06/06/2026
A few weeks ago, I woke up to an email from a local kid asking for a job. I had to do a double take when I saw the name at the bottom. He's the kid in this picture, taken when we first opened the BGS over a decade ago. I used to hold him on my hip while I cooked eggs. Today, he started his first shift in the deli.
I had to step away for a minute when he clocked in. Because when Joe and I opened this store, we were practically kids ourselves. We weren't 100% sure what we were doing. We just knew we wanted to continue to build something that mattered to this town. And somewhere in the last decade, this town built something in us too.
That's the part I don't always know how to say out loud. This community doesn't just keep our doors open. You let us be a part of your lives. You let us watch your babies grow into the kids now walking through our door asking for their first jobs. Do you know what a gift that is? To get to belong to a place like this?
It's not a glamorous job. It's early mornings, long days, and feeling like you're never really off the clock. It's wearing a hat and cheap clothes and coming home with roast beef juice on my sneakers most days. But I wouldn't trade a single second of it.
Anyway. That's where my head is today. Grateful, a little emotional, and so glad we get to do this. Thank you for letting us.
