Happy Birthday Cafe!

Smoked Sausage & White Bean Soup

Gypsy Soup - a sweet potato and tomato based vegetable soup that is one of our most popular soups.

The Greenhouse Panini - hummus, guacamole, havarti cheese, sprouts, cucumbers on health bread.

The Turkey Quacamole Panini - turkey, guacamole, havarti cheese, and tomato on a ciabatta sub roll.

Today is the cafe's fifth birthday! On November 9, 2004 Michael and I hung out the specials board and unlocked the door. It was exciting and terrifying in equal measure. For the first several weeks I barely poked my head outside of the kitchen and carefully scrutinized every dish as it was brought into the sink. More often than not, the only thing left on the plate was an olive pit!

So five years later I'm happy to report that customers come back smiling and plates still come back empty. And we are experiencing another "growth spurt". In the spring of 2010 Carma's Cafe will open a "grab & go" location on St. Paul Street, just around the corner (and in the same building) from our current location. And while we don't gain any additional indoor seating, we will get additional outdoor seating, and shift the take-out traffic to the new location which should help with the congestion.

Before the first paint brush was lifted or the first tile laid, Michael and I sat outside on a crisp spring day looking down into the windows and imagining our customers. And you know what? It was you! All ages, all ethnicities, all levels of education; college professor sitting next to a 20-something spoken word artist; three generations having breakfast during family weekend at Hopkins. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect the outpouring of love and appreciation that you brought in with you. It's a little awe inspiring, very humbling and very much felt.

Thank you.