Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Klassen.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
In the summer of 2004, I found myself pulling the ovens out of my house, taking my kitchen aid mixer and opening Spoons Cafe in Downtown McKinney. I was unemployed, had no money and no experience in the restaurant industry.
I had an idea that the downtown needed a small place to grab a great breakfast. Most people thought that I was crazy but I thought I had nothing to lose.
Spoons started with a very small menu serving breakfast and lunch. My first pie case came from Goodwill and was so small we only served coconut and chocolate pie.
In 2008, I built the current cafe. Spoons Cafe is now open 7 days a week and serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
What do I think has made Spoons Cafe continue to grow over the last 13 years is not only great food but our amazing employees and customers.
Good food is key to success in the restaurant industry. I also believe that the team you build employees There are many relationships that have contributed to Spoons Cafe success. Employees are number one. My first employee is still with me and many have called Spoons their workplace for 10 years or more.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, in the beginning, I had no money, so every penny had to go into the cafe. We would pray for good weekends in order to cover payroll and other checks that had already written. That did not always happen. When the lunch run would end we would count everything and run to the bank before 3 to try to cover checks that were coming thru that day.
A few years ago the cafe was having the volume of customers but we had no cash flow. My general manager Vickie Roell, who has been with me for over 10 years and I had to sit down and make some big cuts and see who/what had to go. Thank goodness, I have an amazing food supplier that let me have terms and a bank that loaned me $10,000 or we would have had to shut the doors.
I will never forget those days. I am very happy to say we no longer are making a mad dash to the bank every day.
Please tell us about Spoons Cafe.
Spoons Cafe specializes in just good food. I believe people come to Spoons because it feels like someone’s home and they can just relax. That is why I have an open kitchen in the front area so everyone can see their food being prepared. In the back area, which we refer to as Spoons Garage, because it actually was a garage in the 1920’s, they can see Tony baking all of her goodies.
What sets Spoons apart is being housed in a 1920’s building that was originally Texas Power and Light Company. and it’s eclectic decor.
Our menu is huge. We serve breakfast all day, amazing meatloaf, 1/2 pound burgers, homemade desserts, handcrafted cocktails, cold beer and so much more.
Our average ticket is $12 so people feel comfortable coming multiple times a week.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Wow, because I like to create and did not pay as much attention to the bookkeeping as I wish I would have. It is so exhausting opening a business that some things slide. It is scary to look at the books when you see you don’t have anything, but I have learned that numbers do not lie and can really help you make adjustments to keep you afloat.
Invest in a Point of Sale system sooner.
One of the first seminars I ever went to on running a restaurant one of the speakers said “if you have butts in the seats of your restaurant everything else can be tweaked. ” So that is what I focused on for many years. Keeping the cafe full. That is still my #1 focus, but I do spend more time in the numbers.
We have a Point of Sale system with enough year’s data that we can really see where we are compared to past years, Our busiest time of year, slowest etc.
I have really begun to like numbers now.
Pricing:
- Average meal $12 to $15
Contact Info:
- Address: Spoons Cafe 100 E. Louisiana, McKinney, Texas 75069
- Website: spoonscafe.com
- Phone: 972-548-6900
- Email: info@spoonscafe.com
- Instagram: @spoonscafemckinney
- Facebook: spoonscafe
Image Credit:
Alec Hilliard Photography – alechilliardphototgraphy.com
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