[title subtitle=”words: Marla Cantrell
images courtesy: Marla Cantrell and Jessica Wooden”][/title]
2013 was a stressful year for Michael and Jamie Moore. Michael, who worked for an oil and gas company, had been laid off after almost a decade on the job. For years, he’d been on the road, away from his home in Van Buren, Arkansas, for days at a time. He didn’t like the travel, and his wife liked it even less. Her dream was to have a business with Michael, to spend days and nights with the man she’d married.
After the initial shock wore off, the two sat down at their kitchen table. They talked, throwing out ideas about what to do next. They prayed together. What they came to understand was that while losing Michael’s income was scary, it was also an opportunity to dream. If they were careful and thoughtful they could end up in a better place. While it was thrilling to consider the possibilities, the reality of that missing paycheck loomed large. They had no backup; they’d been living off Michael’s salary so that Jamie could stay home with their young children.
Not long after, while driving around town, they passed by a small building that sits near the railroad tracks on a street that is a thoroughfare for travelers heading to and from the interstate. They drove by again. The building had housed a drive-through coffee shop, and then a drive-through egg roll restaurant. Neither business had survived.
Michael and Jamie couldn’t quit thinking about the tiny structure, which was only 750 square feet. Neither had a background in the restaurant business. The only food experience they’d had was starting a food pantry at a church they’d previously attended. Still, they called the owner of the building, looked around, and then Michael said, “Let’s just do it.”
What they loved were the bistros where they’d often gone for lunch, places with soups and sandwiches and bright, fresh salads. They thought Van Buren could use a place like that, and they felt the location was perfect. The Crawford County Courthouse is just a stone’s throw away, and the workers there could be great customers. The police and sheriff’s department, the Van Buren City offices, the corporate offices for USA Truck, and dozens of small businesses are also nearby.
The name, Daily Bread, came to Jamie in a dream. She got up the next morning, talked to Michael, and even showed him the logo she envisioned, sheaves of wheat tied together with a bow. With the name in place they began gearing up for their opening. In October, 2013, they were ready to go. It was a scary day — they didn’t know if ten people would show up, or a hundred. They’d taken the rent money for the house they were living in and used it as a deposit on the building. “We didn’t have any other income coming in,” Jamie said. “All we had was sheer work and a whole lot of faith.”
In November, 2013, when they’d been at it for just over a month, they caused a traffic jam in this town of 23,000. “I looked out and people had just parked all over here,” Jamie said, pointing out the window where gravel covers the surrounding space. “They were standing in our parking lot and cars were lined up on the street. I thought, How are we going to serve all these people? We just took it one customer at a time and we made it through. By the end of the day we could barely stand.”
Business kept growing. Schoolteachers became some of their best customers, calling in orders for as many as ten of their co-workers. Regulars often ate both breakfast and lunch from Daily Bread. Everything was going well until last winter, when the snow came and ice fell over and over, stalling the entire town. “I think it hit us harder because we are a drive-through. You couldn’t come inside and get out of the cold,” Jamie said.
When spring arrived, they celebrated, watching the flood of customers return. Again, traffic bottlenecked in front of their shop. Michael, who’s the primary cook, was grateful they’d made it through that first hard time. He’d been getting up at three every morning, working until six at night. He’d put everything he had into Daily Bread, even using his mother’s potato soup recipe as one of the mainstays on the menu. “It sells out almost every day,” he said, smiling wide. He then listed other bestsellers: the turkey and Swiss, the grilled chicken, the Reuben, and the cucumber salad with sweet Vidalia dressing. At breakfast, the bacon, egg and cheese croissants are popular, as well as the turnovers — the raspberry is particularly good.
But it’s not just the food that draws people in. Jamie believes their success has just as much to do with their faith. They prayed fiercely about what to do when Michael lost his job, and this was the answer they got. To give back, they’ve done a few creative things, like “Name Your Own Price” day. “One of the things we wanted to do was to give people the opportunity to eat for free, if they needed that,” Michael said. “It shocked everybody. They’d say, ‘How much does that cost?’ We learned we could be a blessing that way. We had a few who ate for free, and we had a few that paid more than what the actual cost was, because I think they liked the idea of what we were doing. And that blessed us because we realized we lived in a community where people want to be a blessing just as much as we do.”
Jamie chimed in. “We also did a live radio remote with Spirit 106.3 called ‘Pay it Forward.’ We had so much fun. Spirit 106.3 paid for our first customer’s meal and then the customers just kept it going, paying for the person behind them, if they wanted to. There was a customer who came through who’d been eating ramen noodles for a week and said what a help it was to have that meal paid for. That really touched my heart. Our pastor came by and left a twenty dollar bill. It was a joy to see the goodness in people.”
Because they have a heart to help the hungry, they have even bigger plans. One day they’d like to have a place where they could operate Daily Bread as a restaurant and as a place where those in need could get a free meal. They’ve read about other restaurants that do that, and they don’t see why it can’t be done in Van Buren.
They also want to grow more of their own food — right now they do what they can by growing herbs, tomatoes and potatoes at their home and buying from farmer’s markets. It is a big plan for a couple spending their days in 750 square feet, often with one of their two employees.
One of their co-workers, Annie, was listening as the two described their vision for Daily Bread. She waited until both Michael and Jamie were busy helping customers, and then she said, “This is such a great place to work. They’re such nice people. I love being here, being part of this.”
Annie smiled as she returned to her post. A red truck stopped at the window. The driver was picking up a breakfast croissant. Michael handed over the order, leaned past Annie, and said, “We appreciate you, man,” and the driver smiled so wide he brightened every corner of the tiny building.
Jamie was busy, wrapping up several peanut butter cookies, getting ready for the lunch crowd. She was humming while she worked, and Michael touched her arm as he passed her. The two seemed in sync, working easily together, happy to spend so much time together. It wasn’t so long ago when a day like this seemed impossible to imagine, when Michael was on the road. They wouldn’t go back if they could because when night falls they’ll be at home with their family, hearing their kids’ stories, making plans for the next day and the next, dreaming big dreams about the future they’re building together.
