07/03/2026
We Never Thought We’d Have to Write This…
This is one of the hardest posts we’ve ever made.
Our dream was simple.
Take an old building that’s been part of Kaufman for years and turn it into something special.
Not another chain store.
Not another corporation.
A place where local people could chase their dreams together.
The Front Porch was built around one idea… support local.
Over 30 small businesses were preparing to call The Front Porch home. Local makers. Family businesses. Women owned businesses. People trying to build something for themselves instead of working for someone else.
For weeks our lives have been nothing but 12 hour days, blood, sweat, tears, sore backs, empty wallets, and believing that if we worked hard enough, we’d build something Kaufman could be proud of.
Our goal was to open July 18th.
Today…
We can’t promise that’s going to happen.
Before we ever opened our doors, we went to City Hall because we wanted to do things the right way. We wanted to know exactly what was required before investing another dollar.
During that meeting, Assistant City Manager Rachel took over much of the discussion.
She told us,
“We do not allow gravel parking in city limits when it comes to new businesses. That triggers the Design Standards from our subdivision ordinance.”
She also stated,
“You are considered a developer.”
When we explained that we weren’t buying the property, weren’t building a new building, and were simply leasing an existing commercial building, the response was,
“But she is changing the use of the building.”
When we walked out of that meeting, there wasn’t much room for interpretation.
The message we left with was simple.
Replace the parking lot with concrete.
No discussion about existing conditions.
No discussion about possible alternatives.
No discussion about whether the ordinances actually required it.
Just…
Concrete.
Think about what that means.
A property that has been in the same family for over 50 years.
A parking lot that has existed for decades.
A building that has housed businesses for years.
Now facing what appears to be an impossible choice…
Spend what could be close to $100,000 replacing a parking lot…
…or potentially never lease that building again.
We simply cannot look at a property owner and say,
“Yeah… go spend a hundred thousand dollars.”
Not until we know that is actually what the law requires.
So we did what most people probably wouldn’t do.
We spent the last two days buried in Kaufman’s ordinances, Design and Construction Standards, and every document we could get our hands on.
Then we asked the City one simple thing.
Show us the ordinance.
Not a link to hundreds of pages.
Not a generic response.
Show us the specific ordinance that requires an existing retail building, going from what the City believes was retail to what the City believes is retail, to replace its entire parking lot.
The written response we received raised more questions than it answered.
We were told no determination has been made.
We were told no parking analysis has been completed.
We were told no final use determination has been made.
We were told the City believes the previous business was retail and that our business appears to be retail.
We were even told the existing gravel parking may be considered an existing condition.
So naturally…
We asked for clarification.
We asked the City to identify the specific ordinances supporting what was said during our meeting.
As of today…
Those questions remain unanswered.
In the meantime, we’ve had to make some of the hardest phone calls we’ve ever made.
Over 30 small businesses have now been told that the opportunity they were counting on is on hold.
Imagine making that phone call.
Imagine telling a family business…
“I don’t know if we’re going to have a place for you after all.”
That’s the part nobody sees.
This stopped being about us a long time ago.
This is about every vendor who believed in this project.
Every family that was counting on it.
Every customer who was excited to have a place that truly supported local.
We’ve had countless people tell us to take this to City Council.
At this point, this issue is still within City Administration, and we’re trying to give them every opportunity to explain why this is required and point us to the ordinances that support it.
If the ordinances truly require this…
We’ll accept it.
But if they don’t…
Then this isn’t just about The Front Porch anymore.
It’s about every small business that dreams of opening in an older building in Kaufman.
It’s about every property owner wondering if one day they’ll be told to spend tens of thousands of dollars just to keep leasing a building that’s been serving this community for years.
We didn’t ask the City how to cut corners.
We asked them how to do it right.
We never expected doing it right would put everything we’ve worked for on the line.
Right now, our July 18 opening is suspended.
Not because we gave up.
Because we’re still fighting for it.
