My Why is a Crooked Set of Stairs

The news came in quick succession. First Tonic and then Dwell Local…two places that added to the beauty that Rochester had to offer the world in their own unique ways. Both of them are closing down, announced 5 days apart. I only know Paul through his business and his communications through their social media channels. However, I knew Tonic from the very early days. Nicci, the founder of Tonic was one of my very first customers when I was operating Fresh With Edge, a greenhouse here in Rochester. Nicci was pure passion for what she did for her customers through Tonic. Tonic was right outside the doors of Mayo Clinic and that was the perfect place for it. She truly believed in their mission of healing the world through healthy food.

The news reminded me of the crazy early mornings and late nights of making deliveries to Tonic. The conversations with Nicci about the local food industry. How difficult things can be for any restaurant. How difficult things can be for the local food industry and how extremely difficult that combination of the two can be.

However, that’s the entire point of businesses like Tonic and Dwell Local. They are created because the world needs them. The world needs the beauty that they provide. Creating something unique and beautiful is never going to be easy. Creating something unique means that it is different. Being different never takes you down a simple path to success. That unique beauty can be fleeting, but as these businesses reach their sunset, the lives that they touch continue to be changed going into the future.

That unique beauty is something that Rainbow Cafe had in every way. Rainbow Cafe was a little cafe in Pine Island and also a greenhouse customer of mine. I’d do my deliveries on Monday night as Jeremy or Jen (the owners) would be planning and prepping for the week ahead. I’d park my old F150 in the back and wrestle heavy racks of produce into the back door and down a rickety set of crooked stairs. Nothing about this restaurant was easy. The drive took me forever of a round trip over to my greenhouse, up to Pine Island, back to the greenhouse, and finally home. The roads were windy. When I got there, the back of the house was cramped, and when I got home, it was always late. However, the beauty came in the deep conversations with Jeremy and Jen when we would stop for a bit and just commiserate about the week. How things were going, what we were looking forward to. The exciting endeavors that were on the verge of success, the frustrations of others that didn’t quite work out. I still miss those Monday night conversations.

At the same time, as a customer, there were similar challenges. The restaurant was well off the beaten path. You drove all the way up to Pine Island to get there. You sat at small tables close to everyone else. It could get a bit noisy. It could be a bit challenging to control your toddlers and infants as you sat down for a meal. However, once that meal showed up, it was pure heaven. I never have, and I absolutely know that I never will taste food that unbelievable. It was a spiritual experience. What Jeremy and Jen could do with food was pure magic. Unfortunately, Rainbow Cafe closed years back. The hurdles it had to overcome as a unique gem in a small community were too much to overcome.

My why for creating Shrpa will always be that crooked set of stairs at Rainbow Cafe. It wasn’t the simple path, it was challenging, it was unique and it was beautiful. I miss Rainbow Cafe and the beauty created there just as many of us will also miss the beauty created at Tonic and Dwell Local.

My why for creating Shrpa will always be to make sure as many people as possible have the opportunity to discover their own set of beautiful crooked stairs.