07/24/2023
It’s hard to believe it’s only been a week since our last service in Madison. Things have happened very quickly, and it has been quite a week. Our bodies and minds are exhausted.
We have been inundated with messages, phone calls and face to face exchanges. Because of this, we feel it necessary to post a little update here.
For some time now, we have been mindfully seeking out other spaces to house Maryland Blue. While we absolutely love our location in Madison and have put endless amounts of work into our space there, the fact remains that it is a 100 year old Canning House. Tracy’s favorite expression to describe it is that it’s like “putting lipstick on a pig.” If we owned the building, it would be a different story. We could invest in upgrades that just do not make sense as tenants but would be very beneficial.
There is a property we considered some time back. Initially, we didn’t think it was for us, and the search continued. Then, after much discussion and consideration, we felt this spot may actually be perfect for our future needs.
We wrote and submitted a proposal. And we waited. Several weeks ago, we began hearing the chatter that we got the spot. We were cautiously excited but still hadn’t received our official call.
Then it happened. We went in for a meeting, negotiated terms a bit further, shook hands and walked away, quite happy for what the future held. This is not a basic landlord/tenant relationship and there were things we were not aware of…processes. There was mention of us getting keys that day, although that didn’t happen. We were still able to access the building and even paid to have it deep cleaned. We thought this was a done deal. People were congratulating us left and right, and we had only shared the info with a few, select people.
Our intention was to take our time with the move, stay put until Labor Day. We gave the property owner in Madison our 60 day notice. This started a chain of events that was really unpredictable and, looking back, mind blowing.
Based on the property owner’s response, we felt it was necessary to move as soon as possible. We reached out to our chief contact for the “new” location and explained the situation. We were assured that everything would be fine and we would be able to begin moving things in that Wednesday, after a meeting to go through some formalities. We honestly didn’t think anything else of it.
Friday and Saturday that week, we were hit hard with questions from our customers regarding the news of our new location. The word was out and it wasn’t spread by us. By Sunday morning, we knew we had to put something out there for the benefit of our customers. This would be our last day of service for (what we hoped would be) a two week pause for us to change locations.
So, we made a post. With great excitement, we announced our new location. Almost immediately, we received a call advising us to take the post down. There were processes. This was our fail. We have never worked with anything in this arena before and simply were not aware. The last thing we wanted to do was to create any trouble.
Pandora’s Box had been opened, however.
We quickly learned about people in our community who hide behind fake Facebook profiles and do nothing but stalk certain groups, commenting only to stir the pot. It takes a coward to operate in this manner. Apparently, these nameless, keyboard warriors get the attention they crave.
The meeting happened just two nights after our announcement to customers that we would be moving and temporarily closed.
We would hear only crickets for the next two days. Meanwhile, we rented three uhaul trucks and filled them with everything from inside Maryland Blue, ready to make our move.
Then the call came. Apparently, we have some enemies. From Sunday-Tuesday, these folks decided to call and launch their “concerns” regarding us securing this new space. As we were told, true or false, it didn’t matter. They were launched and heard, without an opportunity to (1) know who made the complaint(s?), or (2) offer any kind of a rebuttal.
I’m not sure what happened or how it happened, but the result was we would be given new terms, and, even then, we were told we probably would not “have the vote.”
We were devastated.
The biggest devastation was the idea that we had enemies (assuming it takes more than one to make this kind of a difference) who would take the time to call in and lodge a complaint/complaints against us. Tracy has devoted her lifetime to service in law enforcement. Tammy has devoted her lifetime serving the people of Dorchester County in non-profit capacity, never receiving a dime for her efforts. Working with women in unplanned pregnancies, the homeless population, job training and so much more she has a heart to help those who have fallen on hard times and just need a hand up, not a hand out. Together, we have worked hard to make our community a better place in which to live. And this was the payback.
Being a Woman Owned and Operated business in this area has never been easy. However, this past week, we have seen and experienced things that were archaic and intolerable. Businessmen speaking down to us, calling us “Honey” with every other sentence. Businessmen going totally around us to other men who have nothing to do with our business in matters concerning our business. Businessmen “shushing” us and assuming we will retreat because we are women.
Well, we will not be talked down to and we will not retreat. We will hold our ground and stand firm.
We have shared all of this only because there is no other way to explain the reason for our “in limbo” status right now.
We had hoped to reopen Maryland Blue by August 1. However, this just isn’t going to happen. We will be going back to the new property “owners” with their updated list for their next meeting in a week. However, we do not know how they will vote.
In the meantime, we are weighing out our options. We have been courted by property owners from the beach towns and over the bridge. Our problem? Home is where the heart is. We love Dorchester County and we love what we have created here. We do not want to spend hours commuting, and we do not want to pack our lives up to be closer to work. Nearly every member of our very large family lives (most own homes) in Dorchester County. Members of our family own and operate construction companies, a lumber company, a Bed and Breakfast, carpet/cabinet companies, are real estate agents, have seafood businesses and so much more. Despite popular opinion, our preference is to stay in county.
We write this to simply give you an update. We do not know when or even where we will be reopening. Just know that we are not giving up.
On that note, we also ask that there be zero, negative response to this post. We do not want any negativity or outlash. There are people pulling for us, and we are grateful for that.
Our bodies, minds and spirits are weary.
We are missing our Blue Family, our customers and cooking for you every day! Our hopes are to be back at it in short order.
The reality is, we can only sit for so long in uhaul trucks (at $150/day with zero revenue) before we have to make a decision. Our people are wonderful but will soon have to find other means to support their families if we cannot find a place soon.
In the end, we trust God has us all in His hands. Whether the next step is what our hearts desire or not, we will choose to be positive and to move on to the next chapter with as much love and grace as we can muster.
Family is everything. We are so lucky to have expanded our family to include so many wonderful people who have linked arms with us to make Maryland Blue a success, including our loyal customers and supporters.
Thank you for reading all the way through. We will keep you updated as we go. Remember, stay positive! We do not want to follow in the cowardice footsteps of those who have come against us.
We love you all and cannot wait for you to pull up a seat to our table again soon…wherever that may be.
Be well!
