08/19/2025
If you noticed I've been posting a little less lately, it's not because I dont have anything to say, I've just had far more to do, and posting kind of got pushed to the back burner.
Owning a small business, is not for the faint of heart, especially when it comes to the challenges, we, as small businesses face.
In the eight years we have lived here, and in the six years since I opened the doors at TAK, we've experienced first hand, the post-pandemic side- effects felt by small businesses, not just in our community, but communities everywhere. In every town, village and major city throughout the world.
It's not just peoples spending habits that have changed, it's the people themselves.
If you've followed our small business journey over the past six years, you know im not one to mince words. What I am, is a realist, and when I speak, its from personal experience. It's not always wine and roses- most of the time, its like getting out of bed and stepping in something wet in the middle of the night.
Like, do I turn on the light and look? Or do I hobble to the tub in the dark and leave that cat in its proverbial box?
When I opened TAK in 2019, I had no idea what it would become. I started with a thousand dollars, two, contertop convection ovens and a third hand coffee maker that leaks if you dont jiggle the handle just right. I opened the space to local artists, artisans and small business entraprenures, looking for somewhere to display and sell their handmade goods, and where I could sell a collection of carefully crafted, all natural skin & body care items from my first business, which had outgrown my home studio.
Being able to adapt, has been what's allowed us not only to survive, but thrive.
Its meant sacrificing time with each other, particularly our son, who is now entering his final year of high school. This kid, let me tell you, he's far more mature and responsible than I ever was at seventeen, and I was already out living on my own.
Now, as we approach the end of our six year lease, we are at a crossroads. While the catering portion of our business has grown exponentially, the foot traffic that is required for in store service to be sustainable, has all but become extinct over the past two years, due to complications of covid and the challenges of owning a small business, in a small town, where "outsiders" aren't always welcomed with open arms. We ended in store service in early 2024, instead, offering online ordering and Pop Up events, to fill the gaps between events, and to provide our customers with the opportunity to still order from us, while also decreasing our overhead.
But what it really comes down to is this- we LOVE our space. It's where we get to do what we love. It's where friends have been made and relationships have been forged. It's where we've cackled like a murder of crows, danced with witches, and listened to stories that made us cry until we laughed, and laugh until we cried.
So, we've decided to bring back In Store service on a trial basis- starting September 5th, we will be open for In Store service with a new, seasonal menu, every Friday, from 11am-6pm and every Sunday for Brunch from 9am-2pm for the months of September & October... with a few changes.
We will no longer be offering made to order drinks. We will have a DIY coffee / hot tea station set up, one size cup (12oz).
Specialty drinks, such as Hot Cocoa and our Harvest Cider will be available made to order once the weather cools off.
We will be offering a small, seasonal selection of baked goods, along with fresh breads and bagels, made in house..
For all my Gluten Free & Vegan folks, we'll have a little something for y'all too! (specialty ingredients have gone up by about 40% and I have, quite literally, been waiting almost a year for certain items I use in our GF & Vegan baked goods to come back in stock, and the source I used to get them from, went out of business back in February.) They will change every week, and once we are out, we are out.
But here's where it gets REALLY exciting.
In addition to bringing back some of our most popular Soups, Sandwiches, Salads & Wraps,
we are adding a made- to-order Grazing Station!
You'll be able to select from two sizes- our Mini Graze- a light bite, perfect for one, that includes choice of charcuterie, two types of cheeses, seasonal fresh & dried fruit, gherkins, olives and bean to bar Harvest Chocolate.
Our large Graze is essentially our mini, but with double the deliciousness! Both come with choice of regular or gluten free crackers. For those that are dairy free, we will have a little something for you too- Just ask one of our staff what the "faux-mage" of the day is!
We will be rolling our Grazing Station out once our new equipment arrives, which is currently tracking for the first week of September.
We have always operated as a "Take Out Only" type operation, offering one, large table that is more for looks than function. Due to limited space and how we are licensed, we are not able to offer additional seating indoors at this time.
However, there is plenty of outdoor seating available located in front, and behind the shop along the riverfront, that offers a lovely view of the river and the Old Mill Museum.
Think of us, like, the "Beef" of Dundee.
IYKYK
Last, but certainly not least, we are SO excited to open our doors and welcome back all the smiling faces that we've come to know and love over the past six years, and hope to see and meet so many more!
"Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It’s the courage to continue that counts.”
-Winston Churchill
