How Antler ended up 750 miles South
On August 1st we will celebrate 3 years of Antler. That’s 3 years of self employment, growth, and plan changing. When we opened the mobile shop our greatest hope was to make enough in 2 1/2 months to make it through the winter. We closed our first season in late November and began the great waiting game. Would we have enough money to make it to next spring, will the winter stretch too long, will we go insane as sitting ducks all season long in our house.
In and around January 18th 2021 we were at our breakfast table eating fried potatoes and maple syrup as one does. I get a text from my best friend that lives in Henderson Ky that says “Hey my husband’s aunt and uncle just bought up buildings downtown that they want to develop, do you want one?”. I LITERALLY freaked out in the best way possible as it was a dream of mine to live in that area ever since I visited 4 years prior.
We packed a bag, left at 3am, and made the 14 hour trip south that weekend. We met the property developers, saw the buildings, and began a 10 day pro/con list debate that nearly killed me. How are we supposed to run this huge custom shop when we only have a few months of experience? How can these developers be so willing to work with us and create this dream for us? You may have guessed, but we said yes to this shop. A month later our house went on the market.
We moved our entire commercial home base for the mobile shop down to Hunter’s Parents’ property so that our home could be ready for showings at any and all times. Our first full season began May 15th, we were working 10 hour days 6 days a week. Hauling our coffee camper all around the northern Wi bay area. All the while we were preparing to move south and get this new brick and mortar shop open. During the last 2 months of our season we were beginning to let our daily customers in on our plans, we were grateful for that opportunity to have open conversation with people who had supported us so much.
We once again closed for the winter and simultaneously closed on our house, moved out, and played the long waiting game for our apartment down south to be ready. In the mean time, we thought “hey!” let’s continue serving our northern customers. We had already winterized the mobile shop so we had 2,000 bottles, a bottler, and fresh ingredients, delivered to the property. Antler ended up delivering over 200 bottles of our staple drinks over the next 2 weeks.
After that excursion it was time to head out and work on our new venture. We moved into our apartment the last week of February and have been cranking away at the new location ever since. Getting to work on this scale is something that would have never been attainable for us if it weren’t for the help of our developers that have been ridiculously generous throughout this whole project. Working all year round will prevent us from spending the winters feeling stranded and bound by the need to save every penny. Antler’s growth will allow us to develop better creative programs for both locations, and no longer be the sole 2 employees of the whole shabang.
Yesterday I walked into our near finished cafe and almost (almost) lost it. This labor of love, this creative space, a gathering space, our space. I feel very at home behind my espresso bar, I feel grateful for such an incredible building for Antler to share with the community.
Please take risks and jump into opportunities. Be the hardest working person you can find, and find joy in it all. Decide your craft and spend every outlet you have at your disposal mastering it. Serve people, honor God, use your talents to bring light to others, and relish each second we are blessed with the ability to work and provide.
With hope,
Annalisa
