To My Community,
I worked at Tazza Café for a little more than two years; it was one of the best work experiences of my life. The management and staff were some of the finest people with whom I have ever had the privilege of working. When I had problems, whether professional or personal, it was these same people who supported me, providing me with advice and friendship and help. During the time I was at Tazza I was sustained by an Idea. The Idea that through a business one could create and build a community, a place where people from all walks of life could go to relax, have a coffee, study, meet new friends, and generally get to know the people around them.
Honestly, the customers at Tazza are some of the finest people I have ever served. They are kind, friendly, generous, and genuinely interested in the people and world around them. I have witnessed people grow and develop through the stop motion of small clips of people's lives as they grab coffees and run to their next adventure.
Tazza is currently undergoing a major transition from a café/lounge to a full-scale restaurant. I don’t have all the details, but as I understand it the place I have grown to love, and that is a huge part of my life, is going to stop being the place I love and become a place where I won’t fit in. I am concerned that the customers who come to Tazza, the people who have been the reason for its continued success, will suddenly find that Tazza is no longer a place for them. This transition has been bothering me for some time because I care too much about the idea of what Tazza could be to its community while still being a successful business.
I am not a successful business owner, never have been, but I have worked in the food service industry for 11 years. I am not a business manager, but I have spent the past six years studying business management. I know that the biggest problem many businesses have is developing an identity. I know that with its diverse activities and clients Tazza has had more trouble with this than most places, trying to be a café, restaurant, bar, and live music venue all at the same time. However, Tazza currently has a strong and growing customer base and I think that it could become an extremely successful business. I am just sad that the environment that I have helped to provide to my community seems to be going away.
The Downcity community is growing constantly—it is simply amazing how much the area has changed in the past few years. Many of these changes have been for the best. Unfortunately, many of these changes have taken away some of our favorite places to go. (I will always miss The Met Café.) The downtown community needs many things, like maybe a grocery store. But my question is this: does downtown, or even Providence as a whole, really need another upscale Mediterranean-style restaurant?
Jesse LeFranc
