The “death” of my cookie shop? (part I)

Tonight I prayed, and I said to the Lord, “Lord, I’ll sacrifice my Isaac.”  My Isaac is my cookie shop.  It is my third child.  Even though it was not formed in my womb, and is not a physical part of me, to me it is. 

I remember sitting at my parent’s house with a piece of graph paper, laying out the design I wanted for the shop.  I created the “Kiddie Korral,” a neat place where kids can sit and decorate their own cookie.  We had some students from UGA paint a huge farm mural in the Korral.  We also have birthday parties and field trips in this area.

I put so much time and effort in creating this family friendly, unique shop.  Our chef’s sister also does interior decorating, and we had her decorate the shop for us.  The shop has neat vintage signs hanging on the walls.  I had a lady tell me one time I should charge people just to look around.

We not only sell ice cream and gourmet cookies, but we have many unique things.  One of the things I tell new customers about is our “Bessie’s Cow Patties.”  The customer gets to pick two of their favorite gourmet cookies, their favorite ice cream then I make their own ice cream sandwich.  We also had our chef create a baked shortbread cookie bowl dipped in different chocolates and topped with either M&M’s or Oreos.  We heat the cookie bowl and serve ice cream in it.

Our specialty is our shortbread cookies.  The kids can come in and eat a yummy cookie on a stick while their parents order a bouquet of cookies.  A bouquet of cookies is a gift similar to a bouquet of flowers except the customer gets a bouquet of hand decorated cookies arranged in a pail or mug..

Our shop was on its feet in 2007, and then the economy tanked.  We have used up our resources to keep the shop going, and now there is not enough.  We are seeking the Lord’s wisdom in what to do next.  I don’t want to move the shop, but the space we have has 1,300 feet of commercial space that is not generating enough walk in business.  We could find a smaller space, do our orders, and have a small area for walk in business. 

Finding the right location would be risky and another burden not only financially to build out the space again but time consuming as well.  Sub Way is coming next month in the space next to us that has been vacant for years.  Sub Way opening should help generate more traffic into our shop.  There are so many unknowns. 

**Photo of Bessie the Cow (our mascot) in the Kiddie Korral!