A Little Disclaimer

Before I start revealing all this information, I want to let everybody know that I am going to be completely honest, uninhibited, and vulnerable. This, of course, is coming from my point of view, and Jason’s too. I’m sure others that we worked with have their own perspective. The whole point of writing this blog, journal, or whatever you want to call it (I call it therapy), is to hopefully help others who might be going through the same thing.

To those that I might mention: I’m sorry (but not sorry), you’re welcome, and thank you. You’ve been warned!

The Idea Sparks

The idea to open a vegan café started in 2022 after our wedding. After becoming vegan, it was ridiculously hard to find a place to eat out. Jason and I had stopped eating fast food when we lived in Fresno, way before we even moved back to Visalia in 2014. We cooked most of our meals at home, but we craved dining at a nice restaurant.

We figured, if we’re craving that experience, then other vegans in our area were too. That’s when our vision to open a counter-service café took place. Both Jason and I have experience in the food service industry. Jason has worked in diners/clubs in his early adult years before he got into computer science. I’ve pretty much only worked in the restaurant/café business for almost my entire adult life, except for one retail job and helping Jason out with his IT business. What could go wrong, right?

First Stop: The House with Charm

Our concept, at first, was to open a shop for my herbal products with a little café and maybe a few pastries. We always knew we wanted something that felt like a home, so we were drawn to an old house that used to be a floral and antique shop. We fell in love with the space, as it already had the antique feel to it. I should note that Jason and I are big fans of the shows Outlander and Peaky Blinders. We had hoped to give our guests the feeling of stepping back in time when they entered our space. This house was perfect with the wood paneled walls and creaky wooden floors.

It was difficult communicating with the building owners. We were interested in getting things started right away, but they were always slow to respond. The house was incredibly old and, honestly, it needed a lot of work. Thankfully, Jason is skilled in all things renovation; electrical, plumbing, woodworking, you name it and he can do it. He even offered to paint and do a lot of the sprucing up, but the owners finally came back saying that they’d handle renovations themselves. They said they’d get back to us when they were finished, but in the 2 months that we waited, we saw that nothing was happening with the building, so we decided to look for a new spot.

Dreaming on Main Street

For most of my restaurant/café experience, I had always worked downtown. I love our Downtown Visalia. It’s where I feel most comfortable in town. On our walks down Main Street, we had always admired the spot of a long-vacant former sports apparel shop. We’d peek in the window and dream of what our café would look like if we had that spot. Finally, we decided to contact the realtor about that space. We met up with him and he showed us around. The space was a little bigger and the rent a little more. We found out there were Airbnb’s upstairs, which we thought was a bonus. We decided it would work for our café/shop. At this point, our concept had shifted to a café with a shop inside, not the other way around. We met repeatedly with the realtor and the building owner. The building owner hired an architect that collaborated with us, we got access to the space, and Jason got busy building the café furniture and ordering kitchen equipment.

Jason and I were trying to get the lease finalized, but there was always something that got in the way; either the building owner needed to figure out some details first, or they were wishy-washy about who was going to pay for what. We were getting concerned that we were going to lose the space. I really wanted that ‘For Lease’ sign taken down. The realtor assured us that it was ours and that he wasn’t showing it to anybody else, until we visited the space one day and found him showing it to other people. This didn’t sit well with us. It was upsetting and we felt betrayed. Needless to say, after 8 months of working with them, the realtor texted Jason and said the owner had changed his mind. They said they’d been trying to finalize the lease, which is what Jason and I had been trying to do already.

Why? We’ll never know. Maybe it was logistics, Maybe politics, maybe something else entirely. For the record, we never spoke about politics in front of him or the realtor, but they had no problem aggressively talking about it amongst themselves in front of us. It could have been that he thought it would be too difficult and expensive to figure out how to put the hood ventilation and ducts through the Airbnb’s upstairs.

I was upset, but Jason was extremely livid, which is putting it mildly. He built all those tables and bought all that equipment. I had gotten wholesale accounts for my products and used that address. Who does that to people after working with them for 8 months? Oh well, lesson learned: make sure you get that lease finalized before you lift a hammer, and make sure you vibe well with the building owner. If you have even the slightest weird feeling about them, move on.

Third Time’s the Charm

So, we were on the hunt again for another space and, this time, we were determined to stay downtown. We knew of another building that had been vacant for almost longer than the previous one. It was bigger though, the former Renaissance Salon. I remember it well from my Café 225 days. I actually got my hair done there for my best friend’s wedding. Back then, To-Go’s and Baskin-Robbin’s were next door, but now there was a small taqueria. We contacted the realtor and made arrangements to look at it.

When we arrived, the owner was there in person. I had a really good feeling about the building owner. He was warm, genuine, and engaging. The building had an upstairs space we didn’t have to rent, but Jason’s thought it would make a perfect IT office.

After showing us around, the realtor told us that the owner liked us. He made it seem as if that was a rare thing. It felt good to hear that, especially after what we’d been through already. Still, the fact that it was bigger and more expensive (about 3 times more than the house we first looked at) was concerning to me. Nonetheless, Jason was all in and, this time, the lease process was quick, smooth, and drama-free.

And so it begins!

Jason measures in the 3rd space - June 2023

Lessons Learned from the Location Hunt
(a.k.a. How Not to lose Eight Months of Your Life)

Finalize the lease before you lift a hammer. Excitement is great, but a signed document is better.
Trust your gut about people. If something feels off with an owner or realtor, it probably is.
Get timelines in writing. “Soon” can mean anything, protect your schedule.
Don’t over-commit too early. Hold off on big purchases until the ink is dry.
Know your non-negotiables. For us, being downtown became essential, it helped us focus our search.

Location, Location, Location