Let me say, this was not done without considerable thought and analysis.  It is the single biggest change our company has gone through since going from a single location to two locations.  Believe me, I have heard an earful from customers and investors who questioned this change in the beginning.  One comment in particular that brought me pause was, “Oh, Jeff must finally be burning out as he clearly has started to compromise on his original vision.”  It is human nature to challenge change and I have enjoyed all of the conversations and debates over the past few months with all of the very passionate people inside our culture.  I am proud to see how many people truly care about what we are doing.  I can assure you that I am not “burned out”, I have not “compromised” in any way, rather my energy level and enthusiasm are at an all time high.  The clarity for what the Caturra brand stands for is more focused than ever and the evolution over the past five years has been incredible.  And we are just getting started!      

Let me also say, we are in business to make money.  Everything else we do flows from that.  Without profitability, NONE of the other goals we have can be reached or sustained.  Without this success, we cannot continue to create the memorable social experience we want our customers to have, we cannot be an active part of the community, we cannot continue to provide leadership opportunities, career growth opportunities, pay or benefits to any of our Caturrians.  Without profitability, our investors will look for more lucrative opportunities for their investments and we will no longer have funds to drive the opening of new stores.

 In the end, every decision we make has to consider the effects on our customers, our Caturrians, our investors, our purveyors and the communities that we operate in. 

 That said, yes, the morning was a very special part of the business for me.  I started my hospitality career managing a local coffee shop and prior to that I spent years playing music in hip cool shops across the country.  I connected with the energy and creativity of what a great coffee shop stood for and those values were the foundation for the birth of the Caturra brand.  I was (and still am at our Midlothian Village Square store) so pleased with the experience we delivered to our customers during breakfast and I always loved walking into our stores and seeing the roasters churning away and the linger crowd sitting in a custom made oversized leather chair by the wood burning fire place sipping their vista coffee and eating their fresh made Deniro on a local bagel reading a complimentary copy of the Wall Street Journal.  But the one thing that was always missing was the long lines and constant “in and out” traffic in the morning and for that reason, the “breakfast” experience is one that we have chosen to not compete for in this economy at this time.

 Since making this change, we immediately have seen benefits to our operations.  Most importantly, our store leadership is better rested and able to devote themselves to the most profitable day-parts.  Just yesterday I met with all of our Directing Partners, and many of our Key Holders and Trainers and we talked in length about their quality of life since we made this change.  Their morale, focus and energy levels were at an all time high, and over the last eight weeks our company has experienced zero turn-over.  Not just at the management and key holder levels, but throughout the company as a whole.  The bottom line is all of our people are as happy and motivated as ever, and that is a very good thing.  

For those who supported us over the years at breakfast I want to thank you for your loyal business.  Our Midlothian Village Square location will remain open in the morning for now.  If you haven’t tried us for lunch or light dinner and wine at night, I urge you to do so.  

Finally, I want to thank all of our people inside the Caturra family for making 2009 a very special and successful year, especially all of our dedicated and loyal customers who continue to support us despite these very tough economic times. Our Caturrians, Dexter, Dan, Matt, Chris, John, Alex, Tom, Keith, Jill, Adriane, Bonnie, Lawson, Brandon, Jackie, Billy and ALL of our talented people inside our stores.  You truly are the essence of our brand, and you are the absolute BEST!  Thank you.  I also want to give a special thanks to our investors across all of our companies for your ongoing support, patience, feedback, and loyal partnership.    I look forward to an exciting 2010, and we will continue to build upon all of the successes we have created so far.  I wish all of you a peaceful holiday season with your friends and family, and a very Merry Christmas.

 Best,

 Jeff Grant

Founder, Café Caturra