Our family diner will be a little lonely in the next few weeks. Some of you may not notice but our regulars will….there’s going to be a little less bounce in our step.

We opened for business in May 2013, and very quickly realized we could not handle this on our own. We were much busier than expected and making mistakes that can cost a diner like ours a whole lot of customer loyalty. We didn’t anticipate the response we got and after several weeks and months of exhaustion, I got on the phone with the only person I thought could help us. My brother-in-law, Kenneth, he was a field tested pro in the food business. He knew all the regulations and food service guidelines that we were still trying to get on top of! The initial problem was that he was in Boston, MA….not Colorado. He had often talked about moving out west to be closer to his niece and nephew, brother Keith and his family. So what’s an exhausted wife and mother of two and diner owner expected to do? Beg and plead!!! I presented him with such a convincing argument that he had no choice but to sell everything, pack up and move out here to the west! After a few weeks of getting used to not having oxygen, he joined us in the diner and the customers were overjoyed!! Finally, someone to talk to!!! Kenneth has that easy going, friendly disposition that our customers just loved! If a customer wasn’t sure what to get, Kenneth would use his fancy Boston accent to talk them into trying something new. His high volume, bigger than life personality was what our regulars came to really enjoy.

He spent his off hours with his beloved dogs and pinball machine. Kenneth was a regular volunteer at the Longmont Humane society and after walking dogs, he would show up at 300 Suns for a brew. He loved riding his bike and taking pictures of the beautiful Colorado mountains. He cheered on his niece and nephew at all their sporting events and celebrated the holidays with lots of family and friends. He is a hard worker and keen to please the many wonderful customers that call Mac’s Place their diner.

When we took over the GE account and started their lunch service, I was convinced that he would branch out and make new friends. I hoped that a new workspace would give him the needed time off to get out more and assimilate…but alas….that was not the case. His heart was always back East…his family back East needs his help and just like moving out here to help us….he his moving back to be with them.

Although Kenneth’s last official day was yesterday, he’ll be around for a few weeks while he gets his house packed up and sold. So, please stop by and say hi and let him know how much he will be missed.

Ok, here’s a little information for how good it is to give. When I say give, I really mean give….like for free. No strings attached…unless you count a silent prayer that one day they’ll give you some business that you can charge for!
As a small business we get approached daily about donations and it not always possible but….we sure do try to make it happen. A few months ago we were asked by the Longmont Humane society about donating some appetizers to their biggest fundraiser of the year. We love animals and making some meatballs seemed doable….then they called back.
It turns out that they were expecting a big….well…turn out! They needed more than we could donate…like double-more. Gulp. Then it hit me that we have a great friend over at Frontiere Natural meats, Robert LaPoint and his has employees Richard and Jo Ann…so I gave them a call. Together we were able to make 300 Asian style meatballs with their Bison meat. It was a win for everyone and I think we were able to get the attendees a taste of something unusual and yet readily available. It was all for the animals and who is not a sucker for that line….speaking of lines….I had the best one all night! “Hi, my husband and I own Mac’s Place diner, would you care for some Bison balls?”