05/30/2024
To All of those who have followed our journey for over year, attempting to bring a local Kafe to the City of Bedford, we regret to inform you that we will no longer be pursuing our dream.
As you may know, we were optimistic that we would be opening in the JayC Plaza. Unfortunately, we had difficulty finding a reliable and timely contractor. We had also been assured that we could secure a Small Business Loan, which proved extremely difficult with the government. There are no local banks that work with the SBA on Small Business Loans. After months of waiting for a contractor quote, we found out the buildout cost was going to be over $200K for the JayC Plaza due to the location being vacant for many years. We tried several out-of-town banks and found they also don’t service our area.
After realizing the JayC Plaza was not going to work, Tim and I purchased 2404 29th Street. It is a great location on 29th Street across from the fire station, with high traffic and with the utilities based there.
We were making progress on the remodel ourselves when one day Tim and I were in the parking lot talking about parking and a couple of gentlemen that work for the City Utilities pulled in. We thought they were there to ask when would be opening. Instead, they said, “You may need a GREASE TRAP, we need to talk to our boss”. Our coffee, juices and menu have NO GREASE.
Evidently, this is a code that’s been in place for years but evidently Bedford just started enforcing this rule. After a few months passed, we received a phone call from one of the gentlemen that had stopped by saying we do need this $15K GREASE TRAP, they ironically provided names of contractors that could put it in for us. Again, we have no grease at all on our menu. Why did the Utilities Director not work with us? Why did she not contact us? Why do the Mayor, Planning Director, and Utilities Director, not work together to encourage small business?
We met with the Mayor, Planning Director, and Utilities Director a few weeks later. In this once small town, the Mayor, Planning Director, and Utilities Director admitted they have poor communications. We asked pointed questions and offended the city officials when the Mayor went on the defensive.
We have decided to sell the property as is. We had a solid business plan, and our dream was to bring a small business Kafe to Bedford, but we can see now, this small city does not welcome small business.
We appreciate all your support and following us over this past year. We tried!
To those out there that want to bring a small business to Bedford, I encourage you to reach out to me. It’s been a long journey with lots of money spent, hopefully, I can be of help.
Thanks again for all your support!
Jodi Bottorff
