1.27.2010

It Just Takes One

One voice, one idea, one person to start something good, and to build the momentum it takes to make something happen. And then one calls another one, and pretty soon, you’ve got eleven…Boulanges that is…coming together to do something big.

When Callie, one of our employees, approached me and told me she was thinking about the situation in Haiti and really wished there was something she could do to help, she had the idea that she could donate a day’s worth of her tips to help in the relief efforts. And then thought, what if the whole team donated a day of their tips? And then what if all of the teams at all of the Boulanges donated a day of their tips….that would be something. So I told her to ask her team….see what they say, and I would help by putting feelers out to the other stores and I’d let her know what kind of feedback I got. I was touched by Callie’s idea and overwhelmed by our staff. I sent an email to managers at each of our stores and throughout the day received calls, texts and replies that yes! The staff was totally into it.

So now we pick a day and go for it….what day should we pick? A day where we’re busy and get a lot of tips! Sunday! Who should we donate to? After a little research, we’ve decided to contribute to Doctors without Borders. Callie likes them because they have been in Haiti for 19 years and know the systems and have some roots established and they need the funds to keep doing the work that is needed so much now that crisis has struck. And to add a little fuel to the fire, La Boulange is going to match what the staff earns that day.

So when you are on your Sunday stroll, recovering from a Saturday in San Francisco, come on in and know that whatever you give the staff that day in thanks for their smile and service, will be doubled and shipped, on the double, to a great cause.

1.06.2010

The Twelfth Night...

Most of us have slipped back into the daily grind of things at this point. The new year has started, and everyone has turned over a new leaf…if you need evidence of this, just go to any gym at 5:30 and wait your turn for the elliptical with the rest of us. But for Frenchies and Francophiles alike, today, the Epiphany, is the official close to the holiday season. Traditionally, the Epiphany is intended to celebrate the "shining forth" or revelation of God to mankind in human form, in the person of Jesus. The feast is also called Twelfth Day, as it is the twelfth day after Christmas, or Three Kings Day, because as the story goes, it is the day the three kings visited the baby Jesus. And to celebrate this, many tables this evening will be completed by the Galette des Rois, a golden crown of puff pastry filled with almond cream. A tiny feve, or trinket, will be secretly placed inside and the lucky family member who finds this prize will be crowned “king for a day.” And think of all of the fun that this implies. So if you aren’t quite ready to accept the new year and need one more reason to celebrate, or if you just want to try your chances to win the right to rule the roost, and claim control of the remote, then you know where to go to get your very own Galette.