As part of our zero waste mission, we upcycle menus from The Factory Café into notepads that we use around the office for meetings, or to write thank you notes on. We stencil and cut the paper into quarter sheets and place them on our café tables with pencils for our guests’ convenience, as well.
Since we’ve begun this practice we have received dozens of notes from our guests; some people write lovely comments, but others leave us sketches or doodles, poems, kind words—and some of our littlest guests leave us handprints traced in pencil. These are small gifts, but we find them remarkably personal and delightful.
What these notes (and other gifts) say to us is that our community feels comfortable in our space—and even if we don’t know you personally, you still feel connected enough to share a little piece of yourself. We did not initially realize how great an opportunity the café would provide us to invite people into our creative space, but we are so grateful for what it has become.
Since opening in 2013, The Factory Café has proudly offered a menu of organic, locally grown and produced vegetables, meats, and cheeses. Whether it is through the atmosphere we encourage or the food we provide, the café has been and continues to be a place of community and kinship. We hope locals and out-of-towners alike will gather here to share food, stories, and laughter. And when you stop by, we hope you will leave us your own unique message to let us know you were there.
Follow The Factory Café on Instagram @alabamachaninfactorycafe for lunch and brunch updates. And leave us some love with #leftonthecafetable.
