Magic While We Wait

“Maggie? Is that you? Oh my gosh. You did it?! I missed the deadline at the soup kitchen, and they told me about this pay-what-you-can cafe down the street. My brain started spinning and I thought, ‘I remember Maggie 6 years ago was trying to do that...could it be the same?’ I ran over here and IT IS YOU!” 

Lester was one of the first people to believe in my dream of a cafe for everyone. 

Lester and I have known each other for about 8 years. Back when I was in college, I worked at a day shelter for people experiencing homelessness. While I was there, I told everyone about this ‘cafe/restaurant/whatever it was going to be’ concept that I was absolutely, no-doubt-about-it gonna create. In the next year. No problem. 

You know where this story goes next, right? A year passed without the idea becoming a reality.  

But in the years that followed, something even cooler happened. All those folks at the day shelter? They nurtured my dream, and grew it. This group of 50 or so friends experiencing homelessness or poverty waited, asked about progress, spread the news, cheered me on, believed in the idea, and made me work even harder to make it a reality. For them, for me, for us.

Now these 50 friends, including Lester, visit weekly, enjoy a meal, and create an integral part of the Table family. 

Listen, friends. Waiting? Sometimes it’s hard. And annoying. Like thumb-twiddling, foot-tapping, eye-rolling annoying. 

Then sometimes, waiting is more like incubating--magic is happening just behind the scenes. In those years when my friends were cheering me on, my idea improved, sharpened, and grew.

And now it’s growing again! Aaaaaaand, we’re waiting again. Is it the foot-tapping kind of waiting or the better kind? I’ll let you decide. 

In the meantime, here’s an update on the magic happening just behind the scenes. The walls are up, the hood is in, and the walk-in cooler gets delivered this week. It’s happening, y’all. Construction is notorious for its flexible schedule, but we think sometime in April we will be open and ready to serve you roast beef sandwiches and scrambled eggs! 

Yes, Lester. It’s me. This is the idea you believed in, made real. And growing. Thank you for nurturing Table then and now. 

And thanks to each one of you for making this cafe a place Lester can get a warm and nourishing meal and even more than that--a warm and nourishing community.
 

With hugs,

Maggie Kane
Executive Director