After four seasons in her “pigeon coop” location on Portage Street, Sarah Jaymot is moving her cafe and coffee shop downtown.
Jaymot recently purchased the Hungry Moose on Second Avenue and plans to operate Sarah J’s out of the trailer until she can build a new structure on the plot. She is also in the process of buying the land from Fred Folletti.
“I was looking for a different location for a while and even though this is kind of a smaller square footage for me inside, it’s an investment for me in my business’s future,” Jaymot said.
She said she looked for a location in a building downtown, but couldn’t find a structure worth investing in. “They’re unattainable,” she said.
Jaymot said she will open at her new location as soon as possible, which could be as early as February. The new location will likely have a longer season than the Portage Street location, which opened in March and closed at the end of September.
The new location will carry some version of the existing menu – Chipotle Reubens, breakfast burritos, turkey melts – but will retain a community favorite from the Hungry Moose: soft serve ice cream.
“I never imagined my food scene to become the food scene that it is. When I opened Sarah J’s, I didn’t expect the food sales to be the bread and butter of the business, and they are,” she said.
Jaymot said she hopes to build a greenhouse-covered deck for seating.
One of the best parts of the new structure, which Jaymot has coined “the box,” is its drive-thru window. Busy customers can text or call in their order, drive up to the window, and quickly get back to work, she said.
“I think everybody, including myself, is pretty excited to be in a more convenient location.” Compiled by Karen Garcia