Farmhouse Cafe Interview.

This is my favorite place to sit--the inviting porch!


I just got a call from the owner of The Farmhouse Cafe--Mr. Mike Nickels--I'd just put Joe down for a nap, I had dogs chewing on giant bones at my feet, I had just sat down for the first time today-- I wasn't expecting his call at that moment--needless to say I was caught off guard. But I did manage to remember a fragment of the bulk of the questions I'd wanted to ask him.

Come to find out The Farmhouse Cafe started as just an old house that sat on some property he owned. He rented it out for long-term rentals and was sick of seeing it trashed repeatedly because he always liked the structure. An idea was brewing in the back of his head. He already had the Flower and Herb Barn next door so he decided it might be nice to have a place where the customers from the greenhouse could come over and have a glass of tea and maybe some dessert--thus, The Farmhouse Cafe was born.

In the Cafe and the Herb Barn, as well as the Flower shop in Nashville there are so many wonderful accessories for sale. I asked him what he looked for in those items to sell and he said garden themes and a sense of whimsy were very important. He accomplished that as well as finding unique, nostalgic, vintage-y pieces that make my heart swoon.

Lastly I asked him if he had any advice for somebody wanting to start their own business--being that he has started quite a few enterprises, with such varied themes that I could be my male counterpart (from a camp, to a flower shop, to a cafe), I figured he was the person to ask. He said LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION--which I find amusing because The Farmhouse Cafe is tucked way off the main road, but is always packed full of people. He said a willingness to provide quality is a good draw as well (I'm a big believer in that). He said you should be service oriented, customer friendly, and have a definite sense of stick-to-itiveness. All these things I'm going to take to heart.

I'm glad he called--I wish I would've been a bit more pulled together with my questions, but as I said I was (a) caught off guard, and (b) nervous. I'm The Farmhouse Cafe's biggest fan, and I am urging you very strongly to take a trip to Bean Blossom at your earliest convenience. You'll have the best meal of your life, and you'll be surrounded by lovingly tended greenhouse goods that you can stroll through lazily as your food digests. You won't be disappointed.

Here is The Farmhouse Cafe's website: http://farmhousecafeandtearoom.com/