Cafe Luwak Blog

Forrest and I have been planning on doing the Make A Wish WAM 300 and WAM 50 bike ride this summer, and part of doing the ride is that we are supposed to be raising funds for Make A Wish Foundation. With everything going on with our new menu and our other projects time kind of got away from us, and now we only have a few days left to meet the July 1st deadline. Forrest needs to raise $750 minimum and I need $300, so I thought we would offer a special to anyone who donates through our pages at Make a Wish. Just donate $20 or more by July 1st at either of the links below, and you will receive a free breakfast buffet. Just print out a copy of your confirmation and bring it in and recieve your buffet breakfast. Even if you forget your confirmation we will have a list of people from the website.

www.wishmich.org/forrest

or

www.wishmich.org/jim

Forrest rode in this event last year and it was an amazing event. The Make A Wish Foundation really does a lot of great things for kids with critical illnesses. By donating to this event you can help make a sick childs life a little brighter and receive a great breakfast thanks to our procrastination.

If you havent been to our facebook page yet, you really should stop by and become a fan. We have been really trying to keep our page up to date with the latest specials and when we change our soups. So click the link below to become a fan and keep up with all the exciting things going on at Cafe Luwak

When I get the call that someone is going to write a review about my place it always sends a chill down my spine. I never know when they are coming or when they came, so the paranoid thoughts start going through my mind. Did they get good service? Did they come when it was too busy or when the cook was having a bad day? A positive review can mean a nice increase in business or it can be devastating. I think overall this was a pretty good review. She did comment that the outdoor seating in the back didn’t have a very nice view, but there isn’t much I can do to improve that. The things that were important was the quality of service and the quality of the food, and in those regards we did really well. You can see the article at the link below, and be sure to share it with your friends.

http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/cafe-luwak-review/

When I look back on the five years of owning the café, there are a number of things that I had to learn through painful experiences. Handling the memorial day rush is one of those things. The first year we had a bit of an excuse because we had no idea what to expect, but I think it took three years before we finally started doing things right. With the parade going all the way through Depot Town, it makes sense that we would have a lot of customers coming in first thing to get a cup of coffee, latte, cappuccino, or other beverage and maybe something quick to eat. In the first three years it seemed like no matter what we did, we always ran out of coffee, and once we ran out, there was just no way the coffee maker could ever catch up. There is nothing worse than looking at a line full of people needing coffee and having to wait 5 minutes for the pot to brew which still wouldn’t be enough.

The past few years we have had a system that has worked pretty well. I have a bigger coffee maker now and much larger containers to brew coffee into. I have also made sure that I am the one working the espresso machine, and Forrest is right next to me prepping the cups for the next drinks in line, so all I need to do is pour shots of espresso and steam the milk. This year I got in before anyone else and started brewing coffee. By the time we opened at 8:00 am, I had over 10 gallons brewed and was ready to start on espresso drinks. When we started getting busy, things almost fell apart when we got a couple of lattes crossed up and had to remake a couple of drinks, but Forrest and I recovered and made it through the rest of the rush without incident. I wouldn’t say customers got their orders in record speed, but I would say everyone got their order in a reasonable amount of time. It really is nice when things come together the way you want them to.

Sandee Rodriguez, a regular customer, has written an article about us and Kopi Luwak coffee for the examiner.com publication. It is a pretty cool article so if you get a chance check it out at the following link.

That Bean Comes from Where Article

It is always fun when a car show comes to town looking at all the different vehicles, but there is something extra fun about seeing a bunch of old VW's coming through. Maybe it has something to do with growing up watching Herbie movies that personify the bugs or maybe it is just that they are such unique vehicles. Whatever it is, it is always a fun weekend, and it is also a great weekend for business. All the car shows help our business, but for some reason we get more foot traffic from the VW show than any of the others. This weekend we had incredible sales on our buffet and new grilled items as well as our sandwiches. I had several customers that were from out of town tell me how much they had been looking forward to this show and coming to my place to get one of our reubens. I suggested that they try some of our new grilled items, but they had their hearts set on our sandwiches. It really is too bad we can't have VW fest every weekend.

Well we have picked some of our top grilled specials and combined them with our sandwich menu, breakfast menu, and added an ice cream page to create a beutiful new six page menu. Five if you dont count the cover. I am personally very proud of the menu because I did it all myself. I took the photos, created the layout, printed the pages, and stuffed them into the menu jackets. I think they came out really nice especially with the photo's. Right now we only have the grill open during the day till 4pm, but we are working on expanding our staff so we can have the grilled items in the evening also. We are also going to continue trying out new specials so we can revise the menu and keep it fresh with new items.
Click here to see new menu

Our actual anniversery was back in February, but my vendor was out of Kopi Luwak coffee, so I had to put off our celebration for a couple of months. Five years is quite a milestone for any business, and it seems to have come very quickly. We have had a lot of good times and a few bad times over the years, but most of them have been good. I have met so many great customers as well as wonderful employees. Cafe Luwak has always been more than just a business to me. It is a part of the community and a place to meet where you can feel comfortable bringing the entire family. It was nice to have so many people come in today to taste the Kopi Luwak or enjoy the breakfast buffet and wish us happy birthday. With all the changes we have made over the years and even more so recently, I think we are right on the verge of really growing this business into something great. Hopefully we will still be here to celebrate our 10th anniversary. I do hope by then to have more than two days off a year.

Over the years I have had a couple of managers to help run the cafe, and they have all brought something new to the place. We recently lost a manager we had for over three years, and I decided that we needed to really have a team of working managers. Now we have three team leaders who each have responsibility over different parts of the business. As we expand our menu and how the business operates, having one manager wouldnt work anymore. We are incorporating a lot of changes into the restaurant and we are really focussing on a team approach to everything now. There is always adjustment when a long term employee leaves, but in this case I think when the dust settles, we will have a much stronger staff and improved customer service.

If you havent had a chance to pick up a copy of Tales from the Ypsilanti Archives, we have them, and we are offering a free latte with the purchase. I have known the author, Laura Bien, since I opened the cafe over five years ago, so I was really excited when the publisher asked me if I would be willing to sell her book in my shop. I have read a number of her blogs over the years, and I really think she is an incredible writer. So if you havent had a chance to read any of her work, pick up a book and check out her articles on YpsiCiti.com and the Ypsilanti Historical Museum Blog.

Over the past few years our soups have really gotten kind of boring. We used to have a cook who was really into making soup and we always had cool new soups on the menu. When she left, she had only a fraction of her soups written down, so we have made those and a few different ones, but we havent had enough variety to really be thought of as a cool soup place. Well now that we have multiple cooks with a variety of styles, we are working on putting together an updated list of recipies. If you havent tried our soups in a while, I would really suggest you give them a try. So far the customer feedback on the new soups has been just outstanding.

Since last summer we have been trying out having waiters and waitresses on the weekends during the buffet. We have had some ups and downs with doing table service, and it is a bit of a learning curve, but the improvement in efficiency is really noticeable when we do it right. Instead of having dine in customers waiting in line at the counter to place their order then having to go find a seat and wait again, having a server gives dine in customers quick attention and they are able to place their orders in comfort. This has an advantage for the takeout customers too in that the lines are shorter becuase the dine in customers are already seated. The cafe now has a wait staff daily during breakfast and lunch, and we hope to expand table service to the evenings as soon as we expand our grilled menu to the evenings.

Now that we have our breakfast running every day, we are working on putting together a new menu of grilled items. Over the next couple of months we will be trying new things and testing out specials during lunch. So if you get a chance come in and try some of our new grilled items and let us know what you think. If there is something you think would fit the cafe well that you dont see, let us know, and we will be happy to try it out.

For four years I have helped organize and participated in the Depot Town chili cookoff, and we have never even placed in the event. We have always served our standard chili which is pretty mild and probably kind of average tasting. This year we had a new cook, and I told him to show me his best, and he came through with flying colors. I got the call last night letting us know that Larry's Out Cold Chili took first prize. Unlike some of our competitors who use free beer to buy votes, we played totally fair and won. Thanks to the addition of the cycling event the Chili contest increased by $500 dollars over last year, and it really was a great event.

This weekend will be the fourth anual Depot Town Chili Challenge, and this year we are combining the event with the Wheels in Motion "Another Chili Day Ride". If you are into cycling and enjoy a good bowl of chili, you are going to love this event. At the start of the day, you will come to Cafe Luwak and you can sign up for one of three different rides. Of course we would suggest that you fuel up for the ride at our breakfast buffet. Then after riding your desired length, come back to Cafe Luwak and purchase your chili tasting kits from the SOS Community Services table and visit the local vendors in and around Depot Town and try their Chili's. If you arent into cycling but enjoy a good cup of chili, come to Cafe Luwak and get your kit. The chili tasting runs between 3 and 6 pm and chili will be provided by Cafe Luwak, Sidetrack Bar and Grill, Aubrees, Queen of Hearts, The Ypsilanti Food Co-op, The Ugly Mugg Cafe, and The Corner Brewery.