I was about to rush in for coffee this morning at Honest Coffee Roasters when I got a text confirming my 9 a.m. appointment has canceled. So much for wearing a coat and tie to work today, the last week before Christmas. Still, I won't complaint about having a little more time to enjoy my coffee as I sit on one of the couches in what passes for the lobby of the Factory, underneath a 35' tall Christmas tree.
'Tis the season indeed.
The Factory, of course, is a mess. Since closing on the $65,000,000 less than a year ago, the new owners immediately began the massive renovation project that has left everything her in a state of disarray, at least temporarily. Several longtime shop owners were told their month-to-month leases would not be renewed, so they quickly closed up and moved out. Other shop owners were allowed to stay.
Honest Coffee Roasters is undergoing another expansion as a result of which it's suddenly been halved in size to the point that it's not really possible to sit in the shop and drink my coffee without feeling like I've been shoe horned into the place. I guess it will be better when they're finished with the expansion but I'm not sure if that will be the case. Much as with the renovation of the Factory itself, I fear the intimacy and character of the old coffee shop will be lost in the expansion.
Change is inevitable, of course. Progress, too, I guess. Still, I miss the Factory of old. Yes, it was under utilized and, I assume an under performing asset. A lot of vacancies and unused space was a problem, to be sure. For me, though, I loved being able to wander through the three buildings as I talked to a client, or attorney, on my AirPods, sometimes for thirty minutes or an hour. It was different from being in the office, obviously, and a nice change of pace.
Especially during the early days of the pandemic - when I was terrified of getting Covid-19 - I got coffee at Honest Coffee Roasters, then walked up to the massive, wide open lobby area and sat on one of the four couches arranged in the four corners of "the Great Hall," where I read the New York Times online, answered e-mail, or otherwise planned my day. It was nice to be around other people but distanced from them because it made me feel less isolated.
Now, of course, there is a temporary wall that cuts off access to what is left of "the Great Hall." Through circular windows in the temporary wall, I can see that the new owners cut down the trees that grew in planters and brought a unique feel to the space. That was to be expected but is still feels wrong, somehow. The entire area looks like a bomb went off in it.
The back building where I often camped out to work on projects that required a couple of hours of deep thought or concentration is closed to the public. Renovations are going on in there, too, or so it seems.
Outside the Factory's main building, the owners recently demolished a beautiful, old patio (I guess you'd call it) that was adjacent to Honest Coffee Roasters. They also cut down an old tree that grew next to the patio, which seems unnecessary to me but what do I know? I just hate to see old, healthy trees cut down in the name of progress.
Well, my reverie has been interrupted, suddenly, by Christmas music blasting over the loudspeakers, so guess it's time to move along to the office. It's time to deal with a lingering personnel issue, dictate a couple of Orders from a hearing Friday afternoon that went surprisingly well, and visit a new client at the Williamson County Jail (don't ask).
So much for slowing down the week before Christmas, right?
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