Alowishus

We are in our first week of opening late on Friday, Saturday and Sundays!

I’m sitting in the arcade as I write this and there is a beautiful breeze floating down. Bringing with it the smell of freshly baked Carrot and Pecan muffins. The home baking is proving to be very popular at Alowishus. I think the gluten free Pineapple cake must be a sure winner. We don’t advertise it as gluten free as people have a perception that ‘gluten free’ is taste free. We are trying to do as much gluten free baking as possible, as it seems an ever growing percentage of the population have food allergies.

This is a picture of my view as I sit and blog. Alowishus is located in an arcade situated on the main street of Bundaberg. The arcade is named Earls Court. After Mr Earl Johnson I believe. He and his wife Vera had a gift store in the arcade in the 60′s and lived upstairs in the residence just above the arcade. I’ve been told that if you ever received an invite to one of Vera’s parties, you knew you had reached the height of society in Bundy. It’s a beautiful arcade, very art deco in style, still with the original floors. They have just been restored and now have a wonderful shine to them.

We have little pots of herbs on our tables at Alowishus. They are there for the customers to pick and enjoy on their salads and sandwiches. We pop them outside in the mornings for a water and a bit of sun. The past week though a couple of pots have grown legs and gone for a walk. I’m hoping they’ve found themselves a nice home with plenty of water and sunshine. Regulars are popping in by the dozens now and I’m starting to know their names and their coffees. I love it. I’m in my element. Chatting and socialising all day long. I just need to schedule some more sleep now. Thank you to all my amazing Friends and Family and also to my wonderful Team and Customers. A great big thanks to my amazing God. You sustain me through all my days.

Tracey

Wow. One month opened. What a blur. I am quite sure I haven’t done so much learning since, …….. well ever.

Where to start?  Our first week opened was an amazing week, the world Annual Jazz Convention was being held in Bundy that first week. It was quite literally next door to our establishment.  We had Jazz musicians and enthusiasts alike from all corners of Australia and the globe. Boy are they a hungry, thirsty bunch of people. It was kind of sad when they all went home, we met some really lovely people.

Week 2 was a little quieter and allowed us to establish a long list of things we needed. We were also able to get quite a few systems in place.

Week 3 – my goodness!!!

A seven day trip to Fiji. It had been long planned and I just had to go go go to get ready. I thought the timing was terrible but God knew otherwise. Having the week away made me get organised and made me establish long term systems and run sheets.   We left on the Wednesday and I didn’t think about the shop until we returned the following Thursday.  I am blessed with the most amazing team. They ran Alowishus like it was their own. I got back and it was beautiful. They had improved on existing systems and added new ones. Who can open any business, go away less then 3 weeks later and come back to something better then you left?

Now we have just finished our 4th week and I’m sitting in the doctors surgery (after an incident with a mouse, not at Alowishus by the way LOL) waiting, knowing that it’s all running smoothly back at the shop.

Here’s to wonderful 2012! Happy New Year everyone.

Tracey

All the latest news and updates from Alowishus will be posted here. Stay tuned! In the meantime, visit our Facebook page for a sneak peak of the cafe being decked out.