October 4th, 2020
Opening downtown! But opening very differently and very different hours. On Thursday, October 15, we will be open 4-7pm. Our new hours will be Thursday thru Saturday from 4 to 7pm. We will not have indoor seating…yet. We are opening for shopping, a cup of something hot and a few small treats. We have created new displays, spread retail over more of the store so shoppers can be more spread out, hand sanitizer at the front door and as everywhere masks are required. We will be featuring our normal fall candies; caramel corn, Autumn bark and caramels and truffles inspired by the flavors of fall. We are excited to see the space being used again, but we completely understand if this still does not feel safe for you. We have also created a confection and chocolate menu that you can pick-up at the drive-thru window at the factory. You can also call ahead or order some products online and we will bag your order up for you so that you can pick-up it up at the drive-thru window or make use of the contactless option. We hope these changes will allow everyone to have and little more sweetness in this difficult time. Peace and good health be with you, Tracy.
September 18th, 2020
Whoa! I guess I let myself get a bit overwhelmed last update. All true, but still. The unifying personality trait of small business owners is relentless optimism. Now that we have regained a more positive outlook, we have embraced that we will most likely need to keep our doors closed through the winter. (We will still keep the drive-thru window open.) This has us looking to our Scandinavian roots and the love of spending more time outdoors in the cold months. We have bought an outdoor fire feature and are looking for benches to surround it. We will enjoy seeing people get something hot to drink, gather around the fire and take a break from this “new normal”. We are also in the process of putting more of our chocolate store on-line, for now and for all the upcoming holidays. Check out our chocolate celebration of fall under the SHOP header of this website and stay tuned for our chocolate-spell-casting box for Halloween. Peace to you all, Tracy.
August 29th, 2020
We are getting very tired people. You may find us closed a bit early once and awhile. We won’t be closed early very often, but there will be those days until all this Covid-19 business ends. We are tired of the name calling, being flipped off and told we are not right with God if we think we will get Covid. All of this when we simply tell people that our space can’t be open to the public right now. We are tired of people not protecting us by wearing masks in the drive-thru when we do so much to protect everyone. We would hire more people to relive some of the pressure but we really can’t afford to expand our Covid circle. So if you see us closed when you didn’t expect it, know that we are practicing some self care and we will be back at it tomorrow. And please remember, “The highest form of wisdom is kindness,” from the Talmud. Love and kindness to all, Tracy.
August 16th, 2020
When I got into this business it was for the hospitality. I love creating spaces for people to linger and socialize. I believe that most of the worlds problems are solved by talking them out and learning of other people’s opinions and finding the middle ground where ever possible. If there is good food and drink involved, all the better. The Covid 19 virus is the opposite of all of this. Now we do manufacturing and service. Don’t get me wrong, both are still important. I do really love making things and getting to talk to people in the 2 to 3 minute exchanges. But I really do miss the hospitality end of things. Looking forward to all gathering again safely. Tracy
July 31st, 2020
End of July and no improvements with Covid-19, yet. We here at Sjölinds are all getting more comfortable wearing face masks; necessary but not easy. Seating is still at 25%, so we have kept our shops closed and our drive-thru open. The outside tables are getting used now that the weather isn’t quite so hot. One of my main projects right now is reworking the downtown retail space so we are ready when we can reopen.
I want to thank everyone that is wearing a face mask. Believe me, I know how uncomfortable they are. I recently heard that the 3 ply masks are only 42% effective, so if both people in an interaction are wearing masks it is 84% effective. So thank you for helping this all end a little sooner. Even if it is only a little sooner, every little bit helps. Tracy
July 12th, 2020
This is all going on so much longer than we thought it would. We thought 8, maybe 12 weeks and we will be back to normal. Surprise, surprise, surprise! As I write this we are heading into week 20 of this Covid-19 mess and moving into the mandatory face mask phase issued by Dane County Health. So as with each previous week we come up with another plan:
Open only at the Factory. Window service only. Everyone in face masks per the new county order. Downtown store will remain closed until 75% capacity, only because we can’t afford to operate with less. Sometime in the fall we hope to open downtown for just retail and coffee for limited hours. Stay tuned, every week seems to have a new twist. -Tracy