With a wedding, a festival in the town square, an angel investor and some gifts, these last couple of weeks have the makings of a fairy tale!
Ben & Molly, both members of our Meeting Place family, were married! Molly came to work for us when we opened in 2003, and worked for us until she found a full-time teaching job after graduation. She met Ben, who started working for us when he came to Lima to attend UNOH, and the rest is history!
The first weekend in August was Square Fair, and we had fun making smoothies for all of Lima!
We received a very special gift in the mail just a couple weeks ago. Artist Greg Pitts, originally from Lima, but now living in Miami, Florida, sent us an original painting named “Autumn Warmth.” We are so thankful to get this original and beautiful piece of artwork! We now have it on permanent display.
Autumn Warmth by Greg Pitts
We also had an angel help us this past month! An angel investor provided us with the cash needed to buy an new espresso grinder. We’ve gone through three grinders in the eight years since we’ve been open, because of the high volume of espresso we make. We were tight on cash when our last one broke, but he invested the money to allow us to buy one! Being an angel investor is one way to help spur the local economy. The stock market may fall, but individual people can still invest in local businesses so that our economy can be strong. It’s easy to think that everything is based on big economic indicators that are out of our control, but really what it comes down to is simple trade.
Speaking of the economy, we made the decision to start brewing Fair Trade/ Organic espresso for all our espresso drinks. The espresso we found is high quality, and is directly sourced from farmers around the world, cutting out the coffee commodities market, so we can keep our prices consistent. Fair Trade ensures that farmers are paid a livable wage for their coffee. Organic practices protect the environment and keep harmful pesticides out of the product, so consumers and the earth can be healthier.
So, life isn’t really a fairy tale, but we can still see the touch of magic if we look hard enough. I hope you can see it in your life!
The Meeting Place on Market 
Great post! Love all the pictures.