IMPORTANT UPDATE: The Storefront for Olive the Cheddar Boards and Sustainafill will no longer be happening at 273 14th Street, Ambridge.
As you can see, I was ready to open. I had created an intimate cafe seating area for people to enjoy a charcuterie box or a baked good and a latte or a juice. The space was going to be available to rent for events up to 50 people. I was making it an affordable community space to host other events as well. I thought we could have “Back in the Day Nights” where community members share what it used to be like when Ambridge was poppin and we could have learned so much. I wanted to host Mommy and Me classes where you could grocery shop after and your kids could play around in a safe environment with some activities. I wanted to make sustainable grocery shopping and sustainable events easier for those of who so desperately want to join this movement but are limited because of the structure of our society. I have product in place and being delivered. I had crossed all the T’s and dotted all the I’s. I was ready.
But then Debbie and Jim Thornton, the landlords, pulled the rug out from under me. You see, Debbie allowed me to borrow a lot of her items such as some of the table and chairs and a few decorative items. We had meetings and messages where she praised me and was so happy for using her items. I felt that the vision of Sustainafill and her vision of her storefront were aligned. But I was wrong because Debbie stormed in on Monday and accused me of rifling through her items and essentially taking what I wasn’t permitted to use. She accused me of stealing. I was heartbroken. Clearly we’ve decided to not move forward with the relationship. Ironically, she has changed the locks and is making access difficult for me to get thousands of dollars of equipment that I have in there as well as refusing to communicate with me through all of this. I’m heartbroken that I spent the past 4 weeks preparing this space for a business th