The Loop Newspaper - Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide

Good things come to those who wait. And wait...and wait...and wait. That's the state of mind for Healthy Hippie Trading Co. owner, Sarah Rose, when it comes to her future café.

"I have to have that attitude otherwise I would give up in frustration," she said.

The process of taking a blank canvas and turning it into a fully functioning café is not for the weak or those with little faith. It's a long list of people to call, inspections to be passed, things to purchase and lots and lots of physical labor, but Sarah is up to the challenge.

While waiting for plans to be approved and actual kitchen construction to commence, Sarah and her husband have started work on the things that don't need permits, such as painting and opening formerly boarded over windows.

"I had read somewhere that when starting a remodeling job to immediately add 30% to your budget for unknown expenses. We learned the wisdom of that on day one. John cut into the sheetrock, expecting that we'd be exposing windows only to find that the windows had been removed and not just boarded over like we thought. Not only was the glass gone but so were the slider frames, necessitating the purchase of two new windows rather than just replacing glass. That was a $2,000 expense we hadn't planned on," she said.

Thus ensued a discussion of abandoning the window project and covering them back up.

"It was tempting. Two thousand dollars is a lot of money. But it only took me a few minutes to conclude that windows were a must," she admits. "The vision I have for this space includes lots of natural light, plus I want to be able to open windows and get a cross breeze to clear out stale odors and stagnant energy."

To offset costs and start using the space right away, Sarah and John have temporarily created a construction zone leaving the rest of the room usable for other things.

"By the time this article goes to print we will have a wonderful space temporarily available for paint and other craft classes, along with yoga and meditation classes," she explains. "I'm very excited to see what other community services we can provide space for while under construction."

If you'd like to see what's going on over at the Healthy Hippie and the future Vegan Pleasin' Café, Sarah would be happy to show you around.

"It's a lot of fun to show my customers the new space plus they make suggestions that are really helpful," she said.

You can catch up with Sarah or her crew Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 20418 Brian Way.