Today we celebrated our first year at the retail location. It has been an amazing year filled with highs and lows, but the thing I am most proud of is how much we have learned so far. I remember last year fighting with the city, contractors, myself, my husband, and anybody else who got in my way. Fighting to open our doors no matter what. I remember that last stretch of the buildout when we were completely exhausted, and faced with patching 3 new holes in the bathroom, resorting to masking tape, which we just painted over. The patches are still there, making me realize that sometimes a quick fix is all you need, after all I am a baker.
I am so thankful to Christy my pastry chef, who is the main person responsible for us surviving this first year intact. Without her amazing attention to detail, her drive to be as thorough as possible, her obsession with keeping everything neat and organized, her charming and wonderful personality and hilarious sense of humor, the amazing way she cares for everybody around her, her honesty when I'm doing something she doesn't agree with, and the millions of other traits that are the priceless value she brings to Sugar. I can't believe I missed HER anniversary with Sugar. I hope she knows how much we appreciate her. Without her, we would not be where we are.
Sugar would also not have made it without fabulous coffee, and I am happy for my two baristas, who make amazing coffee that gets us going in the morning. I am thankful to Zane for his hard work and team spirit; we are so happy to have him in our family. I am also happy to have Aimee, who is so helpful and gracious.
We look forward to the years to come. I have a lot of great ideas up my sleeve, and can't wait to release them to greater Seattle.