enter henry.

it's been a while and i've been feeling the need to post an update on the progress of little skips but found myself too bogged down by all the nuances of the business. sometimes i forget that i am running a business, not just trying to bring to life my funhouse and food joint (aka cafe), but the past few weeks have driven that fact home.

going into this venture, i knew it would be hard and there would be many obstacles along the way but i never expected it to be this hard. i've lost count of the breakdowns i've had since i started. one time, i remember walking with rosie to little skips and just wanting to stop in my tracks, fall into a ball and scream 'make it go away!' then, i felt rosie grabbing my arm to hold me up screaming some form of encouragement.

so i kept going.

recently, i came to the realization that i could no longer make it on my own and the possibility of pulling out of the game and calling quits was all too real. enter henry. unofficially, my new partner. together, for about a month now, we're pushing forward. soon the major part of the build out, which is creating a functioning kitchen and installing the coffee equipment will begin. basically, once this is done and we get inspected by the health department, little skips should be ready to open, in a perfect world.

tonight i'm working on a response to an email from BushwickBK. i thought i'd share and use it as a chance to catch everyone else up as well.

Q&A:
1) Tell me a bit about yourself, where you're from, school, age, whatever you think is relevant or interesting. And how long you've lived in the neighborhood (if you do live here).
2) What made you decide to open a cafe, and why in Bushwick?

i'm a whopping 29 years old and hopefully a full 5 feet tall. i transplanted myself to east williamsburg from st. petersburg, florida in july 2007. i first lived along the L train and loved it. i moved to bushwick off the JMZ for cheaper rent early this year in february. bushwick has a strange charm and a dangerously romantic appeal, something completely different from the areas along the L train. soon after moving here i fell in love with the place. but after many days of wandering the new hood looking for a place to grab good food and a decent cup of coffee after one of those long nights (or if i was feeling fancy, a foamy cappuccino), i realized around where i live in bushwick was the perfect place to bring a cafe. i still think it was fate. random events occurring together at the same time to make something happen. there is change happening that is good for the neighborhood for sure. this is great for me since i plan to stay in the area for a while and want to be a part of helping to develop a sense of community. little skips is an idea more than anything. i want it to be where everyone is welcome and different people can share in common interests, spreading the love, creating the bonds. i know this sounds a little cheesedick but it's completely true and i'm working on toning the cheese-factor down ;)

i went to business school at usf in tampa and had random 'real' jobs but moved to brooklyn to be more creative (whatever that means; it just sounded nice at the time). i came for probably the same reasons as most other transplants. i wanted to take classes and work in film production, maybe do some acting, some writing. maybe in this dream world where i could sing or play an instrument, i would become a local rock star!

what i do know is that i love entertaining and being the 'little' hostess as my friends can attest to. we called our house the little skips party house and even got to host dave bazan on his house show tour. amazing! cooking was done multiple times a day, everyday. i still experiment with new recipes and am learning to eat healthier, cutting down a lot of processed foods and animal products. this is what i want to bring to little skips; the sense of community and learning to care and love each other and the earth. bla bla cheesedick ;) and so we move on...

3) Tell me about what you'll be selling there and how the interiors will be. And if you know what the storefront was before, that's fun info.
4) When will you be open for business and what do you expect your hours to be, etc.?

we will have coffee, hand blended tea by me, small plates, light dishes, salads, soups and sandwiches (including the overly famous banh mi which i grew up making and eating) as well as baked goods that we plan to get from local bakeries. i plan to have lots of vegan and vegetarian menu options but am not limiting the menu to just non-animal dishes. we will have wi-fi, fun and live music. we plan to open from 7am to 8pm and later once we've got our beer and wine license, realizing we might have to adjust hours according to customer needs.

we plan to open shortly after the new year *fingers crossed*