The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

When we were kids, and my mother had reached the end of her rope with our mess, complaining, whining, and general bad behavior, she would halt all activities, give us “the look,” and let us know in her stern voice, “there is a new regime, starting now!”

Our rooms had to be cleaned, clothes put away, homework done, and only then could we go out to play with our friends. This new regime and stricter discipline period would usually only last a few weeks. Still, it probably provided my mother with a few much-deserved days of a little peace and time for herself to think and rejuvenate.

Daniel and I are now in a similar mindset. We bought the Weinhard Café on April 23, 2021, and we opened the restaurant on May 15, 2021. We have been on a fast-track roller coaster ride since then. With the holidays upon us, we’ve decided to take some time to rethink, regroup, relax, and rejuvenate.

As we anticipated, this is the time of year that businesses like ours tend to slow down. The weather is changing, people are busy with holiday preparations, as are we. Staffing has been an ongoing challenge, so it’s time for our “new regime.” We will be closed for the holidays, other than some private parties, Thanksgiving Take & Bake, and catering. This will give us time to rethink how we want to reopen in the new year. Without appropriate staff (a problem everyone faces), we will probably focus on winemaker and tasting menu dinners and continue catering, Take & Bake, and private parties.

During our holiday hiatus, I plan to finish overdue projects in the house. Patching and painting are on the top of my list of easy fixes. I’ve started my wish list for the more involved projects: first, the removal of the old, discolored acoustic ceiling tiles and replacing them with something else (not sure what yet), and in Spring, refinish the outside deck.

I have also promised myself to start culling the contents of my closets. It’s time to toss or donate clothes, purses, and shoes I haven’t worn in the past ten years, or maybe five years if I get ambitious. Optimist that I am, I may even be able to have my tax paperwork ready on time, instead of the mad dash on April 14th to Staples to scan documents for my accountant.

Now that my schedule is not so busy, I am working on a self-care list, back to working out at the Y and on my Mirror. I won’t have the “I’m just too tired excuse” anymore.

I will miss our customers, both the locals and those traveling through. There were so many “it’s such a small world” moments, “wow! I didn’t know that about wheat,” or “you want the Tandoori Chicken without the chicken,” and even the Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, no tomato, no sauce people. I will especially miss the surprised look on the faces of the people who ate our food for the first time and were amazed at how wonderful it tasted and how artfully it was presented.

While closed for the holidays, we will miss seeing our local vendors, maintenance people, neighbors, and the occasional lunch run for pizza because we were too busy to cook for ourselves.

Oblivious to the back story and without having to regroup or rethink his own life, the happiest beneficiary of our time off will be Mugsy. He will have less time alone, more walks, more treats, and no excuses for accidents in the house!