Today we’d like to introduce you to Gail and Kevin Tomlinson.
Gail and Kevin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
We (Kevin and Gail) have been living in Flowery Branch since early 2003. We are passionate about great coffee, great food, and loving our neighbors.
“What an opportunity we get to serve our friends and neighbors in this beautiful city!” Our desire is to be the center of our community where everyone feels not only welcome but celebrated each time they visit. Whole Being Cafe is a coffee house with a purpose! To serve, lift up, and enrich the lives of those we encounter daily. Celebrating what’s important to our customers and to our community motivates us and our team!
No good cause is worth a bad cup of coffee, so we serve only organic pesticide-free coffee. All our food is prepared fresh in-house. We are also sincere about supporting other small businesses, so we partner with local bakeries for fresh bread, delicious pastries, and desserts.
Serving all varieties of coffees, hot and iced, including Cold Brew and Nitro-Brew. Our breakfast and lunch specialties are available open to close.
FEED A NEIGHBOR
PAY IT FORWARD INITIATIVE
Feed A Neighbor
Make a big difference with a small effort. The FAN Club is a collection of small donations over time to make a BIG difference in the lives of our neighbors. Alone we cannot feed everyone, BUT together we can feed more and make a difference. Ask about our FAN card whenever you stop into the cafe.
Here is how the FAN card works:
When you place an order, you can ask for your total to be rounded up or you can simply make a donation of any amount to the FAN card. The FAN card will be kept at the register. Anyone in need of a good hot meal can come into Whole Being Cafe, place their order at the counter, and ask, “Can you put that on the FAN card?” The meal will then be charged to the card. At some point in our lives, we all have found ourselves in a place where we could use a little help. No one will know whether you are donating to the FAN card or using the FAN card to pay for your meal. As funds on the card grow, WBC is positioned to help with Straight Street Ministries’ Backpack Love outreach program that feeds over 800 families a month in Hall County, and with Mercy Chefs’ disaster relief organization feeding victims, volunteers, and first responders in areas of natural disasters.
ALL OF US TOGETHER CAN HELP “FEED A NEIGHBOR.”
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Who knew that the year we decided to open Whole Being Cafe would be the year of the Pandemic just 3 months later?! It was an initial shock, and at first we thought we had made a huge mistake, but it became a helpful “blessing” in disguise. It forced us to grow slowly which enabled us to build and develop an incredible relationship with our community and other small, locally-owned businesses alike. It gave us time to truly become who and what we are today!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Whole Being Cafe?
We are a coffee shop cafe serving organic pesticide-free coffees alongside a unique breakfast and lunch menu. What we really do is bring the community together. We are not about turning tables and moving customers through our doors but rather inviting them to stay a while……..relax, visit with friends, co-workers, and family.
You get more than just a greeting when you walk through our doors. You get “celebrated”, (recognized, known, seen, and heard), called by name, welcomed in with a hug, a handshake, a smile, engagement, and conversation. We, Kevin and Gail as the owners are always on-site working alongside our team. Loving our team and loving our guests.
You come in the first time as a customer, but from then on you come in as family… that’s what community is and that is what we are.
What matters most to you?
Living and serving with integrity and intentionality. Leading by example. Loving with and on purpose. Engaging with guests and creating an experience for each patron. The most important goal we have set for our coffee shop cafe is that each guest leaves feeling seen, heard, known, celebrated, and feeling better than when they came in. We work diligently to do that with excellence in three main areas… 1. food and coffee, 2. service, 3. environment, (the energy and vibe)! If we hit on all three with purpose and intent, then we reach our goal for our guests, soon-to-be friends, then family…… “to leave better than when they came.”
We get a chance, for a brief moment daily, when a guest chooses to stop by our cafe for coffee, breakfast, or lunch, to make a small influence in their day. We strive to take that moment, that short opportunity to make it a positive, enriching influence.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wholebeingcafe.com
