Local cafe reaches toward reopening

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Try, try, and try again.

So goes the story for Chimacum favorite Farm’s Reach Cafe who are aiming to reopen on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Owned and operated by Arianna and William “Bege” Patterson since May 2014, the pair have struggled with the shifting tides of the pandemic, but their time with the cafe has still been far more than positive overall.

It was there that the pair first met. Both had been integral employees at the restaurant, waiting tables and making sure regulars felt at home before they started dating.

Not long after beginning their romantic relationship, the previous owners made them an offer.

“We were both employees and we had newly started dating, I think for about six months, and they approached us about the idea and we just head-first went into it. Now we’re married and have kids,” Arianna Patterson said.

The pair solidified their place as the face of the business for the last eight years, but the most recent few have made them consider a change.

The business and the building have both been for sale for months each through their separate owners and for a time the Pattersons believed they had found a buyer.

“Unfortunately, three months in — after BG and I had taken full-time employment — the sale fell through, so we’re back,” Patterson said. “When we came back it just seemed like we were having a hard time keeping staff because a lot of the staff had left. We were having a hard time hiring. And the place, after eight years, had a couple appliances that just went out to the point that we couldn’t fix them anymore,” she added.

Luckily, the pair were able to get financial assistance from the government, which they’ve since used to revamp the restaurant with new menu boards, new appliances replacing what had worn out, and a deep clean “head to toe,” Patterson said.

Staffing has continued to be an issue though, but the Pattersons do what they can.

“We limited the menu so that we can run on a smaller crew because employment is just hard,” she said, adding, “I don’t want Farm’s Reach to die.”

They’re still striving to provide as much local, organic food as possible, and making things from scratch, a level of quality that is a big part of what has endeared so many to what they offer.

“We are so passionate. Farm’s Reach is a community spot, it’s a hub. We’ve been around forever and Bege and I have been the faces of Farm’s Reach forever and we’ve worked so hard to get here that I’m not really willing to just ball up and die,” she said.

With both Arianna and Bege Patterson still working full-time elsewhere to feed their family throughout this difficult process, reopening has become a strain.

“We’re each trying to take one good solid day a week. I’m taking time away from my other job and working on weekends and getting in there on my hands and knees,” she said.

“I hope it all pays off and I think the community will show up for us. They have been amazing just keeping us open through COVID,” she added.

With their doors almost ready to open, those who would like to assist Farm’s Reach Cafe have a great opportunity to support them through purchasing a gift certificate from their website at FarmsReachCafe.com.