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Following twenty years of farmer's markets selling locally grown vegetables, native fruits, and local honey Linda created Marianne's Kitchen in Shoreview, MN, an oasis of good food, conversation and laughter in a suburban food desert. Operating from 2011-2017 the cafe offered home made soups, fresh bread baked daily, great sandwiches and treats and a complete line of gluten-free soups, pickled products, jams, jellies, salsas and locally sourced soups, honey and grains.

The Marianne's Kitchen of sharing, conversation, and learning continues with ongoing commentary, food reviews and food finds as we grow, cook and eat our food and sample local restaurants.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

We're not just about food...

Our specials of the day included a salami sandwich on Kalamata Olive bread.  We also had those rolls, a very nice pumpernickel bread and an organic sourdough available for our customers, who are also our friends, to take home.

We know a lot of our customers by name and we often know what they are going to eat because some of them are pretty predictable.  That's certainly not a bad thing; John eats the avocado BLT almost every day.  In that spirit of predictability we can usually assure you that we'll be friendly, interested in you and hopefully we'll find something to laugh about.

Behind the counter can be interesting.  Being committed to a standard and attempting to get food out quickly and putting a happy face on operations can take it's toll.  We have a few constant points of conflict between Linda, Anne and John.  They are quite funny when I try to explain them:

  • never-ending conflicts about whether a soup cup is too full or not full enough
  • arguments about whether our "to go" orders should have napkins at the bottom of the bag or the top
  • how many words should we use to describe our daily specials
  • Facebook posts that are too wordy
  • Facebook posts should always have photos (or not)
  • It goes without saying that we argue about hours of operation all the time
  • "You talk too much to customers" or "You don't talk to customers enough"
  • Pantry shoppers:  "ask them if they need help" versus "leave them alone"
  • take all orders at once or drag it out tactfully
  • whether ketchup should be banned or offered


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