Simply True North Cafe N Gifts a simple place to savor moments
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Although there have been several twists and turns since she started her business, Tracey Bartholomew, owner of Simply True North Cafe N Gifts, has always stayed true to the motto of "A Simple Place to Savor Moments."
In 2016 Tracy and her business partner and friend, Terry Garner opened the Simply Savor Cafe at the former Christian Life Bookstore.
They decided they wanted to expand and they had heard about the Williamsport Regional Airport having a small kiosk and they thought it would be a good location to sell their Simply Savor cookies.
"Then we came down when we were asking about that. They were like, "Oh, didn't you hear? We're tearing down the airport and we're building a new one," she said.
In 2018 they got picked to operate the cafe area at the new terminal, but because of building it and the pandemic, they weren't certified until July 2020. That is when they changed the name to Simply Savor on the Fly.
When they first opened at the airport there were full flights coming in and out so they opened basically as just a cafe. And then American Airlines pulled their service out of the local airport.
"We kind of had to start thinking out of the box," she shared.
With the passing of Garner last year, Bartholomew is the only employee at the cafe, so the caterings are mostly in the mornings. Right now she has groups that meet on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, but she would like to expand that.
"I'm actually looking for Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays, like other groups that would like to do the caterings. I set it up buffet style here on the counter, and they have the whole meeting space here and everything," she said.
The space holds close to 30 people plus Bartholomew said that she has extra tables and chairs that could be used to accommodate a larger group. There is also another meeting room that is available as well as the capability for holding virtual meetings in the cafe area. And of course, there is the panoramic view of the mountains with the sunrise as an added benefit the cafe offers.
With only one flight going out and coming in during the day, again, Bartholomew needed to get creative.
"I like to joke that I'm like a well diversified portfolio. We have the cookies that we do in other locations. Our Simply Saver cookie bundles, and then we sell them at different shows and stuff like that. And then we started doing the caterings. Then we have the cafe open sporadically, mostly for our regulars. We're usually open on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and Thursday afternoons. But our main thing right now is promoting the Air Market that we started on Saturdays," she said.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. On Saturdays, Bartholomew and her staff, which she brings in for the day, run the markets which offer local vendors an opportunity to sell their products.
She wanted to emphasize that no employees of the airport are involved with the markets.
"It is completely staffed by us here at Simply True North, and mostly we set it up at the time for the last two or three years when we didn't have flights," she said.
"I was taking the cookies and we were running to craft shows, and we were running to markets, and we were running all over the place, and we have this beautiful space here. So the concept was to help other small local businesses by them coming in, setting up vendor spots on Saturday, and then I do a full buffet breakfast and lunch," she explained.
There is enough space to fit about 12 vendor tables inside and ten along the outside walkway. The numbers have fluctuated with the seasons, but they have had up to 30 vendors at the market.
On Aug. 22, the cafe is hosting what they're calling the "Runway to Fun."
"At this point. We're up to 16 vendors signed up, and then we are also doing things like we've asked to have one of the fire trucks brought down, so we're calling it Touch a Truck. You know, having the kids come out and get pictures taken with the truck. We're gonna also try to promote some pin exchanges and stuff like that, since it will be during Little League," she said.
With all that going to go on at the cafe,Bartholomew still maintains that concept of "a simple place to savor moments."
"We want that feeling of like you know life's crazy out there. Come on in, enjoy the view, take a moment.. So you won't find the hustle and bustle. I never have any intentions of really being an extremely busy restaurant. It's more like that little cozy, quiet place where you can kind of hide away, get a nice little sandwich, soups, fresh baked cookies, and just escape life a little bit for a moment," she said.
The last rebranding of the cafe to Simply True North came after Garner's passing. They had always joked that they wanted to franchise and open in Alaska. They also liked that the name referenced Jesus as the true north.
Referring to Garner, Bartholomew said, "When he passed, I just felt that it was either give up completely and not keep going, close up, or keep going and kind of remarket and dedicate and stuff. So the simply true north is definitely that concept-a little tribute to him, she added.
Check out the cafe's Facebook page, Simply True North N Gifts for more details about the August event.