Dana Morris spoke with me about how Buttermilk Provisions in Wesley Chapel came to be in 2016, and how as a local restaurant owner, they have been impacted by the recent COVID-19 situation. “I always knew I would have my own place and was constantly talking and planning for years and years,” Dana said. “I wanted to create a unique place that would serve specially crafted drinks and foods that were homemade, nothing artificial and just really good and delicious. I’ve always loved food and knew my calling was in this industry so I bugged my husband about this concept for close to 15 years. Finally we saved enough money and the timing worked out for us in 2016 and Buttermilk was born. From a tiny coffee shop menu, it has since then evolved into what it is today: a full service café that has an amazing customer following.”
“We’re probably most known for unique flavor combinations in both drinks and food. The lavender latte is extremely popular and we make the lavender from scratch, just like everything we do,” Dana continued. “Same with our pastries, bowls and sandwiches which are all made from scratch daily and we change the flavors each week. A lot of items are gluten free and vegan. Our most popular items are pop tarts, scones and any of the rotating baked donut flavors. It’s fun to experiment with creative flavor combinations. Our customers really get involved in letting us know which ones they want to see make a comeback!”
“We are a place that thrives on customer interaction; we come together here. So with the COVID-19 changes, it’s definitely an understatement to say it’s been tough because really it’s just devastating for so many businesses. The social distancing makes it close to impossible to have those customer interactions that we are really known for and our business is down significantly because of this pandemic.”
“In order to adapt, we immediately set up an online store. We have some amazingly loyal customers who are sweet enough to tolerate this as our only option. Some of our customers are leaving us notes, coming by and waving in the window and calling to check on us. Now we are doing a 100% contactless pick up. We felt it was our responsibility to make sure everyone is as safe as possible. You can order and pay online and get notified when ready. We have a little table with an umbrella with your order waiting for you. No one is coming inside and there is no contact with us. Because we are really missing our customers, we are starting to do a morning coffee ritual with Zoom. Fifteen minutes of cheers and high fives to get our days started together like we usually do, just now from our living rooms. We are crossing our fingers that a lot of our regulars come on and we can say hi and check in with everyone.”
Dana explained, “The restaurant industry as a whole has extremely low margins of profit, so most of us have businesses that rely on a steady stream and any interruption to that business model has a severe impact on our viability. I’ve heard a lot of comments saying that businesses shouldn’t be going under that quickly, but when you give your life savings and all your effort for a dream you probably don’t have too much else to give but heart in a time like this. Some businesses won’t survive with diminished returns. I already know businesses that have decided to throw in the towel. The silver lining are the others that are out there working every angle in order to wade through the storm. The SBA stimulus may be the only answer some of us have to survive, so I know we are all waiting to see what will happen in the next few days and weeks.”
“We have some truly extraordinary people in our lives that are trying to make a difference specifically for us. A customer overheard me telling a barista that there wasn’t any oat milk anywhere in Wesley Chapel and I had two different customers bring us some from other stores around town. We have also had customers buying humongous amounts of gift cards and leaving them at Buttermilk for a sweet gesture for the rest of the customers that day. Some customers are dropping off wine and one customer knit some cozies for our coffee cups for us. And as nice as that is, in a time like this I can’t help think of the medical professionals who really are giving everything they have to this fight. We donate coffee and treats regularly to the hospital because they are the ones saving lives.”
