Thanks to all of you who took the time to vote for us – we are officially the number 1 “Slow Money” restaurant, ranking 9th overall. Joining us in the top 10 is Homegrown Co-op who ranked 5th overall. See Results Here.

That’s a huge win for Orlando & our local food scene. People across the nation will take notice that something is taking root here in Central Florida!

Tune into Front Porch Radio next Wednesday, May 26th for an on-air interview with author & revolutionary Woody Tasch to learn more about the principles of Slow Money.

• Music: DJ by day, Live Music with the Token Gamblers & Oak Hill Drifters in the evening, followed by an after party for the lively at F! The Man Fest next door at the Cameo Theater. (Free PBR with a Dandelion receipt!
• Get Stoned, Gem-Stoned: After party for the mellow amongst us at Shine On Yoga! Join Kate Ad Sach Kaur, Sacred Alchemist & Sherry Sat Prem Kaur Sacred Sound Healer for Gemstone Alchemy Bowl Meditation & Soul Dance.
• Planetary premier of Tea for Change - a limited edition blend with proceeds supporting those in the blessed unrest movement. This inaugural blend will be launched today, benefiting the Coalition of Immokalee Workers who will be on site with the Modern Day Slavery Museum. The tea is called Lemon Tree, an organic, biodynamic blend of Pine Needles, Lemon Verbena, Lemon Balm & Nettles and was formulated by Master Herbalist Dawn Gates, RN.

Many more updates to be found here. One last note: please don’t park in the Colonial Photo & Hobby Lot.

Art by Marabou * On Sale at Dandelion in March

Life is a journey, and being the ringleader of Dandelion has definitely been that. Chris & I started the cafe with big plans and dreams, not just for us, but for our entire community. So we’re dreamers, but we’re not the only ones – many of you have conspired, inspired and moved into action, and so many initiatives (Slow Food, OurLando, The Daily City, ELLA Music Festival, Audubon Park Community Market…to name a few) have taken hold to make our community more connected, fun, enlightened and informed. Orlando is the kind of place you are proud to call home. The kind of place you want to put down roots and make better for the next generation.

We started with an idea to bring people together around the table because we knew it was vital to fix our broken food system, like this guy explains so well. There’s a lot of momentum locally and nationally to start that process, thanks to good people like you who support philosophies like Sole Food and Slow Money. Even though our hopes and dreams have brought us to this place, it’s time to wake up.

The Spring Equinox marks our 4th birthday (you’re invited, of course) and we’ve committed the next four years to digging deeper into the reach America’s appetite for fuel (the kind we eat & drink + coal & crude oil) has on people & planet. Many people think the film Avatar is a fantasy, but billions of people in communities around our globe continue to be exploited, displaced and destroyed while their land is razed, their dignity & ability to sustain themselves stripped and entire cultures with rich histories and unique knowledge perish.

It’s happening right here in the United States to the people of West Virginia and Florida farmworkers. It’s happening to the people of the Amazon. We’re watching in horror to the last gasps of it in Haiti right now. As we take in environmental refugees from this long exploited people and land, I hope it serves as an urgent reminder that vibrant local economies and preservation of natural resources, including a strong regional food network are paramount to the security and, thus, sustainability, of life. If this earthquake were to have occurred in a Haiti that had not been deforested to the point of desertification, this would have been a disaster, but not one complicated by massive mudslides or non-existent access to food.

I don’t want to bum you out, and promise to continue to educate you by lifting the veils of illusion one by one in unique, artistic ways. Our featured artist in March shares his deep understanding of these issues so beautifully, you won’t even realize you are being schooled. We’ll continue to strengthen our own community and connection to food with lots of live music, poetry and opportunities to meetup while planting seeds for our garden & yours.

Thanks for being on this journey with us. It’s been up and down for everyone the last four years, and the next four are probably going to be about the same, but we’ve now had some practice at how we respond and how to prioritize when the going gets tough. We enter the next four years a bit wiser, with resilience and more appreciation for taking delight in simple pleasures because we are more empowered with each passing day to be the change we wish to see. After all, it’s become quiet obvious that WE are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

Tune into Front Porch Radio Wed, Feb 17th at Noon to listen in on a discussion about Pachamama.

You Have To Love A Place

Also coming up during our 4th B-Day Bash on the Spring Equinox (March 20th, more on that soon) we will be visited by the Modern Day Slavery Mobile Museum. It’s all connected, just like you and me.

It's About Time

We’ve had a shaky internet connection for awhile now & it’s finally, thankfully been upgraded & stabilized by one of our loyal customers, Rich Miller. Our system was formerly set up in the attic, apparently a big no-no, so now it’s been relocated to a cooler, more accessible location & majorly upgraded. Rich mentioned he was getting 4 bars out on the sidewalk & in the garden, and even I could tell it was faster when we loaded a movie up to check out the stream. Thanks, Rich, for helping us out and making us a friendly place for our laptop friends to congregate!

More photos at GaiaMama.wordpress.com

We are thrilled to announce that Julie’s little magical bebe has arrived on Earth! Maya Juniper Rose Norris was born at home (on purpose), in water, practically painlessly, with the help of amazing friends on Monday, August 24th at 10am.

She is truly blessed to be born into this community and it would be impossible to thank all of the people who have lent a hand throughout the pregnancy, birth & in this postpartum period. Many of you have been sending positive energy and well wishes – thanks for welcoming the little lady with such joy and happiness!

For all the details, including a moving slideshow of the homebirth, please check out Julie’s other blog: http://gaiamama.wordpress.com

Interesting suggestion, unfortunately, doing that would be the quickest way to put us out of business as we would be selling below cost (also would directly negate the Sustainable Business Plan). Organic, wholesome food made by hand in a small scale environment costs money and we already sell at margins that are less than most other restaurants to keep our prices affordable. (Julie discusses this topic in more detail in this podcast).

That being said, we’ve compared menus with similar cafes in the area and there is very little discrepancy in average price even though we are dedicated to organic, premium ingredients. Sadly, you can count on one hand how many places offer an organic menu in Central Florida and the majority of those places will cost you mega bucks for petite portions & fancy atmosphere.

Also, lack of customers is not the problem – we do have loyal masses who dream of devouring a Giddy Up and return over and over again. Our main issue is not having enough capacity in our small home-style cafe to capitalize on opportunities like bridal & baby showers, engagement dinners and the like & having events is risky when dealing with the weather. When a patron has to pull back from eating at Dandy three times a week to once, having these events lined up will offset the variability of individual consumption. That’s why we’ve outlined an expansion of adding covered patios to the cafe.

But back to the value of the fuel that we consume three times a day. One thing that most consumers don’t realize is the way a lot of our food in the mass marketed world is subsidized through tax money and the price on the menu at, say,  McDonald’s does not reflect the true cost of food.

If you have some time, watch this short clip to explain it & read about our food philosophy here: http://dandelioncommunitea.com/eat/our-food-philosophy/why-organic/ or go rent Food, Inc. for a detailed look at our mass produced food system.

Perhaps an organic cafe in an economic shift is what we all need to stay healthy, but some perceive that they cannot afford to invest in that. I would argue that the food you eat is the most important investment you can make. Our clientele is amongst some of the healthiest & happiest in the city – they are clear eyed, of good weight, physical shape & cheer. Some have come to eat organic food after a devastating illness and realized that proper nutrition is a foundation element to a healthy, vibrant life.

What you do not pay for up front will cost you dearly in medical bills & prescription pills, and the reduced quality of life that comes from the emotionally & physically draining aspects of heart disease, obesity & diabetes.

We welcome your comments & observations about how shifting to a healthier diet has improved your quality of life.

Question: What does long-term viability look like? That is, if business picked up to what it was a year ago, would the business be able to carry itself?

Answer: Yes, we believe it is possible to become a sustainable business in all ways, for a couple of reasons and under a few conditions.  They say it takes 3-5 years to start turning a profit in this sector & we were just on the cusp of that when the economy started downhill. Normally a trip to the bank for a credit line increase would solve our concerns quickly and we would keep moving without having to worry our customers, but the banks are not passing on the economic stimulus to small businesses like ours. In fact, the $12,00o we need is not a huge amount in the business world, but it can seem like a mountain come payday.

I believe we can make it, even in a down economy, as we still have a bustling cafe whose values people are attracted to more and more everyday. Folks in our community are making the conscious choice right now to support small & independent. They are shifting their dollars away from chains and franchises and voting to keep the businesses that add so much value to their community alive and well.

Good intentions alone will not keep our doors open, though, and we understand that we must stay on top of our game to keep customers happy when there are so many great places to chose from in the area.

How can we do that? Increasing our capacity with covered patios is an important step that will make us viable as a evening venue and allow us to cater to the many requests we get for baby & bridal showers, engagement dinners & working lunches. This measure will also help increase attendance at evening events and allow us to schedule them more regularly, as rain is one of our biggest risks when we rely on the unprotected outdoor space for their success.

Also, we recognized early this year that we were caught in a tight spot with our management: too much for one person to handle well but hard pressed to invest in bringing on additional talent to help grow the business. We took the plunge and brought Greg on, who has been with us six months now and has focused on cost controls and fine tuning our systems, which allowed me (the formerly exhausted sole manager) to focus on bookkeeping, marketing and business development. We compliment each and together work on daily management and staff development. With this match up, we’ve seen success in many areas, even while making adjustments for the economic impact of our times.

We are also in the process of creating new menu items, have some cool things in the pipeline for improving the ambiance and are working with key suppliers to get our costs down even further.

I hope this answers the question – please feel free to leave a comment to continue the discussion.

This option is now available!

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purchase at the cafe on your next visit!

(But, why? Click here for the story.)

Check our Investors Directory to read about why these smart folks believe in making this investment!

This is just one part of a Community Supported Enterprise model of economic stimulus & a progressive approach to  grow our small business. Learn about our sustainable growth plan here.