08/03/2026
I've been avoiding breaking some really big news, but it's time to finally rip the Band-Aid off.
This whole season, we've really been struggling when thinking of the future of The Lunch Box. From the beginning, it was always the plan for Nolin and I to take over the business. Which, in a perfect world, sounds like a golden ticket. But we were 21 and 22 when we signed on to that, and a lot has changed in the last 3 years. As some of you know, Mom has had some health struggles this year, And we've all had our fair share of mental struggles. A few months ago, Mom came to us and said she was ready to hand over the business, and that it was approaching time for us to get serious about taking it over, which was always the plan. But after a lot of soul-searching and thinking it over, we both have realized that we just aren't cut out for the restaurant owner life.
If you've never done it, you will never understand, but running a restaurant is extremely difficult, even when your restaurant is successful. Especially when you're working with family and your partner, who you live with and spend every waking second with. It is a breeding ground for turmoil and anxiety. Especially with the state of the world and rising food costs, government regulations being defunded. All of it is a pressure cooker, and we are feeling the pressure start to rise around us every day.
Those of you who have been with us from the beginning know how much we've adapted and struggled to make it work. In the early days, we never expected to be as busy as we were and to get so big for such a small team and small building. We've struggled to balance online orders and constant walk-up and phone orders and still keep wait times low. We've struggled to fit everything we need in such a small space. We've struggled to keep that small space cool, and the AC has just never been able to keep up. The bottom line is that we just cannot manage with such a small space and team, and nowhere for more employees to go, even if we hired them.
So, all this to say, we do plan to close our little box for good before we leave for vacation on August 13.
Please know that this decision does not come lightly. I know to you it may seem like it's completely out of the blue, but it isn't for us. We've had a lot of long talks and brainstorming sessions, lots of tears and heartbreak. But at the end of the day, no matter how much it hurts, we know this is the right thing to do for our own sake.
The last few days, as I've been drafting this post, I keep thinking of all of you. Every time I think about it, another one of your faces pops into my head. All of you have been so incredibly supportive of us and have been with us since the beginning. I see some of your faces almost every single day. And that's what makes this hurt the most. If I could keep going forever, I would do it for you all. But at the end of the day, I have to choose what's best for myself.
I am only 25, and I still have so much life left to live and so much to figure out about myself, and I can't live for someone else's dream. These last 3 years have aged me a lot, and made me more cynical and a walking ball of anxiety. You have to kind of be an insane person to want to run a busy restaurant for your whole life, and as much as I want to be, I'm just not cut out for it. Unless it's something you're extremely passionate about and want more than anything, you just can't keep doing it forever.
Plus, Nolin and Madison have both been offered jobs that they both have been dreaming of taking, and it would be a real struggle to keep both businesses open without them.
So, where do we go from here?
The plan is for us to integrate into The Cake Box and put much more focus on it. Ella and I have been making plans to make it our baby. Yes, it is still foodservice, but there is a very big difference between the two. The Cake Box is for fun. People come in for a sweet treat or trinket or fun drink. Usually with extra time and extra money. The Lunch Box is much more utilitarian, and people are usually hangry and on their lunch break and needing to get back to work, and there is a very big difference in the way it makes us feel.
I am someone who leads with creativity, and The Cake Box provides that. I will have so much more time and energy to work on things that truly bring me joy, and I really enjoy working there when I've had the opportunity. I am really excited to come up with new ideas and have more freedom to do exciting things, and I hope you all will stick with us on that journey.
We do still plan to integrate some Lunch Box things into The Cake Box. I plan to have grab & go items every day, and y'all know I can't resist a good pot of soup. I plan to still sell dressings and sauces and all the things that make our food what it is, so you can make just as close to the real thing as possible. And I won't gatekeep recipes!
Plus, with us, you never know. Once we get rolling, we may plan to bring back some of the Lunch Box menu in the bigger space. We are always changing our minds and coming up with new ideas. So it's not goodbye forever; we will always keep that door open.
You guys know us well enough by now to know that we are not people who stick to one thing forever. We like to switch it up and change our minds and change our paths. We may seem crazy; I'm sure we seem spoiled. And we are very privileged to do so. Thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts, for sticking by us. I know this won't be easy, and it breaks my heart that you all will be without your lunch every day. But the world will keep spinning. We are all tiny specks on a big floating rock in space, and I just have to remember that and do what is best for myself and for our family dynamic.
Please be easy on us these next few weeks. We love you all!
-Sophie
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