12/12/2023
Hey RCE friends,
For the past few years the word PIVOT has been the theme for many small businesses, including River City Eatery. Something we became pretty good at in the face of adversity not only in the new world we've had to navigate, but in the former one as well.
It was no mistake the flying pig was an emblem for my sweet little eatery in beautiful downtown Windom. It wasn't an easy path from the beginning, taking me over 6 years to figure out how to make something out of nothing and finding the support needed to make this crazy dream a reality.
My unshakable passion for my hometown and community and idea of giving people a unique restaurant and catering experience in our community made it all work, along with my loyal team.
Man, don't ever doubt the power of your dreams, my friends. It was all worth it.
Over the last 12 years, my dreams created this friendly neighborhood eatery whose doors have welcomed some pretty amazing people from friends, families, regulars, incredible leaders and talented artists and musicians, travelers, and people who started their lives together with proposals even!
My dreams created a full service catering company that proudly served guests at HUNDREDS of events from weddings, celebrations of life to business meetings.
My dreams created a few other restaurants sprinkled in between, a couple of food trucks and a meeting room that hosted some of the most beautiful events I've witnessed in real life.
My dreams have even pi**ed a lot of people off, for example...pallets...lol.
Never doubt the power of your dreams, my friends.
While we were hoping to secure a buyer to keep RCE in downtown Windom, things don't always work out how we want them to.
So, I'm not going to say we are closing because business wasn't good.
I'm not going to say we are closing because of a stupid pandemic.
I'm not going to give you a sob story of how hard it all was and the last 12 years of plain 'ol sacrificing everything humanly possible I had to offer.
I've never shyed away from adversity, but often used it as a springboard in true entreprenuership fashion.
I am closing River City Eatery because I'm pivoting.
Just as the world is different, so am I. What I'm willing to sacrifice is different. What I value is different.
There has been no greater time in my lifetime for doing good in more capacities than operating River City Eatery.
There has been no greater time in my lifetime to help other business owners navigate this new world.
There has been no greater time in my lifetime to wholeheartedly pivot into something completely new, yet so familiar, by becoming an advocate and resource for the dreamers, the small business owners and the entreprenuers who bring their beautiful, innovative POVs to the world.
I will be pivoting from the owner and operator of River City Eatery into creating a Center for Business Growth and Leadership.
A place for business owners, entreprenuers, dreamers to find resources to thrive from advocacy, learning workshops, and gain resources to make their dreams come true. A place for business owners and corporations to learn about effective leadership and purposeful operations and strategic planning.
Never doubt the power of your dreams, my friends.
A true entreprenuer is one who takes risks to solve real problems in the world, and this is something that I believe we need more than ever right now.
We need more advocates, workshops and resources for small business owners, entreprenuers and the dreamers to navigate and thrive in this new world. We need to inspire our youth to solve problems in our modern world as well and give them the resources to dream as well. We need to create a better environment for our businesses that are the backbone of communities to thrive.
So this is what I'm going to do.
While this is officially the end of River City Eatery as you all know it effective immediately, this is also the beginning of something that will hopefully in turn create opportunities for more people to believe in the power of their own dreams and through this maybe even create a new version of your friendly neighborhood eatery.
I can't thank you all enough for your support in these crazy dreams of mine, and for your support of River City Eatery for the last 12 years.
An even bigger thank you to my loyal team, my dear friends and family who know the crazy ride this has been for me. 💖
It's been a great ride, dear ones.
And I thank you for your understanding in making this hard decision to close River City Eatery and to again...PIVOT.
All my love, all my everything, always.
Best, Mari
Owner and Operator of River City Eatery
