August 11th, 2021
Well, the beginning of summer was great; no masks, people everywhere in a more positive spirit and a sense that everything was about change. Unfortunately, it hasn’t changed in the direction we had hoped. We are back in masks again and plans to open downtown have been delayed, again. Just a few weeks ago I was so sure that we would be able to reopen downtown that I had my family helping me dust, vacuum and rearrange the tables and chairs. (I’m starting to wonder if I’m cursed. I seems every time I get downtown ready for people to come back in the Covid numbers go in the wrong direction. What am I supposed to do?)
So now we are busy getting ready for school to start, making treats for fall and finding all the chocolate molds for Christmas. Maybe…by…Christmas…
Peace and Good health to you all, Tracy.
June 10th, 2021
First Day of Summer in Mount Horeb! School is out, another sunny 90 degree day and outdoor dining is in full swing. Here at the Sjölinds Factory we are celebrating with plenty of outdoor dining and a bit of indoor dining, ice cream sandwiches and tall cold glasses of safts. Melissa has also come up with delicious summer drink specials; the Dalgona and the Lemon Sugar Latte are especially wonderful.
As to the Covid-19 update, we are cautiously tiptoeing towards optimism. The Factory is now open to the public. Our staff has been vaccinated months ago. We are hiring and training more people to help us. We hope to have enough staff to open our downtown location, even if it is just a few days a week, by the end of summer.
As to masks, you may see some of our staff wearing masks and some of our staff not wearing masks. The the mask mandate in Dane County has been lifted, but not everyone feels comfortable to go without a mask yet. I have asked my staff to do whatever makes them feel comfortable. This of course also applies to the public, unless you have not yet been vaccinated. If you have not been vaccinated please continue to wear a mask because we have young children here who are not allowed to be vaccinated… yet.
This has all been such a long, slow slog. Thank you to everyone who has hung in there with us. We are so very grateful to still be here.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you and love and peace to you and yours, Tracy.
May 7th, 2021
Happy Mother’s Day! I hope enough of you have been vaccinated so you can have a better celebration this year than last year. The current weather report here in Mount Horeb for Sunday is around 60 degrees and a bit cloudy. So if you can’t celebrate indoors, outdoors will be nice enough.
So, many of you have been asking when we will be reopening downtown. Here are our current reopening plans; open the doors at the factory to ordering for outdoor dining, then allow limited indoor dining at the factory, while we train the staff that will be needed when we reopen downtown, then expand indoor dining at the factory, THEN open for limited hours and limited dining downtown. And this is IF (that’s a big if) everything goes well with Covid-19 not spreading more and no new mutation development.
Then there is the matter of me being completely honest. In the last couple of years several businesses similar to ours have opened up in downtown Mount Horeb. I am wondering if we are even needed downtown or if it makes financial sense for us to reopen. We are only a town of 7000.
So as we work towards determining our best future, please get the shot, keep your distance and wear a mask,
Tracy
March 23rd, 2021
Easter is just under two weeks away and we still have a few treats available. Check out the Surprise Eggs, Everything but the Basket box and a sweet basket with four four piece boxes of our fan favorites (truffles, caramel butterflies, arraks and marzipans). We also have chocolate bunnies and roosters (a nod to our Scandinavian heritage) ready to go. If you would like to get a look at the full chocolate menu you can pick-up your own personal copy when you get your morning coffee or bakery at the factory.
We are still day-dreaming about what downtown will look like when we reopen. In that day-dream we realize the we are not in charge of the Covid-19 numbers, so we can not say when we will re-open. So, everyone, encourage your friends and family to get that vaccine. The sooner this country reaches herd immunity, the sooner we can reopen. See you on the other side of this Covid-19 mess.
May good health and the joy of the season be with you and yours, Tracy.
February 23rd, 2021
We are already past St.Valentine Day and speeding towards Easter. Covid-19 has us keeping our staff as small as possible so I am getting to make more of the sweets than before (BC19 as a new time reference?). Melissa had worked on the recipe for marshmallows for quite a while, all those years ago. She would have me tasting all the time, but it never really dawned on me what good marshmallows should be, until I started making them. Preserved soft meringue! Such a wonderful confection. We started making them to go with our hot chocolate but the are also great eaten alone. I just started making the spring/summer flavors, some of them should be ready next week.
Quite a few people, just recently, have been asking us when we will be reopening downtown. I think what people are really asking is, “When is this terrible mess going to be over? and When can we go back to normal? I’m with you. Every 6 weeks I think we will be reopening in 6 weeks. Good news is the number of Covid-19 cases are decreasing, but we are not even at the level we were at last summer. Business is just numbers and we are waiting for the numbers to be right. Believe me, when we are going to reopen, you will be hearing about it!
Peace and good health to you and yours, Tracy.
Happy New Year!
We took a whole week for a winter break this year. This year was so stressful and quite frankly I have definitely aged over the last 15 years. I thought I was going to get so much done at home and all I did was read and nap. Winter break was lovely! All of us really appreciated the break. Now we are back at it. We are looking forward to seeing you and soon we will be releasing our Valentine gifts.
May this year be the calm after so many storms, Tracy.
December 17th, 2020
My husband calls me Mrs. Clause now. For the last two months Iv’e (along with several others) have worked long hours to get ready for this holiday season. Thank goodness we did. This community has be so kind and generous to not forget us during these holidays. Thank you, thank you, thank you from all of us to all of you. We still have peppermint bark, almond bark, peanut brittle, toffees, fruit and nut boxes, marzipan, hot chocolates and of course truffles and caramels.
I hope that you are able to fine joy and peace in the season. Love, Tracy.
October 15th, 2020
Well, a person has to hope, but we won’t be opening our downtown spot this evening. Or any evening for the foreseeable future. The Covid-19 numbers have never been worse, so it doesn’t make sense to open until things improve. Believe me we are not operating out of fear, as some have suggested, but out of love. So keep 6 feet apart, wash your hands, wear a mask and we will see you on the other side of this thing. Love, Tracy.
P.S. Melissa is asking me to remind you that we are happy to help you with your chocolate needs in the drive-thru or online