The Clove Cafe

I have been in food management for over 7 years and have loved to bake since I was about 7 years! Opening my own bakery and cafe has been something I have considered for quite sometime. I love baking, tea, coffee, and have a passion for making connections with customers. I am working on my BA in Family and Human Development, a social work degree. My goal had to been to continue working in food service while chipping away at my degree, moving on to a life in nonprofit. I had been in a rut and unknowing of what I wanted to do with my life, how would I combine my dream of a bakery/café and passion for social work and helping people? One day, while driving my son, Wesley, home from an orthopedic appointment after he broke if thumb, he was talking about his future plans. I saw the light! Some how it finally all clicked into place for me and the plans for The Clove started pouring out of me.

Wes was so excited and challenged me write it all down and draw it up before he got home from school! The Clove Cafe, while it is still in it’s early stages and out of my kitchen until my degree is finished, is how I plan to combine a bakery/cafe and mental health advocacy. Once we are in a brick and mortar location, the plans are to be a cafe serving craft coffee, loose leaf tea, and of course, the best baked good around! I want to create an extremely inclusive place with nooks for working moms, quite sensory areas, and where everyone of every community is welcome. High tea will be served in the tearoom, a space that could be rented for parties, meetings, and other gatherings. I want The Clove to have a calendar full of events. These events will range from networking and book clubs to where the dream really comes in to view: Couples nights where we might decorate cookies, but also talk about communication; Mom/Dad and me events but for teens; Mom meet ups where we talk about postpartum depression! Mental Health and communication at the core of the events!

While I did consider starting The Clove Cafe as a nonprofit for mental health, I realized that there are so many other worthy groups in our community that I would love to be able to work with that have the same missions. I hope that with different events hosted I will be able to partner with many different nonprofits and be able support as many of them as I can! Even while in these early stages I hope to be able to contribute to fundraisers, community events, and to get my name out there with the groups I want to be a part of!