lighthouse highs and lows

I was chatting with Michelle Hamill after another exceptionally busy lunchtime today in the cafe, and was delighted to hear that this month (which is generally a quiet month) is a record month for the Lighthouse. Many people questioned whether we could ever run such a venture sucessfully, so it's extremely encouraging to see the direction of the business. Even more encouraging from my perspective is the fact that, week on week, I see more and more people from the local area using the cafe. One of the key visions was to provide a place of social interaction for the local community, so it's very pleasing to see that whole dimension growing incrimentally.

I think it's important in these kind of feedback scenarios, to also share the lows, and our major low at the moment is that we've decided to stop opening in the evenings because there simply isn't the level of custom to make it viable.We have been open for 8 months in the evenings and the level of custom has rarely been above a trickle! The general consensus seems to be, that the cafe opening at tea time serving meals is more likely to hit the mark locally. We'll perhaps consider that over the next few months, and look to do something new when the evenings begin to lengthen. By then, we should also have the garden re-developed, which will give the Lighthouse several new possibilities. A latte at one of our new garden tables on a summer evening is something to look forward to!