Humor Brings in the Dough
Humor brings in the dough. Or should I say, the dough brings in the humor…
Many restaurants have CURBside pickup, but how many have CARBside pickup? How many cafes have baguette helmets with a seal of approval from the Café Distancing Defense System?
When I read about Bread and Cie in San Diego (Hillcrest, to be exact) I had to check this place out for myself. If ever there was a case example of Funny Means Money, this had to be the place. So my pal, Shirley, and I set a date to finally meet — finally! — face-to-face, or mask-to-mask, so to speak.
The success of this delightful cafe is a result of owner Charles Kaufman’s creativity and sense of humor. When Shirley and I walked in, we found that the tables were not spread out in a socially-distanced manner. However, certain tables were occupied by life-sized Muppet-like creatures…to keep people from sitting where they shouldn’t. Now that is funny and brilliant!
And as if that weren’t enough, Bread and Cie owner Kaufman has created the world’s first baguette helmet! It’s a construction helmet with baguettes jutting out from each side of it, thus demonstrating an easy way to gauge appropriate social distancing,
In a recent interview, Kaufman said, “One of the reasons we’re trying to keep it light and fun is we find customers are more agreeable to the requirements that we’re asking of them — masks and keeping the appropriate distance.
“I think we are a community place here, so people get some sort of comfort out of it. Plus it’s more fun to serve customers and welcome back folks in our community. The way I see it, if you can’t be profitable, at least be funny. And during these times, we really cannot be profitable.”
The food, and the humor, make Bread and Cie a treasure, and have-no-doubt, I’ll be going back again, if they’ll have me. (Who knew the baguette helmets weren’t really for human consumption?!)
Karyn Buxman, neurohumorist, helps people reap the benefits of using humor by choice, not just by chance. Discover for yourself at ChooseHumor.com