10/03/2023
Last week I did a post about prime rib at Timber, the place where the Cabin used to be. Someone asked “why the change?” And I think that is the question we never publicly answered. So I will use this forum.
First I have to say from a business perspective the Cabin did not work. The first six months I owned the Cabin I kept most everything the same and lost a staggering amount of money. We did make some very unpopular adjustments, most notably getting rid of the bands, and from a business perspective it worked.
We made progress every year, increasing sales, google reviews, TripAdvisor reviews and even yelp reviews were all significantly better than when I took over.
Then in March of 2020 Covid changed the world as we know it. We lost tons of money, fell behind on our bills and went into foreclosure. The sheriff came out and tagged everything and served me with papers. It was a crushing moment, and it happened in front of the entire staff, all of whom quit shortly thereafter.
When the government allowed restaurants to reopen for business, it was sparse and virtually impossible to find staff. Meat prices where thru the roof. A fair price for a steak at the time was well over $50, and supply chains crashed daily, but we did everything we could. After working our way out of foreclosure and settling my debts it seemed clear after all those struggles the Cabin was never going to do the kind of business necessary to be self sustaining.
We desperately wanted/ needed the Cabin to succeed, but after 6 very hard years I knew the Cabin had run it’s course. The 75 plus years had ended.
That answers the first half of the question why the change? That is why we are not the Cabin. I also want to say most of this time was traumatic for me, so my memories and timelines may be off, but these are the moments as I remember it.
So why are we Timber Kitchen and Social? Our goal was to open a restaurant using Non-gmo verified and or USDA organic food. We thought a lot about what food is, what a restaurant should be, and how can we do something important and helpful.
When we think about what food is, or supposed to be, we know just through logic that when cabbage (for example) is grown, changing the DNA of cabbage so it kills caterpillars who eat it, is bad for nature and any creature that eats the cabbage, including humans, no matter what the FDA tells us. This kind of manipulation of our food system is not one I want to be a part of as a person serving this community. There are countless examples of how scientists are manipulating our food system. I suspect it will take decades for us to know the consequences of these manipulations. We are happy to continue offering food that has never been genetically modified.
As a side note. I have no problem serving food farmers have crossbred to make Brussel Sprouts for example to taste less bitter, though some could argue this is genetically modified food.
At Timber, our wines are organic, and seafood is sustainable.
While all of that is meaningful, most people go out to dinner for a fun evening, and food people don’t want to make at home. So we are tasked with making great tasting food that happens to be non gmo verified and or USDA organic. We were able to open with a menu offering something for everyone, and we even offered food people had never heard of, like mofongo and okonomiyaki. Some of it people loved, and some we dropped off the menu. We even were able to find a steak to offer that fits in our value system and are proud to serve.
We are here to serve this community, proud to call you our friends. Happy to know you, your children, you know us and our children. Happy to have you as guests in our restaurant and in our home.
Thank you so much for supporting us. Thank you for giving us a chance.
