Hey There...Here's the latest for the Friends of Pour Me Coffee & Wine Cafe!
Despite hearing the accolades, it took me a while to get around to watching the Netflix series,
Frankie & Grace
, starring, respectively, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda. It’s been three years since I ditched cable so Netflix’s many offerings are a regular thing but this series was one that I wasn’t particularly drawn to watch. With the pausing of Pour Me Coffee & Wine Cafe in February though, I dove in for some contemporary escapism.
Some background about the show:
These ladies are in their seventies and they’ve been frenemies for decades, their lives intertwined as they are through the professional careers of their lawyer spouses. Their worlds are upended when their husbands, longtime lovers, ask for divorces so they can marry each other. What follows are episodes where the disbelieving and stunned wives are sassy and funny but also vulnerable and poignant. The topic and the talent pool (Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston as the exes) definitely make the series worth the watch.
It was the Season 2 Episode 3 show when the ‘BIG AHA’ moment hit me.
By the second season, the newly single women are living together although not always getting along. Frankie, a free-thinking and accepting new-agey artist, and Grace, a vain and hardened cosmetics executive, don’t look at life through the same lens (to great drama and comic relief). In episode 3, Frankie is hoping to negotiate a mega-deal for her all-natural cream and Grace is giving her advice about the buy-out.
“Do you know where you want to be?”, Grace asks.
After some thought, “Yes”, says Frankie.
“WELL DON'T START THERE.”
I shrieked a big EUREKA OMG.
I hit rewind. I replayed it. Replayed again. That’s it! That’s it! That’s it!
My Big “AHA” Moment:
When it came to my new business,
I started where I wanted to be
.
Watching this episode, I was reminded that the answers to the hard, personal questions are always in front of us. Sure, I was ready for a message other than the feeling I had of shame over my decision to ‘pause + pivot’. But by looking at the situation with an objective eye (while vicariously indulging in a martini with Grace), I was able to acknowledge the consequences of my thinking even if it was a hearty dose of let-down. I understood that the fault line was in my starting point and I accepted it.
Many.Lessons.Learned.
You see, it’s a painful and heart-wrenching decision to cease operations when you’ve invested so much in an idea that’s of your own creation. When will, grit, faith and determination don’t necessarily prevail, it’s hard not to feel like a failure…a disappointment…a loser. These are tough emotions to wade through. I’m so glad I tuned into
Grace & Frankie
when I did!
When the doors were open daily, so very many of you did embrace and support Pour Me Coffee & Wine. The Pour Me concept, centered on best-ingredient food, resonates with people from all walks of life. I know because I met and still talk to so many of you! You are committed to your health, the well-being of your families, and the revitalization of Main Street. The input and feedback that filled your comment cards leaves me strong in the knowledge that there is so much that is right about what Pour Me Coffee & Wine Café is.
And I thank you for helping me realize that I’m definitely not ready to let that go….
I’m also not ready to let go of a few other ideas:
- People are drawn to Downtown Danbury because they see its potential despite social, economic, and political misperceptions.
- There are entrepreneurs and start-up businesses ready to see what we can do together to catalyze our city’s urban core so it prospers.
- We want Downtown Danbury to be an expanding cultural destination and a vibrant marketplace.
I am optimistic about easing out of ‘pause + pivot’ mode and restarting from a grass roots level. What does this mean? It means that I am still committed to the ongoing effort to bring more people Downtown….but in a new way.
This summer, the Pour Me doors will be open for ‘pop-up’ concepts. The first one happens this Monday, May 29
th
, during the Memorial Day parade. Next will be during the CityCenter Artisan Fair on Saturday, June 1
st
. It's the start of a simpler path moving forward and getting to where all #PourMePeeps want to be!
I hope that you'll visit Main Street this Monday. The parade steps of Rose Street at 9:30 AM and we’ll be open starting at 8 AM for drinks, some grab-n-go items, and, most of all, hearing from you!
Thank you for your ongoing interest in what’s happening with Pour Me & Downtown.
As always, your ideas, input and suggestions are welcome…
With Kindest Regards,
Andrea
Andrea Gartner
203-470-8005
