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Thursday, 08 February 2007 |
For those of you who don't know, we have an amazing afternoon tea at The Wedding Cafe the first Sunday of every month. We call it "mint," and afternoon tea experience. It really is quite extraordinary... My sis and hubby took a lot of time perfecting a delicious menu, which is a twist on the classic high tea items. (We're even going to be featured in the MARCH issue of MODERN LUXURY MAGAZINE as one of Hawaii's top 50 finds for our afternoon tea - COOL! Thanks Dave Murphey!). OK, but I wasn't writing this blog to plug our afternoon tea, I wanted to blog about our February tea date.
Frist Sunday of the month.... February.... Yup, February 4th... it's not a trick question! When I was scheduling all the tea dates back in December, I didn't realize the significance of this particular Sunday.
"WHAT? You booked Mint on February 4th??? The FOURTH??? As in SUPERBOWL SUNDAY??? SU-PER-BOWL?" These were the words of my hubby, Bryson. He was baffled at how I didn't put the two together - the first Sunday of the month + February = Superbowl Sunday. Duh!
"Sorry, I didn't know!" was all I could muster. Grudgingly, Brys passed on all of his nacho-eating, beer-drinking fun Superbowl parties and came to the cafe to help with Mint. This is not to say that he didn't watch the game. Whenever we didn't have a customer in the cafe, he'd turn the TV to face the kitchen, blast the game and cheer as LOUD as he could for the Colts? Or the Bears? Ha ha, not even sure who he was rooting for, I think he just wanted to cheer really loud!
As the ladies (and some men!) would arrive for their tea reservations, we'd seat them, walk them through our tea selection, present the tier of food and politely wish them a good meal. Everyone that comes to tea has a certain notion of feeling the need to "dress up" although it's in the same cozy cafe atmosphere. Ladies often wear hats, dresses, heels and lipstick - all of them perfectly cut out of an English countryside sipping London's finest. February 4th was no exception.
The ladies (and men!), sipped their tea, nibbled on the lavosh and happily ate the gourmet treats one by one. Poor Bryson was getting antsy, dying to watch the last half of the game on TV... until finally, the connection was made.
"So you ladies aren't watching the Superbowl today?" Bryson would ask a table of elegant women as he refilled their hot water.
"WHAT? NO WAY! Our husbands are watching, but not us! We wanted to be OUT of the house!" The elegant women bursted out laughing, clearly enjoying their afternoon together. Bryson would egg them on asking them which team they like, and how can they not love Superbowl Sunday? '
From table to table, Bryson got the same reaction... laughing women, playfully teasing "Poor Bryson" for having to be stuck with a roomful of women while the Colts and the Bears are playing the biggest game of the year! Laughter filled the room, everyone was having a great time.
Superbowl was the connection Bryson needed to connect with his customers, the reason to make them laugh, smile and befriend him. And all of a sudden, Mint became a haven for the non-Superbowl watchers to gather and enjoy a peaceful afternoon.... well, except for the sound of the TV facing the kitchen on the lowest volume level and Bryson's every-so-often holler for the Colts... or the Bears?
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