Ok, here's a little information for how good it is to give. When I say give, I really mean give....like for free. No strings attached...unless you count a silent prayer that one day they'll give you some business that you can charge for!
As a small business we get approached daily about donations and it not always possible but....we sure do try to make it happen. A few months ago we were asked by the Longmont Humane society about donating some appetizers to their biggest fundraiser of the year. We love animals and making some meatballs seemed doable....then they called back.
It turns out that they were expecting a big....well...turn out! They needed more than we could donate...like double-more. Gulp. Then it hit me that we have a great friend over at Frontiere Natural meats, Robert LaPoint and his has employees Richard and Jo Ann...so I gave them a call. Together we were able to make 300 Asian style meatballs with their Bison meat. It was a win for everyone and I think we were able to get the attendees a taste of something unusual and yet readily available. It was all for the animals and who is not a sucker for that line....speaking of lines....I had the best one all night! "Hi, my husband and I own Mac's Place diner, would you care for some Bison balls?"

Music and food, what a combination!

Day to day ownership of a diner is exhausting sometimes (ok, truth? my dogs are barkin almost everyday!) .....trying to make sure everything is running smoothly all the time. We want every customer to have a good experience when they come in to,get what they need. And for the most part, we accomplish this with some degree of success. However every once in a while, a customer comes in and there is simply nothing I can do right. Such was the case a few days ago with a gentleman who came in and was unhappy from the start....not the right creamer for him, possibly having to come up and get his own coffee refill if he wanted to (though he never did that as I was quick on the rounds that day) and having to wait until the large group that came in before him got their meals.....he simply wasn't happy. After he made a few pointed comments about going somewhere else next time to his companion, I cleared their table and wished them a good day.
Thankfully, this happens maybe once a month....and its human nature I guess. You can't please everyone.
Yesterday we kicked off our music series with our favorite husband/wife duo The Prairie Scholars....and boy did they bring in the crowd! They have the kindest following and the coolest tunes, so when the diner filled up, we got very busy! Now, I don't want to pretend to be an expert in this whole small business thing yet, but if you are looking to bring in more customers....start with some good local musicians. Here in Longmont, we have tons of them!!! Having grown up in a small town north of Nashville, I have a special place in my heart for those folks who know how to strum....We are privileged to be able to open up our patio and offer our customers an opportunity to see the local talent. We are grateful, and exhausted all at the same time....but its nothing a glass of wine won't cure!