About Us
The Edmund Fitzgerald
This may end up being a rare deep dive into my personal psyche that doesn’t go public too often, as today marks the anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald… and oddly, that means something to me.
You probably know the name more for the haunting Gordon Lightfoot song, aptly named “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. This nautical tune tells the tale of a freighter crossing Lake Superior in November, a month known for its unpredictable early winter storms.
The ship, one of the largest freighters on the lake, leaves port fully loaded with a crew of 29 – including the captain who is to retire after this last voyage (sounds like I’m setting up for a movie). Half way across the lake, the storm intensified with wind gusts up to 70 knots and swells up to 30 feet. The Fitzgerald was in constant contact with other vessels weathering the same storm until it just vanished within minutes. No mayday, no radio for help. It went that fast. All 29 on board perished, and nobody knows exactly what happened.
I can’t say that I’m terrified of water. I enjoy swimming, boating, and playing in ocean waves. But I can say that I have a deep respect for water. When I feel the tide pulling on my legs, or a strong current in the river, or watch winter storm waves on the Oregon coast, I’m acutely aware of the powerful forces present, and I have no desire to mess with them.
But for me, the true fear I have is when there is a man-made element thrown into the mix… propellers, concrete, turbines, or even just a submerged vehicle or the bottom of a pier or boat. Don’t even get me started on submarines. Perhaps I feel it is man’s foolish attempt at mastering control over this element, and my respect for the power that can take that control back at any time. We don’t belong there.
For this reason, shipwrecks have always fascinated and terrified me. Mix this with an iconic nautical song by Gordon Lightfoot from my favorite era of music, and it resonates in my soul. So naturally, when the documentary appeared on tv one day, I couldn’t help but pay attention. Seeing this giant ship broken in pieces on the lake bed and the theories of how it may have broken in half before it submerged was frightening. I felt for the crew and the terror in their last moments. What an awful and powerful way to leave this world.
I tend to overthink things. For those of you that know me, there was probably a bit of a “LOL” reaction there. My brain has to work things over…and over… and over… until I have actually lived every possible outcome. And I was in the middle of this and my thoughts on this event when my parents arrived for a visit.
I love talking these kinds of things over with my dad. My father is a retired USAF Lt. Colonel. He was a bombing navigator for B-52s in the 70s and 80s, then was the Director of Navigation and instructor during the introduction of the B-1 Bombers at Ellsworth AFB in the late 80s.
After his retirement, he became my Algebra and Physics instructor at Dubois High School in Wyoming where I graduated. He has a lot of insight and world knowledge and a dry sense of humor, so our conversations are rarely boring.
So I told my dad this story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and he listened, as he does, like he had never heard it before. This is the same way he listened when I told him, as a child, about this creepy song I found called “Hotel California” – and he had me tell him all about what I thought it was about as he sat with the smallest smirk on his face.
After I told him this haunting tale, he got that same look that I had come to recognize over the years. He sat back and he said, “The night that ship went down, we were doing training exercises over the Great Lakes. I received a transmission asking me to do a sweep of Lake Superior looking for a vessel, and I had to report there wasn’t anything there.”
Deadpan Look.
What?
My father… my own dad… was involved in the search for The Edmund Fitzgerald. That’s it. This is now a part of me.
I understand this connection I have is odd, and that very few people will understand it or appreciate it. It’s weird. But it’s there. And every year when this anniversary comes up, I take pause. And when the song comes on at The Atom, I will tell the story to anyone that hasn’t heard it…or is willing to listen again.
My husband has embraced these quirky things I glom on to, and he goes the extra mile – as his love language is gifts – and mine is receiving gifts. Last year he searched and researched and searched some more, and managed to find a print of The Edmund Fitzgerald that he bought from a Shipwreck Museum in Michigan – signed by the artist, David Conklin, and (heart skips a beat) Gordon Lightfoot.
It is one of my prized possessions – right up there with my 10th Anniversary ring – once owned by Elvis Presley – but that’s another story.
Today, I remember the Edmund Fitzgerald and the crew of 29 that perished on that terrible night in November of 1975… exactly nine months before the one-day owner of The Atom Bistro was born. That realization was made not too long ago – and for obvious reasons, I don’t let myself overthink that one.
Here’s to the crew and the ship lost that fateful night, and the powerful reminder that there are natural forces in this world that will never be fully mastered.
The Anniversary I’d Rather Forget
I’ve been putting off writing this – maybe hoping I would run out of time and not have to deal with it. But then the power went off at my house tonight. I would prefer to be home vegging out in front of the tv, but the universe played a cosmic joke on me and forced me back to my office with nothing better to do but write.
This year is the five-year anniversary of Archie Creek. I’ve spent the last five years trying to forget about one of the most traumatizing times in my life, but now I feel like I have to dive back into that pool to remember and somehow honor it.
There are so many stories. Mine doesn’t include loss of property. My story is a simple one – similar to those who have faced death and had a second chance. The second chance is a blessing, but the memories are a curse.
My family was evacuated for seven days. I never want to pack a car with ‘what matters’ ever again. I never want to go through my home and decide what are ‘things’ and what are ‘memories’. I never want to have to console my child having a panic attack while I’m doing my best to hold it together myself.
We imposed on friends we hardly knew and gained an extended family in the process. We found strength in each other in a strange world of isolation and fear… checking hourly updates on the fire advances, trapped indoors because of the heavy smoke laden air… just wanting to breathe – but the entire state was on fire… there was nowhere to go.
While getting my bearings, I felt a responsibility to my community because I owned a business. Donations were flooding 138 Grill, and they were doing a tremendous job of redistributing. I did what I could – what I could afford. There was a community bond that I had never seen before. But there was really no other choice.
2020 will forever be one of the most traumatic years of my life. Owning a restaurant during Covid is enough to make the strongest business owner give up. Many did. I don’t blame them. But after months of struggling – we were kicked when we were down. Everything we were fighting for… everything we were looking forward to getting back to after Covid… All of it. It was burning to the ground. Everywhere. The whole state was on fire… and it seemed everywhere else was a higher priority than our little town. We had to fight for ourselves.
That’s what many residents did. Neighbors and friends gathered shovels, hoses and supplies and did their best to help neighbors. But this fire was hot. This fire was relentless. The fire prevailed, and left scars here that may never heal. At the end of it all, we were changed.
I tend to embrace change. As a military brat, you learn fast that you can embrace it or fight it – but it doesn’t change the outcome. Glide changed that year. The Umpqua changed. The people changed. And I mourned that for a long time. But there is a baptism by fire that can’t be done any other way. This is what we experienced. Glide succumbed; Glide emerged. Glide was different, but Glide was stronger.
Sometimes getting kicked when you are down peels away the layers of vanity, self-righteousness, and ego. What you are left with is so raw and exposed you have no choice but to face it. Turn the ship into the storm and go full throttle.
We’re still working our way out of that storm, but each wave gets a little easier to handle. The winds have calmed, and we can see the sun coming up on the horizon. It’s too early to take our hands off the wheel, and there’s a lot of work to be done yet. We’ve learned a lot of lessons, but it’s time to let go of the pain.
I don’t like looking back. We are moving forward. We are letting go. Archie will be forever imprinted in who I am today, but going forward, I’m choosing to let this memory fade. If ever faced with the dilemma in the future – this is one memory I won’t be packing in my car.
Back to Our Roots
What is The Atom?
Who are we?
Where are we going?
These are questions that have been plaguing my brain for the past few months as I have been striving to find balance in my own life and the lives of my employees.
We have been so ambitious! We’ve taken on events, fine dining, and catering over the past year. And we’ve succeeded more than I ever dreamed with unique recipes, cooking methods, and creative problem solving. We’ve trained bakers, baristas, and cooks. We’ve struggled to stay on top of inventory to create these recipes – which is a challenge living where we live, but we’ve done it. We’ve experimented offering dishes on our dinner menu that we don’t typically see in this area. And we’ve enjoyed being able to offer those things.
But the complexity of offering as many options as we do makes me reflect on our little bistro we had before we moved to our new location, because I think some may have forgotten that we are the same business. The Atom has grown, but it still rides on the same frame it started with. We don’t have a multifaceted team to keep these moving pieces working in tandem. Between me and my manager, Bryar, we handle all of the inventory, scheduling (we have almost 30 employees), creating of systems and procedures, bookkeeping, advertising, monitoring the website and socials, managing employees, settling conflicts, creating prep lists, and monitoring quality control. We are still a very small business, but our outward appearance means the expectations from our customers is higher. We receive much less grace from our customers and are held to a higher standard. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I think much of my life I have thrived by creating something out of nothing. Sewing clothes for my kids when I couldn’t afford to buy them. Learning woodworking to turn scrap wood into bookshelves because that was the only way I would get them. Skills like drywall, painting, cabinetry, upholstery, and art – a way to elevate my life without breaking the bank. If I want to do something, I take on learning that skill instead of hiring it out.
That’s how The Atom came to be. That’s how our new building came to be. I had to learn coffee because I wanted a coffee shop in my photography gallery. I had to learn commercial cooking because I wanted to offer sandwiches. Every cabinet, every piece of drywall, every curtain, every piece of custom art or lighting – I have created – because I can. I never really ask myself if I ‘should’.
Last fall we decided to take on a dinner menu, because we could. And we did it. We decided we would take this little bistro and turn it in to a hybrid restaurant and switch to fine dining in the evenings. The table cloths came out, and I made custom menu covers from my old photography backgrounds. I worked with my chefs to create a menu we could be proud of. And we made some beautiful and tasty dishes.
There were times that I couldn’t believe what we had created. But there were days that I thought I would never see the light at the end of the tunnel. The strain of keeping up with a completely different menu was enough to keep me up at night – and enough to keep me from remembering what life used to feel like.
So, I started asking those questions. Who are we? What are we doing? Where are we going?
I had already violated so many of my own rules. The biggest one was “Know who you are. Don’t try and be someone else. Do what you do and do it well.” I see too many restaurants trying to be everything to everybody. And we all see too many restaurants fail.
“Do what you do. Do it well.”
The Atom has been known for our amazing breakfasts and lunch. Our homemade bread was a gamechanger for us when we honed in that recipe in 2019. And we’ve since added our own homemade cinnamon rolls, banana bread, gluten free bread, flatbreads, and cakes. We use only the freshest ingredients, creative homemade sauces, spreads, and dressings. Our soups sell out regularly, and our burritos keep us hopping. We’ve nailed that menu, and we know it well… because it is US.
But I fell victim to the multiple requests we had for a ‘dinner menu’ when we moved to our new building and extended our hours.
“We need more nice dinner places to eat out here!”
My response should have been, “Yes! You should do that!” But I’m a people pleaser and a self-doubter at my core. So I thought…Maybe we should! We can! We can learn it! Let’s do it!
We did it.
And I’m so proud of what we accomplished, but at the end of the day, The Atom is a casual bistro. That’s where my brain lives. That’s where I rest.
Today, we are finding our way back to our roots. We will serve breakfast burritos all day, regular breakfasts until 2pm, and our Sandwiches, Wraps, Salads, and Tacos all day long. It makes me smile just putting that down on paper. We will still run dinner specials, because we can, and because we actually enjoy making the occasional pasta or steak or tri-tip or meatloaf. We will still do catering, because we can, and we enjoy that as well. But day to day, we are choosing the simpler route. Because we know who we are.
We are The Atom. We are a Coffee Bar and Bistro. We do what we do. And we do it well.
Holiday Reset
This morning I found myself thinking “Okay… I just have to make it through this week.”
If that doesn’t scream “Christmas Spirit” I don’t know what does.
I think this time of year, it is so easy to get caught up in the stress of doing what we feel is expected of us. And running a business during the holidays makes things a little more complicated. How do I run a business, keep on top of the construction bills, get my end of the year taxes ready, remember to do marketing to sell Christmas merchandise AND get my Christmas shopping and baking done, get my house cleaned and decorated for company and find time to express appreciation as we do our best to reflect on the year and those that have done so much to help us out?
Deep Breath.
My son and his fiancé are flying in today. My kids are so excited for Christmas for two reasons… they all get to be together, and because of the gifts they are giving – not because of what they are getting.
*Happy Sigh*
We are fully staffed for the holiday season even though Aiyana (poor Aiyana) is getting her tonsils out this week. We have cover because even though my employees leave for bigger and better things, they almost always come back during breaks. The Atom is their home away from home.
Success.
Everything is going so very smoothly with the build. Our contractors have met and exceeded expectations in spite of rain and cold weather. Every step forward is a step in the right direction and the holidays haven’t slowed things in the least.
Check and mark.
Business is going well with all things considered. We are finishing the year with 18% growth overall, and we will be on par to double that with the expansions coming next year. We receive daily affirmations from customers and community members that are so excited for our new building and location. Yesterday I received a sincere “Thank You for doing this for Glide,” that made my heart melt.
#makingthingshappen
After that thought entered my head this morning, I quickly put myself in check. This isn’t a time to rush through. I need, instead, to focus on the moment and try to soak it in. Things are going to be undone. I might buy that pumpkin pie instead of making it from scratch. There may be some dust on the shelves at home, and we will most likely have to order pizza a few nights from Coho. But my family is going to be together – because they WANT to be. We have created traditions with family and friends – and every year the group gets a little bigger. Too often, my busy life distracts me from so many of the gifts I have.
This Christmas, I’m going to pour myself a mimosa, pop some Nat King Cole on the record player and play some Liar’s Dice with my favorite people… knowing the world will continue next Tuesday – whether I stress about things being perfect or not.
Done and Done.
Merry Christmas!
Building Our Future in Glide
We’re really doing it!
Back in the summer of 2019, we had this brilliant idea. Buy some property and give The Atom its own home. Seemed like a great idea at the time, and we jumped at the chance after talking to the owners of the lot across from GHS – the perfect spot to grow our dream. We are so grateful to Buck Rock Properties (John Livingston and Dick Creighton) for believing that we could build something beneficial to Glide on their piece of property. Without their generosity, we couldn’t have even started this process.
Even with their generosity, we needed help to make this happen. This is where I need to thank my Mom and Dad. I know… I’d rather everyone believe that I was so successful that I could afford to pay for this lot on my own, but without my Mom and Dad (Rick and Mary Jo Johnson), we couldn’t have done it. From the bottom of my heart, I thank them for believing in me and my husband and our ability to pull this off. I promise to do my best to make you proud.
Property in hand, we made some big plans – hired an architect out of Eugene. Many thousands of dollars later, we had a building design that belonged in… well… Eugene. We scrapped the plan and started looking at other ideas. As much as we wanted to show Glide what we had to offer, we also wanted to pay homage to this great little town we call home, keep our eclectic and homey atmosphere and not lose the original Atom in the process. Back to the drawing board.
Then 2020.
We chickened out.
A funny thing happened, though. Throughout the pandemic, multiple closures and regulations, the Archie Creek fires, my time away volunteering for a nonprofit aiding in fire recovery and community development, knee surgery, back surgeries, more fires, supply chain issues, and inflation… we continued to grow. I kept scratching my head. It was something I wanted so badly, but was so sure we’d have to walk away like so many others had to do. But we just kept growing. It became clear that we needed to make some decisions.
And trust me – the decision wasn’t easy. We had so many opportunities to walk away. I had multiple offers on my property… offering more than twice what I paid for it. After all, we were the only commercial lot in Glide that had a water hook up secured. It was tempting, but we declined. Many may not agree with me, but I felt Glide didn’t need more dollar stores – we deserved something more.
We made the decision to do our best to provide that “something more”.
In the summer of 2022, we knew it was now or never. We decided not to scale up business as usual – keep our hours limited to keep operations as simple as possible to focus on the growth of the future business. We figured we would have no problem having a new building by the summer of 2023. We were wrong.
The Financing
Financing this project has been a literal nightmare, and we were very naïve going in to this. We figured if we showed the pattern of growth of 30%-40% annually (except 2022 – since we didn’t ramp up in the summer), listed our limitations with the current location, outlined the business plan of the new location with not only a more central and visible location, a drive through (known to increase sales by 30%), double the seating, double the hours, more efficient set up for faster service, actual parking, more space for local vendor and Atom Merchandise, more ovens for baked goods for sale, and a community space for events, our current and projected business income along with our current personal income – it would be a no-brainer for any financial institution. Again, we were wrong.
As much as I would like to boast how great it is to live in a country where we can all live the American dream, the fact is this… it is built to support large corporations and institutions that already have money. Every bank wanted us to have hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash in hand. They didn’t care we owned the property outright and had doubled that investment, that we had already covered Geotech reports, water hook-ups, surveying, and some engineering. They didn’t care that we had equity in our home and the ability to build at owner cost. They wouldn’t loan on projections. They would only loan on current revenue. Why would I spend this much on a build if I was making what I could make in our current location? We had a few disheartening moments, but we kept turning into the storm to find a way.
At this time, I want to thank a few people that believed in us. We had a great team tirelessly working to find us funding because they knew us, our business, and our dream. There are a few names that must be mentioned:
Matt Kowal at Oregon Pacific Bank. Oregon Pacific wouldn’t lend to us on projections, but that didn’t stop Matt from continuing to help us. He met with us weekly until we had a deal. He continues to work with us to get us through this process.
Michele Laird at the CCD… I can’t thank her enough. Michele took this project under her wing and didn’t stop until it was done. She believed in us from the beginning, and the CCD has been one of our biggest supporters. She was able to get us more funding from the CCD than their typical maximum, and she continues to check in on the progress and offer assistance. The CCD truly looks after small businesses.
Diane Mahoney from the Small Business Development Center. I have known Diane for years, and she jumped at the chance to help us. She has been a great mentor and helped track down multiple avenues and possibilities. I’m sad to know that she is no longer at the SBDC, but Christopher is a great addition and continues to help us through this project.
Morgan Smith at Geneva Financial finally sealed the deal and came in with the funding on a wing and a prayer.
And Jeff’s parents, Gordon and Kathy Brown – when financing didn’t come through as quickly as we expected, they mortgaged their house so we could have the building delivered as expected. Seriously… who does that?
We are so grateful to this entire team for believing in us… and ultimately loving The Atom, us, and this possibility for growth and success.
Our Contracting Team
Our contractors were waiting for the go-ahead for almost five months. After reaching the title company twice, we finally got approval the end of July. Ground broken, we have had contractors working so quickly and been so willing to help us even as we continue to battle timelines for construction draws – believing in the project and being excited to bring this to Glide!
We need to thank:
Trevor Ison at TCI Construction. We are so impressed with his quality of work and flexibility. I am so happy with the concrete work he has provided. John and Amy O’Sullivan at North River Electric – they’ve been so easy to work with and couldn’t be happier with their work. I can’t wait to have enough electricity to both bake bread and make soup without blowing a breaker. Brody Miller at North Umpqua Plumbing – on time and delivered more than promised. I’ve never been so excited about drain lines and floor sinks. H3 Construction – they’re out there now doing a great job getting this building put together. And it’s been a pleasure working with Nick Lovemark at IE Architecture, Eric Ranger at IE Engineering, Tim Swensen at Western Testing, Pam Smith at Gerretsen Building Supply, and of course Glide Water and Glide Idleyld Sanitary District. There will be more thanks coming, but that’s a start.
Mostly – there is one person that deserves more thanks than everyone else. See… I’ve always been a dreamer. I’m an artist. That’s what I do. I dream. But only one person in my life has said “Okay, let’s make this happen.” From designing the building to tirelessly lining up contractors, working a 60-hour work week for Pacific Power and then another 25–30-hour week on our lot excavating to push the work forward, listening to me as I doubt myself, and helping me when he has too much on his plate already. I humbly admit – I’m in love with my general contractor. We were turned down by more than one financial institution because they weren’t comfortable with an ‘owner build’… my licensed and bonded, committed, devoted contractor husband. Never did I consider going another direction. I knew there would never be another person more committed to quality, integrity, efficiency, and devotion to the project – and to me. My husband, Jeff Brown, is the only one for the job.
And with that – I’m going to leave you with what you’ve been dying to see… the rendering of our completed building…rendered by my brother, Scott Johnson of Alturas Homes in Meridian, ID, done as a favor for his big sister. Complete with drive-thru, fire place, indoor to outdoor seating, covered patio, and community space. We are so excited to bring this to Glide. Projected opening? We don’t know. We aim for January and hope for the best. We’ve never done this before… but by the end, we will have more knowledge than we had ever hoped.
My Pompous Gluten-Free Diet
I’m sure you have experienced it. You’re sitting down for a nice meal with a friend in a restaurant. You’re server asks for your drink order, and it happens. Your friend asks for a list of gluten-free options. Ugh.
I’ve seen that look a hundred times. It’s the look of annoyance, but tolerance. They want to ask if I’m just pompous or if I have a real problem. I’ve even heard, “Oh, you’re still doing that?”
“Yes, Susan. I’m still doing that.”
It’s something about the four days of nerve pain that happens when just the tiniest bit of gluten somehow makes it in my food (Thank you, Carl’s Jr. for putting soy sauce powder in your corn chips). I can’t tell you why my body reacts the way that it does. It has never made sense to me, either. It took years of trying to find causes for my symptoms. I had nerve pain, rashes, anxiety, lack of energy… and my hair even fell out (well, not all of it). All I know is that when I stopped eating gluten, those things went away. I eat gluten, and they come back. It kind of makes that warm, amazing, soft, decadent glazed donut seem a lot less appealing.
No, I don’t want to be tested for celiac. It doesn’t matter. If I find out I don’t have it, I will stay away from gluten anyway. It doesn’t change my outcome.
So, every time I travel, eat out, or visit a friend or relative’s house, my stress is not about money or hotels or drama (okay – sometimes drama). My stress is about eating. It’s about getting ‘the look’. It’s about explaining every time I ask for a special menu or ingredients. It’s about how ridiculous I feel asking “What’s in this?” before I scoop up what looks like potato salad on to my plate. I honestly get so tired of dragging a loaf of gluten-free bread with me just so that I have SOMETHING to eat if I can’t find anything else. I wish things could just be easy!
That’s why you’ll see so many gluten-free options at The Atom. While we are not a certified gluten-free kitchen, we are very conscious of the gluten in our cooking environment. All of our potato options are gluten-free. Our oven (we bake instead of fry) rarely sees anything with gluten in it. We have gluten-free breads, waffles, and flat-bread (made by our local Inspiration Mixes). We use corn tortillas for our tacos. Basically, I created a menu that would allow me to eat – and I do… pain free.
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What’s in a Name?
by Jody Brown
One of the questions I hear most often in our shop is, “Why are you called ‘The Atom’?” My answer is usually precluded by a long pause.
As I fumble for some sort of story, the answer usually ends up somewhere in the realm of “I liked the name”. But this always feels like a let down to the listener.
But Why?
Twenty-one years ago, I was pregnant with my second child. A boy. The stress of naming another human being was on me. What if it doesn’t suit him? What if he hates his name? What if it rhymes with a body part I hadn’t thought of? How do I know if it’s right?
The name rolling around in my head that I couldn’t get rid of: Gordon. After settling on this name, I knew from the expressions on the faces of those I told that this would not have been their first choice for the name of my soon-to-be-infant. I was asked why. Was it a family name? Was there some significance? This is all I knew: It felt right.
Gordon works as a barista at The Atom, and if you know him, you know his name suits him just fine. Originally, I had a back-up. I thought I would call him “Gordy” if “Gordon” was too much name for this child. But it never was. The name Gordon felt right from the beginning, and his character has brought that name to life since day one.
The Atom was created in that same way. I love the name. It was named at a time that my husband and I were embracing the Atomic Age in remodeling our home. The logo was created with science in mind. There is a definite science to the production of a good cup of coffee. The simplicity of the name has allowed us to grow and change to suit the needs of our customers and community. And I truly feel we have brought the name to life as we have evolved over the last three years. After all, atoms are building blocks – and we are building something great in our little shop.
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