Big game Friday night specials coming this fall

By Robert Williams

Editor

The first week of business for Mae’s Cafe owners Mae Hedlund and Michael Geving back in January was not easy. The temperatures on opening day were in the negative 20s and three days into the business Mae was in the hospital for an unexpected surgical procedure.

The couple persevered and after eight months of experimenting with what works and what does not, along with navigating a continually inflating cost margin are still enjoying running Frazee’s lone cafe.

“We still love it; we have great customers,” said Hedlund.

Product cost increases have been a big reason for having to be flexible.

“It’s been eight months and everything has jumped,” Hedlund said. 

Mae does her best to price watch between her three vendors but the task of placing food orders suddenly goes from 45 minutes to two hours to try to save a few bucks and not have to adjust prices on the menu.

“We want it as inexpensive as we can,” Mae said. “We’re working on that, but we’ve got to make it too or we won’t be here.”

Cafes are critical to small towns. They are fixtures of every diminutive downtown. That does not mean they are easy to operate and keep open. Mae said the overarching goal of the business in its first year is strictly survival and they have done that by being versatile.

“It was survival, for sure,” said Hedlund.

A plan for a regular salad bar came and went after profitability just was not there.

“It wasn’t enough; there was so much waste,” said Hedlund.

While Mae’s has all the cafe classics on the menu, over the summer wraps proved to be popular as customers came in during the summer heat and drought conditions looking for a lighter lunch.

“It’s been such a hot summer that I got into the wraps,” Hedlund said. “I’ve been selling out.”

All the while, regulars were still piling in for classics like mashed potatoes and gravy.

“They like the heavy even if it’s 100 degrees out,” she said. 

Being adaptable to conditions and the needs of customers has been a constant.

“We’re still working on our menu,” Hedlund said.

With a small staff, some tasks, like marketing have been slow to get going. According to Mae, there are a lot of people that still do not know the cafe is open. She has begun increasing the restaurants’ visibility via social media to combat that.

Hedlund also noted an influx of troll hunters visiting Wannigan Park are making their way to the cafe, which is a boon for her business and all downtown shops and restaurants.

That crowd will slow down in numbers as downtown businesses prepare for the coming winter. Mae’s hopes to combat slow times with a new Friday night shift from 4-8 p.m. Typically, the cafe closes at 4 p.m. As the school year progresses, there will be big game nights like Homecoming or a big rivalry opponent in town and the cafe may stay open until 10 p.m. for people to swing by post-game.

“We’re going to do wings, cash and carry, or yogi fries and taco excels, gametime finger food,” said Hedlund.

For the fall, night shifts will likely center around Friday night home football games. Mae’s has partnered with United Community Bank for the first game with a wings fundraiser. All proceeds going to the Honor Flight of Minnesota/North Dakota. The fundraiser is still being organized but it is ironically scheduled for Friday, Sept. 11 when the Hornets host the Menahga Braves.

“That just gives me goosebumps,” Hedlund said.

Family has been an important part of Mae’s success with her daughter and granddaughter both chipping in with dining room shifts. A new cook was added to the staff this summer to give Geving a needed break from full-time work in the kitchen. Mae’s staff includes two other waitresses and a baker.

Being able to add staff is a sign of the business succeeding. Given the recent history of the cafe, that is a relief to both its owners and its customers. 

“Business is good,” Hedlund said. “We still have the gusto. We just want to improve and tweak everything and we’re hoping this winter when it gets a little slower—we’ve got projects started.

One of those is completing the decorating of the cafe’s interior with a side idea of displaying a large collection of antiques from Mae’s family with potential decor items for sale.

“Everybody is already trying to buy the stuff I have,” Hedlund said. “I’ve got big plans.”

Mae’s Cafe is located on West Main Avenue and is open Wednesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Watch their Facebook page for upcoming events and specials like the popular Chicken Crack sandwich on a croissant.