On April 3rd a small crowd of new and experienced farmers gathered at the building and future home of Cow & Quince. With the middle wall down, it was suddenly possible to have a sense of what the space will be like when we are up and running! Borrowed scaffolding created a table for delicious food from farms in Green County. I contributed pasture-raised Berkshire pork stuffed mushrooms with Asian inspired spices and an accompanying cilantro infused slaw. (These might just have to be on a small bite/appetizer menu since they were delicious and went fast!) There was local cheese, including a lemon pepper chevre with home baked rye bread; incredible chocolate ginger cookies with a kick (thanks Circle M Farm!); and a basket containing delicious tastes of farmstead relishes. The perfect foods to set the energy for our farm-to-table eatery!
Colorful twinkle lights festooned more scaffolding that will hopefully give us the opportunity to peek under the ceiling drywall to see if the tin ceiling evident in a historical society picture of the space as grocery still exists. And all the gathered were incredibly supportive. From the new farmers who came that were attending the nearby "New Farmers' Summit", to New Glarus locals that were happy to see the lights on in the space and a crowd, we felt incredibly supported and hopeful for this new venture.
For my part, I am taking this as it comes. Incredibly grateful for the impending arrival of our restaurant-experienced daughter, who will serve as our general manager. Happy to hear wisdom from others who have started restaurants, gotten SBA loans, written grants, leveraged collaborations, and were willing to take a leap of faith and follow a dream. Some days I wake up and see so clearly all that Cow & Quince will be, and others I cannot believe that I have started down this path. But today, in this place, with these folks, the stars are definitely aligning, all the right people are gathered, and we gear up to nourish bodies and dreams.
Colorful twinkle lights festooned more scaffolding that will hopefully give us the opportunity to peek under the ceiling drywall to see if the tin ceiling evident in a historical society picture of the space as grocery still exists. And all the gathered were incredibly supportive. From the new farmers who came that were attending the nearby "New Farmers' Summit", to New Glarus locals that were happy to see the lights on in the space and a crowd, we felt incredibly supported and hopeful for this new venture.
For my part, I am taking this as it comes. Incredibly grateful for the impending arrival of our restaurant-experienced daughter, who will serve as our general manager. Happy to hear wisdom from others who have started restaurants, gotten SBA loans, written grants, leveraged collaborations, and were willing to take a leap of faith and follow a dream. Some days I wake up and see so clearly all that Cow & Quince will be, and others I cannot believe that I have started down this path. But today, in this place, with these folks, the stars are definitely aligning, all the right people are gathered, and we gear up to nourish bodies and dreams.