She pushed into the cafe and glanced around. Back in a corner table Keely, Katherine, Becky Lee, and Natalie sat at a table. They waved at her to have her come on back.
“Thanks for meeting with us.” Keely held up a cup. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please.”
Becky Lee scooted over to make room for Bella. “I told them you could help find a few pieces of furniture for the restaurant.”
“I’d love to help. Tell me what you have in mind.” Bella loved the challenge of finding just the right piece for her customers. She often had the furniture in her vintage shop already, or even more fun, would go out looking for them.
“Natalie had a couple good ideas. A church pew on the wall under the windows where people can sit and wait for a table.” Keely then nodded towards a space on the wall by the kitchen. “And over there, maybe a big hutch to hold silverware, napkins, extra menus.”
“And Keely is going to add a patio out back. We’ll need tables and chairs out there. The patio will have a top over it, but the table and chairs will have to handle being outside,” Natalie explained.
“But, we’re trying to keep our expenses down as much as possible.” Keely looked worried.
“You know, I saw the neatest tables at this cute little restaurant over in Bay St. Louis. I talked to the owner, who said she’d tried to cut back on all expenses possible when they reopened after the hurricane came through and wiped them out. Their tables were made of paneled and carved doors covered with polyurethane poured over them to make them flat. Hard to explain, but they looked wonderful and the owner said they stood up to a lot of abuse. They used random things for legs. Some wrought iron legs. Some thick spindles salvaged from a stairway. It looked really nice.”
“I love that idea.” Natalie’s eyes lit up. “I bet we could get Hunt to help us make those.”
“Gil has every woodworking tool known to mankind. I’m sure I could convince my brother to help.” Bella took out a notebook. “I bet I could find the old doors for you for not much at all. I actually have a few in the back storeroom of the shop. Haven’t had space to put them out yet. We could then do a mix of old chairs with them. Seal them up with weather coating. More funky eclectic than mismatched.”
“We were thinking about a bar at the end of the area. Just to serve up wine and beer, nothing fancy, providing our liquor license goes through. I told Mother I thought it was time the cafe got a license. She wasn’t happy, but most of the other restaurants in town serve alcohol. I think it will help us keep our business and expand, even.” Katherine had out a notebook and was taking notes while they talked.
“Oh, I know where to find an old bar for you, too. I saw it at a store that was closing. It’s an old wooden counter, but I think it would work perfectly.”
“I have to keep the expenses down. We don’t have much to work with. We still have the expense of converting the old patio and putting the roof up over it.” Keely bit her bottom lip.
“How about I do some looking around and give you an estimate of what I think this would cost?” Bella jotted down some notes in her leather planner.
“Another notetaker, I see.” Katherine smiled at her.
“If I don’t write it down, it doesn’t happen. It’s the only way I can juggle so many things without something falling through the cracks. I do big notebooks for projects I work on.”
“Y’all should see the notebook Izzy did for Jenny’s wedding. It’s a masterpiece.” Becky Lee teased.
Bella grinned. “I do love me a pretty notebook.”
“I’m hoping all this will bring in more business to the cafe. The patio with extra space. Updating the look of the cafe just a bit.” Keely’s eyes held a tinge of uncertainty.
Bella wasn’t surprised that Keely was cautious. She was glad Keely was trying to improve the cafe and increase business and she felt an intense sisterhood with the woman trying to make a go with her business in this town. The struggles of owning a small business hit so close to home.
“You know, it’s too bad we don’t have a big beginning of summer festival. Like how the town has Festival Days at the end of the summer right when school starts up. If we had a big town event at the beginning of the summer, maybe we could attract more tourists right at the start of the season. It might carry through for a while.” Katherine tilted her head to one side and tapped her pen on the table.
Keely sat up straight and set down her coffee cup with a clatter. “Kat, that is a really good idea. I mean like a great idea.”
“It is. I’d love to bring in more tourists to town. That will help business at my shop, for sure.” Bella really liked this idea. She liked it a lot. “We could try to get most of the business on Main Street and Rosewood Avenue involved. It would benefit everyone.”