Hummusapien

Happy 1st Birthday, Alchemy!

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And just like that, the most incredible, challenging, fun, stressful, exciting year of my life flew by.

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A year ago today, we opened a cafe. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I still don’t.

I still don’t know how many boxes of bananas we go through in a week or how to fix the coldwell when it won’t get down to temp. I don’t know how to make acai appear when we run out and I don’t know how to “discipline” staff when they’re late. I’m unorganized. I’m not strict. I’m unconventional. I’m not a lot of things that people who run juice bars should be. But what I am is super passionate, hard-working, and driven. And somehow that has been enough to help make Alchemy a success.

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I kid you not, I still get the warm and fuzzies every time I walk through the door. I still can’t believe it exists. I still can’t believe that I’m serving people food that I helped create. It’s scary and it’s surreal.

To my husband, my child, my best friend, and everything else that Alchemy is to me…I am thankful.

Thank you for teaching me to have a thick skin. This is critical for the real world, for dealing with distributors and suppliers, for working with stubborn employees, for handling customers that want to chop your head off, for staying strong when you read a Yelp review that says your food sucks.

Thank you for teaching me even more about family. Because that’s what Alchemy is, and not just because our whole staff calls me “mom.” I adore every person that works at Alchemy and how they’re all so incredible warm, hilarious, hard-working, and unique. We function because of our amazing staff. They make my world go round.

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Thank you for teaching me that it is possible to follow multiple dreams at once. In the beginning and even recently, I thought that I may have to give up Hummusapien in order to give Alchemy the attention it deserves.  I didn’t think I could do them both with all my heart. But before my eyes, they helped each other flourish.

Thank you for showing me that running a blog and a juice bar is not a walk in the park. It has made me a stronger person. I’ve learned that this life is a lot of responsibility. You essentially never leave work. You’re constantly on call. If anything goes wrong, it’s your job to fix it.  If some one doesn’t show up, it’s your responsibility to fill in. Finding time to practice what I preach and actually work out, cook, eat right, hang out with my friends, and go out on the weekends all takes a back seat. But when you love what you do and who you work with, you learn to manage your time more wisely. You learn to stop micromanaging everyone. You learn to delegate. You learn to trust other people to do your job, even if it’s not perfectly executed. You start to see the bigger picture.

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And finally, thank you times a million to Abed Alshahal. Thank you for befriending me junior year of college and asking me to join you in this venture a couple short years later. Thank you for believing in me, for trusting me, for putting me in a leadership position that you knew would challenge me to the core. Thank you for not giving me the answers and forcing me to discover them on my own. Thank you for encouraging me to stop focusing on my mistakes and instead begin to learn from them. Thank you for teaching me how to see the other side, how to delegate, and how to empower others. You never stop inspiring me to be a better person.

Alchemy is a platform for social change. It’s an opportunity to transform traditional health food and health care, to change the local food system, to teach people that healthy doesn’t have to mean sacrificing flavor or spending a bunch of money. I hope to spend the rest of my life spreading that message.

Thank you, Alchemy, for making me feel so, so full. So full of purpose, pride, knowledge, happiness, gratitude, and, appreciation. I know who I am and I know exactly why I’m here. I was put on this earth to spread the joy of health and good food and everything in between.

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Thank you for turning that once far-fetched dream into the most delicious reality.

For more Alchemy, check out my general Alchemy page, this A Day in the Life post from 2014, and this A Day in the Life  post from 2015. And come visit!

Comments

  2. This post really warmed my heart! It is so amazing to see such a fabulous and down to earth woman living her dream and spreading “the joy of health and good food and everything in between”. You are amazing and an inspiration lady! Happy Birthday Alchemy! Can you open one in Sydney please and then London when I move back, thanks ;) xxx

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  3. What an awesome venture. I cannot imagine the hard work it takes to open and maintain a shop; kudos to you for keeping up with it AND your blog so well!! Definitely inspiring :)

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  5. Alexis,
    What a fabulous post! I always enjoy your words of wisdom about nutrition, believing in yourself and balancing whatever challenges you have in your personal and professional life. I have learned soooo much from you via your posts in the past year. I know that I am making better nutritional choices for myself and I am sharing your great recipes and tips with people I care about. Thank you so much for doing the balancing act with Alchemy and Hummasapien. You have made my life better and I know you have touched a lot of other peoples lives too:)
    Jan B

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    • Thanks so much, Jan! It touches me so deep to know that I have had an impact on your life. You make my life better just with your warm words! I hope you come visit Alchemy someday :) XO

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  8. Congratulations! I found blog a few months before you opened and I can’t believe a year has passed. Thanks for all the awesome recipes and good luck with your future endeavors!

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  11. Hurray! I don’t even know you, but I’m so proud of you. I can’t even imagine all the late nights and long days that went into this. Congrats on goin’ for your dream.

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  13. Congratulations, beautiful! You’re such an inspiration! I have the same passion, working attitude and drive, but no running-a-business skills (yet) except for teaching dance classes. I just put out today the wish to run some sort of ‘wellness’-café in my weekly column in a local newspaper as I keep getting the signs I should (follow my passion and live my truth) Thank you for sharing this. I needed it. Thank you, universe. Wishing you many many many more passionate years!!!

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    • Awww thank you thank you thank you, sweet thang! I never had running-a-business skills, and it’s STILL a work in progress each day. Follow your dreams lady!

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  15. Congrats Alexis! Alchemy sounds like such a great place – I can feel your passion and love for this place through my computer screen I CANT WAIT to come visit sometime!!

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  20. Aw, this made me teary eyed! I’m so proud of you! I started following you while you were still in school and now you’re all grown up and amazing and stuff. ;)

    Seriously though, I love everything that Alchemy stands for. Working in healthcare for the past 7 years has taught me that we need to think less about medicating and more about preventing with the help of nutritious whole foods. The fact that you are accomplishing that, one recipe and one customer at a time, is freaking awesome. Congrats on one year and cheers to many more, gorgeous!

    p.s. I’m going to come to Columbus just to eat at Alchemy and meet you one day soon! xo

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  21. Alchemy is foreva-eva my favorite place to eat. What you’re doing truly does inspire me! The world needs more people like you and your team. Keep up the good work lady!

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  22. You did it Alexis – kudos to you for surviving the first and hardest year!! You and Alchemy are on your way and continue to inspire all of us wellness/foodie gurus out there! Just praying and waiting for you to come up to CLE so we can enjoy off the fruits of your labor right here in your hometown!
    CONGRATS!!
    Casey

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  23. Congratulations! I’m so excited to hear about Alchemy. My daughter recently moved about an hour outside of Columbus (I’m from Oregon). I was super excited to find Whole Foods (AND vegan pizza!)…and now that I know about Alchemy, its just one more great reason to visit Columbus! Cheers!

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Trackbacks

  1. […] Also, be sure to check out a couple of my favorite non-recipe posts from 2015, including 10 Questions Not to Ask a Food Blogger, Confessions of a Food Blogger, Confessions of a Food Blogger and a Real Person Too, and Happy 1st Birthday, Alchemy! […]

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