Walked past my old coffee cart at the Bothell farmers market and counted 47 people in line this morning

I used to run that cart three summers ago and my best day was maybe 20 customers, so seeing that line made me wonder what I was doing wrong, has anyone else revisited an old spot and felt weirdly proud but also a little jealous?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancy47518d ago

Well damn, that's a gut punch for sure. But here's something nobody's talking about - maybe the cart itself became more of a draw over time just by sticking around. Three years ago you were the new thing people had to discover, and now it's probably just become this familiar spot everyone knows. Sometimes success is just about being the one who didn't quit, and that stings when you're the one who walked away first.

john_cooper18d agoTop Commenter

That's a really good point that I hadn't considered. The cart probably did become part of the neighborhood's daily rhythm after a while. People get used to seeing the same pushcart every morning on their way to work, and that familiarity builds a steady kind of loyalty. The newness wears off but consistency creates its own value over time. It's a hard thing to realize that just showing up day after day might be worth more than being the first or the flashiest. Makes you wonder if success is more about endurance than being ahead of the curve.

aaron88417d ago

Man, that's brutal. I totally get that weird mix of feelings, it's like being happy for the place but also kicking yourself a little. Seeing that kind of success after you put in the work has to sting in a way nobody warns you about. It's kind of like when you break up with someone and they get their life together right after, you know? You did the hard part of starting it up and then someone else gets to enjoy the payoff. But it doesn't mean you did anything wrong, just that the timing was different for you. Still, I bet that line looked pretty wild to stand there and watch...