Changes

Dear Friends,

For nearly 16 years, our family has found great joy in the operation of Café Evolution. We’ve made so many friends (people who have become family, really), served up some of the tastiest and healthiest cruelty-free cooking in the Valley, and provided our community with a meaningful, magical space in which to celebrate compassionate living.

We feel so good about the work we have done, the love we have shared, the art we’ve made, the connections forged, the mission we’ve undertaken (and achieved) to promote veganism in a humble and inclusive environment, and, most of all, the fact that we were able to raise our son, Rain, within this loving and supportive community. We are immensely grateful to all who have made it their mission to support our efforts. Clearly, without you there would be no Café Evolution, and we thank you for your patronage, friendship, and love.

As we approach the anniversary of Café Evolution’s founding, we have concluded that it is time for our family to transition out of running it. Having brought Evolution through a decade and half of experiences of every sort—punctuated profoundly by this unrelenting pandemic—we now feel a sense of urgency to embark on new adventures. We have done everything we can do to carry Evolution to this point and we’re excited by the prospect of passing the torch to other people with new visions.

We are currently in discussion with a café insider about purchasing the business from us and continuing to run the space as Café Evolution. As we don’t yet know whether this person will be able to take over for us—and because we can’t quite visualize Florence without Evolution in it—we are now asking you to help us craft a back-up. If you or anyone you know has the experience and serious aspiration to run the café, please do refer them to us. We can be reached via email at cafeevolutionflorence@gmail.com. This is not a call for business advice or a way for our family to continue on with it, but a genuine invitation for serious and sincere inquiries regarding purchasing the business from us. We thank you in advance for your efforts.

Over the course of this year, Rain graduated from UMass, with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree, an accomplishment made more profoud by the fact that his senior year of studio art classes and thesis writing was completed entirely via Zoom. Not the first young artist to set up a studio in the basement of the family home, but surely an act of great resilience in the face of pandemic burnout and withering uncertainty. He has also developed practices in cycling, Buddhist meditation, and wilderness camping. Trish has not only started sewing but has established a flourishing Etsy business called Redemption Dry Goods, where she sells heritage quits, garments made from damaged and cast-off textiles, and vintage home goods. Star—who took his first vacation in 15 years recently—has, at last, begun to imagine a life beyond Evolution and is readying himself for what comes next, through making music, indulging his love of photography and filmmaking, sculpture, and hiking in the mountains of Vermont.

We have long intended to compile a book that will tell the story of our family, showcase our art, and, yes, share our most popular recipes, and we’re feeling that there’s no time like the present. Over the course of the next year, we will write that book. If among you there are those who would be interested in acting as “readers” of drafts as we produce them, please do feel free to email us with your interest. This is a project we’d enjoy sharing with friends.

Finally, September is the last month that we will be running the café. If we’re able to find someone to take over for us, Café Evolution will continue on. If not, we will be closing at the end of the month. We realize that this is substantial (if not surprising) and maybe even sad news to receive, but we hope that you can be happy for us.

We look forward to connecting with you over these next couple of weeks, serving you delicious food, and hearing about where you’re at in life right now.

Please, do stay in touch.

 Peace+Love+Justice,

Star, Trish, and Rain