These 10 years of Alice & Friends are bittersweet to me, to us, and to my family.
I started this business 10 years ago against the objections of many. My family and even my accountant felt the need to warn me about how restaurants are the first to go during economic downturns.
Speaking from experience, my parents had owned a restaurant in the past, and it was so difficult to manage the up and downs that my father eventually closed it. On the other hand, my accountant had seen too many of her restaurant clients close and she didn’t want the same for me.
I didn’t listen. I had made up my mind to see this through so I followed my heart.
When I took over the Loving Hut in 2016, (which was owned by the parents of the original “Alice & Friends’ Vegetarian Cafe.”) I had been a customer of Alice Lee for many years. She left to pursue her dreams in Europe and I wanted to continue her legacy. And since I loved the idea of “Alice in Wonderland”—I was determined to create a wonderland for vegans and vegan allies.
The Early Days: Taking over the restaurant
In the beginning, I was wearing many hats. I was working my 8 – 3 PM day job, spent my afternoons grocery shopping for the kitchen, and my evenings as the only server on the floor. I was also cleaning, sweeping, and mopping. When I went home every day at around 11 p.m., I was so tired it would take some time to wind down and fall asleep. At the time, we only had five team members, including Chef Ruby and myself. We didn’t even have a dishwasher, so we would take turns doing the dishes. My parents sometimes will fill in as prep cooks and helped by making dumplings and burger patties.
My family and CPA were right: it was incredibly hard. I lost money, energy, and time. If it wasn’t for my strong love for veganism, I would have quit. But then I would also read our customer reviews and feedback, and I knew I couldn’t give up!
My Business Partner: Chef Ruby’s Dedication is Admirable
Chef Ruby has been with me since day 1. Through our work as business partners, we have become best friends. I manage most of the front tasks and she oversees the back and everything that involves perfecting our recipes and creating new specials. She works so hard to make sure we have everything we need and I am lucky to have her in my vegan journey. Thanks to her support, when we finally started to “break even” in year 5, our team began to grow with challenges we didn’t expect.
The Aftermath of the Covid-19 Pandemic Forced Our Restaurant Between Periods of Growth and Survival
When we contemplated to expand Alice & Friends Vegan Kitchen, it wasn’t just about business. We wanted to give our loyal team members room to grow. Before the pandemic, we had planned to open one more location. Then, the pandemic changed our plans and we had to temporarily close our indoor dining in Chicago.
At the time, we were concerned but still decided to keep all of our team members. With luck, support from our customers, and thanks to my day job, we survived. If it wasn’t for my day job that filled-in the financial gap for Alice and Friends, we might have not been able to survive the most challenging financial situation to date.
It was also during the pandemic that my husband and I decided to move our growing family to Glenview. Since we all needed to stay home, we bought a house to have more space to work at home and for my daughter to play. We soon discovered that there was no vegan restaurant close by so I began to search for a space in the North Shore. Between remodeling, getting a loan, and inspections, Alice and Friends at the Glen took two years to open!
On the other hand, the Oak Park location was an accident. That location was home to a plant-based restaurant named Munch, that I loved so much and I didn’t want them to close. I reached out to the owner and asked if we could help them stay open. They were offering to sell their business and I accepted. They wanted to keep the name and recipes for their future businesses, so we brought Alice & Friends to that space.
A Family Effort
Ten years later, I am still working my day job, which helps support my family’s daily living. My husband and father are the handymen, maintenance guys, and plumbers for the restaurants. Whenever there is a problem, they go fix it and that saves us a lot. My father is also a retired accountant and he helps me with the books and the accounting aspect of the business.
These days, I am able to work mostly behind the scenes on all the social media, blog ideas, admin, and HR. Still, I wanted to document part this bittersweet part of my 10 year journey. I acknowledge that I couldn’t have gotten this far without our team, our customers who became friends, and my family.
This could’ve been a video but I know there’s introvert business owner like me: not one for being in front of cameras but still want to share part of our story and thank you for your love and support. Cheers to 10 years of Alice & Friends!