Now that the days are a bit longer and the sun seems to be shining more brightly, I feel ready to take on the next phase of O2 Yoga Cambridge. I must admit that last year was both exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. I am not sure my family and I are fully recovered but we are always up for a new challenge. Everyone has been asking, “When is the cafe opening?” Our answer is, “um, soon, very soon.” The truth is, it really is opening soon. We have had quite a few hurdles to jump over, and there are still more in our path, but we feel like the time is right to start. So, although we won’t have an opening date for you in the near future, we will soon. And when we do, we will let you know!!
We are not restaurant people. Oh sure, I worked as a waitress and bartender for many years but I never worked behind the lines so to speak or did ordering or any of that. Luckily, the ever talented Karen has lots of experience and is looking forward to heading up the cafe. (Karen, you make everything seem possible!) That said, the past year has given us the time and the inspiration to take this on. Our vision for O2 Cambridge, is to create a place where people can come and hang out. They will be able to take a class, get a massage, do some shopping, and meet their friends for tea or lunch. This is a place where community is building and the cafe will only expand it. The momentum has been there for years in Somerville; students pouring out of class chatting and wishing there was some place where they could go sit down, have something to drink or eat and connect more with their O2 friends. Our friends at 3 Little Figs in Somerville say they know when class gets out because they are flooded with smiling relaxed people with yoga mats on their backs!
We are so excited (and of course quite nervous) about finally opening the cafe of our dreams. We have been bringing people together over yummy vegan food for years at our home. My friends have often told me that I should open a vegan cafe, write a cookbook, or both. I would just smile and nod and say, “Yes, with all my free time! I would love to but…” And now, here we are, ready to take it to the next level. That said, we are putting everything we have into this vision of a space where things happen, where relationships are formed, ideas realized, and the world changed because of it. You will see more of my husband, Steven, my kids, Dylan and Deven, and even the dogs, Shanti and Mate’, in the coming months as we start the build-out in the front of the house of O2 Cambridge. If you think the Cambridge studio is already beautifully designed, and most people do, wait until you see what Steven will do with the cafe. Steven drove to RI last weekend and picked up our pastry case! Picture vegan cupcakes, cookies, and other yummy treats. We also have established relationships with new companies, Organic Living Superfoods, and Life Force Juice. (You’ll find Organic Living Superfoods in Cambridge starting this week.) These guys are local, passionate, and ready for O2. Just writing these words puts butterflies in my stomach. (Do people still say that?) I have always said that the physical experiences of being anxious and excited is exactly the same. It is simply your interpretation of that experience that makes it one or the other. Hmmm, which is it for me, anxious or excited? Honestly, a little, okay, a lot, of both.
