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Even since before we opened our small business, we thought our location was the best in our area. When we opened our first little shop in 1998, we were two doors down from a very popular weekend breakfast restaurant. The Big Kitchen Cafe has been serving hearty home style breakfasts since 1980.

Most of the misguided who know this restaurant think that the claim to fame of this restaurant is the fact that Whoopi Goldberg used to wash dishes here before she made it in Hollywood. Others who know better, recognize that without the owner, Judy “The Beauty On Duty” Forman, this restaurant would not likely have lasted as long as it has and continues to thrive and draw business from all over the country.

Our shop is not any where near a tourist area by no stretch of the imagination. NO, Judy’s Big Kitchen made this little spot a destination. Now does that mean automatic success simply because the traffic is already there waiting ourside our door upwards of 45 minutes for a table? Of course not. We still had to compel them to walk in and shop. We had to do so by offering an attractive and comfortable place to peruse. We had to offer a product that was unusual, appealling, and at a price point that they wouldn’t consider leaving it on the shelf. I think for the most part, we’ve succeeded. We’ve been able to keep our shop open and profitable for approximately six years by being open on weekends only. That’s right. We were open on Saturday and Sunday only from 9-5 and did fairly well. Certainly not enough to make any big real estate investments in Maui, but we paid the bills and it covered our annual treks to Bali.

In 2004, a community church had occupied a large commercial space on the nearest corner about three doors away from us. They were something of an odd lot, and I’m not the sort of person that goes around making critical statements about those with religion, but really, there was something truly odd about these folks. So, from my point of view they were there a bit too long. And they were occupying a really cool location! A couple years prior, I had a discussion with the building owner and let him know that we were interested in that location if the church people were ever to move out. He assured me that I would be the first to know.

The time came when we were getting ready to close our brick and mortar doors and operate as an Internet-only business. Coincidentally, that building owner had experienced his breaking point with the church people and served them their walking papers and, as assured, I was the first to know. After some brief contemplation as to whether or not to follow through with going Internet only and taking over the new location, we couldn’t see passing up the opportunity to get into a new place that would more than double our square footage, give us huge picture windows on a corner location and still be directly next door to the Big Kitchen Cafe.

So now, here we are. It’s been interesting.

What makes your location the most suited for your business?