This email isn't what you'd expect, though, and since I'm a big fan of getting to the point, here it is: My time at Dan Good Cookies is coming to a close. Feel free to check your calendar: it's not April Fool's Day. My last day at Dan Good Cookies will be Friday, December 8.
Some of you may wonder what led me to this decision. I think Dan Good Cookies has much success in its future. However, I find that success increasingly at odds with the things in my life that are more important than my work, like my husband David. (And before you send him angry DMs, he had absolutely no say in this decision and didn't try to influence me. It was all me.) To find myself at the head of a cookie empire, having lost the things that matter most to me, would be the hollowest victory imaginable. For that reason, I have decided to move on to other projects.
Now, this might leave you wondering what will happen to Dan Good Cookies. This is the first time I have announced my intentions publicly; consequently, there is currently no one in line for the brand, space, or equipment. So if you're thinking, "Gee, I bet I could run a bakery, and I'd do a way better job than Dan!" now is the time to let me know! I guarantee we are one of the most efficient bakery setups in the area. We have no debt, and the space is built out and ready to sell baked goods as fast as you can make them. But you'll want to let me know ASAP because otherwise we'll be selling off equipment and vacating our retail space.
(For those who will inevitably ask what equipment we have: We have a double-stack commercial convection oven with space for 10 full-size sheet pans at a time, 3 double-door freezers, 1 double-door refrigerator, an 80-quart Hobart mixer, somewhere around 200 full-size sheet pans, a dough sheeter (for biscuits and cut-out cookies), and a commercial cookie-dough-puck machine. Not to mention all the tables, ingredient bins, utensils, rolling racks, packaging, etc. We won't be offering any of this equipment for sale à la carte, but I wanted to give you an idea of what kind of equipment you would have access to.)
With all that in mind, I hope you know how grateful I am for you and your support over the last 7+ years. Without hyperbole, Dan Good Cookies has been the catalyst to me having some of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. Whether it was being the recipient of an outpouring of community love, finding my logo cleverly hidden in a beloved video game, or sitting down for a casual lunch with my literal heroes, no amount of time or money will ever replace those things. The Livermore community is warm and welcoming, and you have a lot to offer our other local businesses. I have become good friends with many of you, and I will miss catching up with you every week.
Little by little, you may notice certain products disappearing from our lineup. This will happen as we use up the last of whatever ingredients are used in those products. So if there's something you really want, I highly suggest ordering it before it's gone!
Every newsletter, I always sign off with "Be Good!" I hope you know I don't mean that in the same sense you tell your children or your pets when you leave the house. My intent is to express that I want nothing but good things for you and your loved ones. Whether your experiences with me and Dan Good Cookies have been good, bad, or somewhere in between, I hope you are inspired to be a force for good to those around you every day.
I'll send one final goodbye when we've wrapped up things at the store. Until then:
Be Good!
- Dan
