potential for A Bowl of Good.
These pictures show a quickly developing Gift and Thrift business campus on Mt. Clinton Pike.  We are already able to imagine where A Bowl of Good Café will be located since the beams are being put in place and the foundation is poured.  The target opening date is August 2009.  We will continue to sell at the Downtown Harrisonburg Farmers Market from now until the opening – and beyond!
Many people ask what the Café will be like.  Of course we will continue to sell our breads, soups, and stews (voted “Best in the Valley” by Eighty-One).  But imagine a quick casual restaurant where you can select from many internationally flavored dishes made with local ingredients (as much as possible).  So your office is planning to go out for a quick lunch but one group wants Asian, another Italian, another Indian, yet another “Meat & Potato” American fare, and still yet another wants Vegetarian;  A Bowl of Good Café would be the answer.  We plan on having a selection of international influenced “bowls” like Katrina’s curried lentils, chutney, and yogurt on rice.  Or the Latin America bowl with black beans, avocado, sour cream, and salsa on rice.  You’ll come out with a full belly and the satisfaction of having eaten something healthy and fresh.  A Bowl of Good Café & Catering will be about soups but a whole lot more.Â
In the meantime, Katrina and Rachael are busy ramping up the Catering end of the business. Â If you are interested in a catered event you might want to look here at the catering menu or download it.
Have a great new year!
Dear Friends and Family,
Tomorrow is the last Christmas market so it will be your last chance to get your Christmas Comfort and Joy Soup. We made extra this week but there were some special orders and it has sold out the past two markets; you might want to get there early for it. The market is open from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.. We look forward to connecting and wishing you a Merry Christmas!
If we don’t happen to connect tomorrow, we’ll take this opportunity to thank all of you for making this a wonderful year at the market in so many ways. We truly value your friendship, patronage, feedback and encouragement. We hope you have a Happy New Year and celebration with family, friends, and loved ones!
We will be returning to the market on January 10th and 24th. Until then…
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
During the week of Thanksgiving I asked you all, at-large, what you are thankful for this Thanksgiving. Â I was pleasantly surprised to get some neat responses, but the following response was extra special – she gave me permission to share it with you as long as her ID remained anonymous:
“I am thankful that my [child] will have a kidney transplant this XXXXXX and his donor is my best friend from college days!”
She is grateful for all your prayers as the operation is coming up soon.
Merry Christmas!
We have a new catering menu available. Â Many folks are asking about the possibility for catering and this will help guide you in what we offer. Â Just download here.
Tomorrow marks the first of three Christmas Farmers Markets in downtown Harrisonburg. Â It starts at 9 a.m.
We’ve come up with a delicious new holiday soup called, “Christmas Comfort and Joy“. Â We’ll be serving by the bowl tomorrow. Â Come on out and try it. Â Sing a carol to Katrina and you get a free slice of bread with it.
We’ll also have a variety of different gift bag ideas, as well as custom made pottery, “bread baker-makers” (made by the controversial and talented potter, Herb Weaver). Â Come see!
We’ve had tremendous responses regarding suggestions for the name of the new Gift and Thrift Business Campus (where A Bowl of Good Cafe will be located).  Here are only a few (you pick out the silly, funny ones): “The Agora, A Community Marketplace”; “The Common Good Place”;  ”…MennoMall, but then Katrina would have to use more lard in her recipes”; ”The MarketPlace”; “Steward Commons”; “World of Good”; ”Gift, Thrift & Grits”.
We’ll see what they decide on! Â Thanks for your input!
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The director of the Gift and Thrift business campus project (where A Bowl of Good Cafe will be located in August ‘09) wrote us this morning asking a question that we would like to pose to you, our friends and customers. Â He asked what he thought the business campus should be named. Â Gift and Thrift is next to Park View Plaza on Mt. Clinton Pike (directly across from the softball fields at the Eastern Mennonite High School campus). Â The campus will include “A World of Good Thrift Shop”, “Artisans Hope Gift Shop (aka, “10,000 Villages”), yours truly- “A Bowl of Good“, “Mennonite Mutual Aid”, “MCC Resource Office”, a Credit Union, and “MAX” (some kind of a Mennonite investing thing)
There are two schools of thought in naming the campus: 1) Geographic based name, e.g. “Park View Center”; 2) Values based name, e.g. “Shop and Save Center”. Â Â
Since many of the businesses revolve around good stewardship of resources and living, my suggestion was, “The Good Steward Commons”. Â The proceeds of the thrift shop go to MCC, A Bowl of Good is committed to using locally produced/grown ingredients and promoting community, and MMA is about using stewardship in money, etc. Â
Here are some questions for you:
1) What name would you suggest?
2) Does the word ’steward’ or ’stewardship’ mean anything to you?
3) What is a really silly, funny name for the business campus? Â I’ve suggested, “Not-Wal-Mart Plaza”. Â Others have said, “The Mennonite Strip Mall”.
I look forward to hearing your suggestions.
