The End of an Era…

Way back when Timmy and I started dating, about three months into our relationship, he opened a café at Harbor Athletic Club. It was originally named “EN Organic Smoothie Bar” and it was Tim’s very first business venture. He was so proud, and I was so proud of him. The café was a success from the start, and six months after first opening, Tim quit his full time job to work at the cafe full time. He worked many 60-70 hour weeks, and I spent many hours perched on a stool at the café, keeping him company and eating lots of smoothies. Our dating relationship progressed with EN Organic Smoothie Bar as the backdrop of our romance. Tim even created and named a smoothie after me – “Bea Berry” – because I ate so many of them.

After we got married, I used my graphic design skills to give the café a much-needed facelift, and we renamed it Apple Café in anticipation of our opening Apple Wellness. You can see my documentation of the process here.

  When we began to work toward opening Apple Wellness, Tim cut back his hours at the café, hiring a manger to replace him. When Apple Wellness opened in June 2010, Tim stepped away from the café completely and ran Apple Wellness full time. 

Of course there were still things for him to do with the café, payroll, grocery runs, and accounting, and I still created sale flyers and different design pieces, but our focus had shifted to something new.
Then in December, we got pregnant and our lives began to seem a little too complicated. We debated trying to sell the café, but I think both of us were too emotionally attached to really consider it as an option. Eventually, after months of pondering and praying, we felt it was best to sell the café and simplify our lives. We sold the café in May, and Apple Café’s last day was today, June 16^th.
It was bittersweet to clear out the space and make room for a new owner with a new name. I found myself tearing up as I realized I would never again perch on the stool at Apple Café and watch Timmy make smoothies. 

Apple Café was our first business and, thanks to God, it was a success. We were blessed to begin it, blessed to run it, and blessed to sell it. I can’t say I’ll miss late night shopping trips to Sam’s Club, but I will miss something I can’t quite put my finger on. Perhaps it’s the past and the realization that our dating years are getting further away and Apple Café was a small remaining tie to the days when I was Becki Davison and I would pop over to the café after work to visit my boyfriend and get a free smoothie…