The long-awaited opening of the Gathering Grounds is finally here. Three months of preparation, interviews, calls, and making hard decisions are finally worth it. That is right, the Gathering Grounds is ready to scoop up smiles and brew some bold new flavors for the town of Walton. They are ready to become a hub of community and blissful bites. From your morning cup of joe to a late-night snack, they are pulling out all the stops. Here is the latest on your new favorite local spot.
From the moment you walk in, you are greeted by the wonderful aromas of coffee and homemade ice cream, along with the sweet smiles of their staff. The Gathering Grounds owners take pride in their employees and strive for the best customer service for everyone. I asked a few of their employees about their new jobs and what we can expect to see them doing there. Cass junior, Lexi Alford, said, “On a typical shift, you could see me doing many different tasks. Maybe scooping ice cream and making shakes to being in charge of the front desk, taking orders, or even just cleaning around the different work stations.” Another fellow Cass student, sophomore, Olivia Parker, responded with “On a typical shift, I can be seen at the espresso machine pulling shots or in the kitchen making food. I could also be seen just cleaning the counters or restocking things.” It is evident that their employees have diverse skill sets and a passion for success.
With such well-trained employees, the business was ready to greet the public. The Gathering Grounds held three different soft openings that took place on the nights of May 8, 9, and 10. These openings were by “invite only”. This was when the owners gave back to their family, friends, and people who helped them along their roller coaster of a journey. The next week, they began to open the doors to the public. The business was ready to showcase its hard work…just not too fast. They had what could be called a “soft-opening” where they were open to the public, but just did not advertise it. This way, owners can work out all the kinks that come along with the opening of a new business and give their employees some extra experience and training. The employees viewed the openings as stressful yet beneficial. Cass student and employee Bekah Birkey said, “I really liked the soft openings. Although stressful at times, the two days I went helped me in many ways. I was able to learn a lot of new things that will help me prepare for the grand opening.”
To bring in a different perspective, I asked co-owner, Jennifer Preston, her thoughts about the soft-opening, “Soft openings have been the right amount of busy to get us used to rushes, but also the public has been so understanding that we are in the depths of training 30 employees. This takes time and patience. Everyone has responded with grace and excitement! Changes are being made daily as we fine-tune recipes, portion sizes, our costs, and how to operate efficiently. We have a very supportive community that wants to see this succeed, so that pushes us daily to continue to make improvements!” This shows it is crucial to have events like these openings to truly create the best business that the families have worked so hard to create. Everything is important, they are not only trying to achieve the best quality of product, but also quantity.
With an up, there will always be a down. Things have not always been “smooth scooping” for the Grounds, and it is important to showcase the lows just as much as the highs. When asked what their toughest challenges have been, Preston responded, “The biggest challenges have been the moments when equipment doesn’t work properly, or breaks, and overcoming those obstacles. Everything costs a lot of money to fix and replace.” Though these challenges may seem like small bumps in the road, they can lead to huge hills if not taken care of properly. Being able to overcome these difficult times of adversity really makes their passion for their business shine.
The company will have its official grand opening on May 24, 2025, and it is coming faster than we know. Gathering Grounds cannot wait for the whole community to see all the hard work they have put in. Preston was quoted, “Until you walk a day in the life of what we have built, you don’t really grasp the sacrifices to your family and time that something this big requires.” Creating a business from the ground up is hard, no matter what the company is. She asks that the community support them by being patient when coming into order, being understanding that they are all there to serve with excellence, but that they are also learning as well. Mistakes will happen, and that is okay, because that is how staff can learn and grow.
All in all, things are really looking up for the Gathering Grounds. The months of rigorous work throughout their families are finally starting to pay off. Though it seems like they have finished the job, this company is only getting started. Gathering Grounds still has a long way to go, but as they continue with the same passion and work ethic, they are sure to create nothing short of spectacular.
