December is upon us and we have made decisions about holiday opening/closing

As a new, small business this is a year of firsts for us.  For the holiday-laden month of December,  we have to determine when, if at all, we will be closed.  We thought about our customers, our workers and we thought about our view of work in the overall context of life(!)  

So, with that as background, here is our plan:   

(And this will be posted out front at the shop as well as on the main web page)

The Blue Rooster will close at 3 pm on Christmas Eve.  

We will be closed on the 25th & the 26th, December.

We will close at 3 pm on New Year's Eve.  

We will be closed on January 1st.

100th Blog

I had no idea that blogging about the BR would become a regular part of my worklife. The number of folks who visit the BR and say, "Oh, I read your blog" is always a WOW for me. When I logged in this afternoon, I see that what I am writing now is my 100th blog.
I look forward to the next 100.

For a certain someone who read regularly, I thought I could use this forum to let you know that the saucisson sec is $14.00 / lb, so the small piece you enjoyed would be $4.50. --

I think I may take a piece home and build a plate around the baguette, saucisson sec and a bit of cheese -- that makes a lovely end to a busy day. And we did have a steady flow of visitors today -- a good number here for the first time, partners bringing their "other half" for a first visit and of course families with members home for the holidays who hadn't been in town since we opened. The joy and laughter in the BR today has been wonderful. Thanks to all of you who share some of you time with friends and family with us!

Thanksgiving Day

What a lovely day to have as a first day away from the BR -- we hope each of you have had a Thanksgiving just as you want it - family, friends, or your own special manner of recognizing the day.

I played with our dogs for a good part of the day - walked one of them on her own and meant to walk the other two, however the day got away from me!  A bit of yard work, a bit of parade watching, some football and then of course the turkey and all the trimmings! (No, we did not cook!  Just took the rolls & 1 pie).

Back to the BR tomorrow with the hope of seeing many of you  -- fit in around your shopping, family outings or as you walk in town, checking out what's new.  

Thanksgiving Holiday weekend

We will be open our regular hours on Friday, Saturday & Sunday. Since it is a different kind of weekend for many, we will offer our full breakfast menu all day each day and we will offer a selection of our lunch items from 11:30 - 4 (or closing since we close at 2 on Sunday).

Peter, Lois & Bob are coming up with a number of special items for the weekend as well -- a smattering of appetizer size treats & the return of a few favorites -- berry crepes anyone?

Sunday is family gathering day

And we have a number of families coming to us for a meal as part of their gathering. If you plan to come in with a party of 6 or more on Sunday, you may want to call us just before you leave home to let us "scope out the dining room" and let you know what the timing may be for your party. Thanks, it seems to be working well for those who have tried it.

Twice in the last week...

Bob and I have had this Yogi-ism quoted to us:

"Nobody goes there anymore because it's too crowded."

This one may have been invented by someone else. Yogi said it regarding a restaurant that had become very popular.

We are adding to our staff in a meaningful way to make sure, even when we are busy, our level of service meets your expectations. With this service level consistently, we may reduce the wait time for a table during our busy hours - we hope you will continue to come visit!

Another way we are helping with wait time is -- we will take your cell # and if you want to stroll along Main St while waiting for your table at the rooster, we will text or call you when your table is ready. -- We thought this might be good for those who'd like -- perhaps a quiet contemplation at the lake or a quick purchase at Patina Home.. then a great meal at the rooster.

Bread baking schedule

For those of you who want to know what breads will be made on which days -- the schedule is close.  We piloted it last week and came out well.  Look for it here and in the shop in the coming weeks.

Menu updates

Thanks to all of you who have offered suggestions for the BR -- many of them provided on our feedback cards.  

We read them all and take them to heart.  A slightly revised menu is one tangible result of our listening to you.

We now have both a cup and a bowl size for our soups and our hot cereals.  We have added a breakfast potato to the menu along with an omelette.  We simplified some of the items' descriptions that caused confusion and we've  upgraded several items -- including the Full Irish Breakfast which is now complete -- we have the sausage or 'banger' on the plate.

We took your suggestion of a pate & cheese plate and we've made the cassoulet richer with the addition of a tradition ingredient (in some towns in France, not all!) -- duck.

The specials are richer these days than when we first opened and we attribute that to the creativity of our chefs -- both Lois and Peter enjoy bringing great tastes to the table and their knowledge and skill is evident daily.  

The ranges of savory tarts, quiches, pastas and risottos makes us feel we have a vibrant menu that will keep even a daily visitor interested and able to try something new each day.

Soups are a customer favorite and we continue to struggle with the disappointment of those of you who want to see Sweet Corn Chowder every time you visit -- hopefully it is available often enough!

The Baby Shower Teas

Afternoon tea is now in full bloom at the Blue Rooster.  Mon - Fri @ 4pm we have our fine china, our white linens and all the appropriate tea fixings and paraphernalia in place.

These last two Sunday afternoons, after closing, we have had two great tea parties, both in celebration of the birth of babies.  Much tea, laughter, scone and clotted cream and the enjoyment of friends' company has us thinking that tea is a great get-together event.  

We look forward to opening our rooms to others of you who have celebretory events where you feel a tea would suit.  The feedback is consistent with most - the ambience is great, the presentation and all that entails is top notch and the food matches-- give a call if you'd like to discuss a party at the BR.

Listen & learn..

sometimes the "rap" of the consultant is someone who asks a lot of questions to learn about your business and then proceeds to tell you what you already knew, using charts & graphs and 50 cent words. 

as a consultant in a prior life, the nuances, legwork, skill in listening and so much more that goes along with guiding a company to see what is often right in front of them.

We had a moment like that today at the rooster.  So simple a shift and yet it took a customer actively and vocally noticing one of our processes to make us stop and look at the change necessary.

At 2:30, the shift changes in the bakery.  And the process was to take the cash drawer away and count it --- leaving the bakery cashless for 5-10 mins.  

The chances of folks having to wait is there, however we didn't see it as onerous.  Today the frustration of this wait came up and the fix will be in place tomorrow.  So simple, so much right in front of us, yet it took a customer to show us that change was necessary.  

So, please don't shy away from a visit during shift change -- we will have the fix in place!

Thanks.

Friday night blogger

So, I'm thinking I may be a Friday night blogger.  A nice way to wrap up the week - and we have had a really good week.  After the great review of the rooster by Pat Tanner, we were thrilled to have another article written about us in the US1 issue this week.  The column reflects on the ambience, service and "feel" of a place and it seems they liked what they found at the rooster. 

We are seeing many new guests and many new folks joining our email list - thanks!

First Story Hour was today.  4 attendees, 4 stories (from Curious George to Cars Animals and a few poems) and a bit of fun for all.  We will have guest readers in the coming weeks and if you want to bring a story or two, we would welcome that too!

We will begin sharing our new menu with you all tomorrow.  A few suggestions from you are reflected in the menus - cups as well as bowls of oatmeal and soup, a breakfast potato all the time, omelettes all the time;   simplified salad selection at lunch and a totally revamped tea menu.

Speaking of our afternoon tea--- finally getting that offering together.  We will have 1 seating @ 4pm each day, Monday - Friday. Reservations required.  Please pass the word!  One menu for all with a great selection of tea sandwiches -- including smoked salmon, asparagus, pate, aged gouda and more.  Our lighter than light scones with Devon Clotted Cream & raspberry jam.  final course is a range of petit fours that include cheesecakes, cream puffs and wonderful little cakes.

Two other news bites:

We are offering Holiday Pies & Cheesecakes from now through the new year.  The pies are lovely and large - 12" and deep dish -- pumpkin, apple, pecan and mincemeat -- stop by and place your order soon.  

We are offering 3 great fullsize cheesecakes as well: vanilla, s'more and pumpkin.  

We are making holiday gift baskets -- think our great jams, olive oil, perhaps bread spreads; maybe coffee, chocolates  -- and for locals -- an "IOU" for a loaf of bread or some pastries.  

The bread is flying out of the kitchen and off the shelves -- Bob is close to a weekly schedule that we can all look to to know what will be made on which days -- it seems fougase & foccaccio are Friday breads.

The Irish Soda bread has come out twice this week, to very strong positive reviews -- toasts great and loves the butter!

Look for specials in the coming weeks -- salads as well as great hot dishes~!

and perhaps the best news of the week...

Some of you may have seen us carting soiled napkins from the shop to home each night. NO MORE!!!

The laundry room at the Blue Rooster is now in fine working order and we can launder napkins, runners, rags and more any time during the day! This is great news for me and not so great for the wait staff who see more folding time in their future or perhaps even a laundry run.

This actually will cut 2 hrs from my work day and I am thrilled!

Thinking ahead to the gifting season

We have been asked, and have created several Gift Baskets in our time open. So, we will offer this service during the season of gifts. If it suits you, we hope you will consider stopping by or calling us to help you create a gift or two.

Create your own from our well-stocked shelves and bakery or let us put together a mix of complementary products for your special gift needs.

Priced from $25.00 for a personal basket that might have:
Baguette / bread dip / olive oil

To $100. + for family or group basket that might include:
Breads / cheeses / pates / jams / oil & balsamic vinegars

Story Hour - Fridays at 10 am

November 14th we will begin a story hour for ages 2 - 5 (if you have someone younger or a bit older, they will most certainly be welcomed).

Stop by and enjoy the Blue Rooster while your little one participates in Story Hour upstairs, you might relax downstairs with coffee, tea, cider & friends.

We will have the stories, a reader and snacks, you bring the willing listener(s)!

One hour

Snacks: apples, grapes, animal crackers, milk

$3.00 / child

November 5th

I left the shop and had a quick manicure today -- for what it's worth, it made me feel a bit more in touch with the world outside the Blue Rooster. I love the inside of the Blue Rooster and all who come here (yes, I did come back after the manicure...) regularly. I am beginning to really remember names, family connections and the bits of life stories that are so kindly shared with me.
At least two of our regular customers successfully completed the NYC marathon on Sunday - what a great feat for them!

The buzz was particularly high both yesterday and today as we Americans took our responsibility to vote and to engage in discussion about the vote seriously. I loved seeing so many cars turn down school house lane from 6:20 am and on through the day!
For the first time in our 2 + months, the NY Times front section did not remain in the shop all day -- someone must have needed to finish reading an article or share it.