"Thomas Jefferson said a democracy is dependent on an informed citizenry. I don't care whether it sounds corny or not. It's the truth." -Jim Lehrer
Carefree Truth
Issue #1051, September 5, 2022
Issue #1051, September 5, 2022
With the election officially over and no new Council meeting items to report yet, I combed back through a few months of Call to the Public for items that are still relevant, to produce a newsletter for today.
Don Little, owner of the Black Mountain Cafe and Coffee Shop in Spanish Village, spoke during Call to the Public at the April 5th meeting. He stated that, as a business owner, he is very excited about the Hampton coming to downtown Carefree. Although he was excited, he saw some people on social media complaining about it, so he walked over to see why they were complaining. He really didn't see a problem other than the yellow color. He would have preferred a more earth tone.
He reiterated that he was very excited about the hotel and thought it was something the town needed. When he goes to visit his family in small towns in New England, they invite him to stay with them, which is the last thing he wants to do. Many of the people coming from out of town are visiting family, and now they have somewhere right in the downtown to stay. He is delighted that there is now another option.
Mayor Les Peterson invited Mr. Little to talk about his new business, Grind & Gears. He thanked the Mayor for the opportunity and noted that he and his wife have owned the Black Mountain Cafe and Coffee shop for almost 5 years. While they had a setback in 2020, they just recorded the best month they've ever had. He's had a dream for about 10 years to open a bicycle and coffee shop. When he saw 10 Easy Street for sale and saw there were glass doors on the back side too he said, "Well, there's my building".
After only being open for about 30 days, they were doing better than he thought they'd be doing so soon. They had already rented and sold a lot of bikes. After the final health inspection the previous Thursday, they were now selling coffee, espresso drinks, and smoothies. (Lyn's note: They have recently added waffles, and their outdoor patio is dog friendly). They sell and rent electric bikes, mountain bikes, road bikes, and gravel bikes. They also sell bike accessories. He quit his corporate job a few months ago and said it felt good to be back in the Carefree community.
Councilman Vince D'Aliesio asked if Grind & Gears also does repairs and maintenance. Mr. Little said they do, and they have a master repairman. Councilman Stephen Hatcher added that his wife wants a bike. I was later told that she did buy a bike from Grind and Gears.
(Lyn's note: Vince recently broadcast his Saturday morning "Varsity Sports Show" from Grind & Gears, with Vice Mayor John Crane as a guest. Herbert brought over his camera and made a fun short 1 minute & 18 second video with still shots for our new Carefree business. Enjoy!
https://vimeo.com/726598159 )
https://vimeo.com/696779296
A speaker at the June 7th Call to the Public said he and his wife moved to Carefree from Chicago 2 years ago. "It's a beautiful town, especially coming from a city like Chicago." Mike and Helen moved here for the natural beauty of the Sonoran Desert, the clean air, less traffic, and peace and tranquility, as stated on the Town website. Their house and others like it in Carefree that have a direct southwest line of sight to the Hampton Inn find the excessively bright lights of the hotel an eyesore and an affront to the beauty of the Sonoran Desert and the dark skies appeal of beautiful Carefree. He asked that something be done to reduce the light pollution of the Hampton Inn at night.
https://vimeo.com/718167537
Also at the June 7th Call to the Public, Evelyn Johnson, the Executive Director of the Cave Creek Museum (CCM), said the CCM had an incredible year. She wanted to shine a good light on Covid. They had over 10,000 visitors this season, which is a huge amount even previous to Covid. She thought that Covid made people want to discover their own community, which she felt helped drive those numbers. These numbers didn't even include the Arizona Gold Mining Experience that pulled in over 100 people every time it ran. They didn't know what to do with crowds, but it was a nice problem to have.
Although the CCM is now closed for the summer, the back door is always open, and as long as you don't mind things not in the perfect condition expected in a museum, people are welcome to come in to look around, get a tour, chat, and ask questions. Mrs. Johnson handed copies of the CCM's annual report to each of the Council members and to the Town Clerk. She noted that it is available on the CCM website, or if people called and wanted a copy, they would print it and have it available for pick up at the museum.
She thanked the Mayor and Council for the opportunity to talk about the museum. The Mayor thanked her for coming and told her to keep up the great work.
https://vimeo.com/718163705
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Copyrighted
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list.
Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.
Don Little, owner of the Black Mountain Cafe and Coffee Shop in Spanish Village, spoke during Call to the Public at the April 5th meeting. He stated that, as a business owner, he is very excited about the Hampton coming to downtown Carefree. Although he was excited, he saw some people on social media complaining about it, so he walked over to see why they were complaining. He really didn't see a problem other than the yellow color. He would have preferred a more earth tone.
He reiterated that he was very excited about the hotel and thought it was something the town needed. When he goes to visit his family in small towns in New England, they invite him to stay with them, which is the last thing he wants to do. Many of the people coming from out of town are visiting family, and now they have somewhere right in the downtown to stay. He is delighted that there is now another option.
Mayor Les Peterson invited Mr. Little to talk about his new business, Grind & Gears. He thanked the Mayor for the opportunity and noted that he and his wife have owned the Black Mountain Cafe and Coffee shop for almost 5 years. While they had a setback in 2020, they just recorded the best month they've ever had. He's had a dream for about 10 years to open a bicycle and coffee shop. When he saw 10 Easy Street for sale and saw there were glass doors on the back side too he said, "Well, there's my building".
After only being open for about 30 days, they were doing better than he thought they'd be doing so soon. They had already rented and sold a lot of bikes. After the final health inspection the previous Thursday, they were now selling coffee, espresso drinks, and smoothies. (Lyn's note: They have recently added waffles, and their outdoor patio is dog friendly). They sell and rent electric bikes, mountain bikes, road bikes, and gravel bikes. They also sell bike accessories. He quit his corporate job a few months ago and said it felt good to be back in the Carefree community.
Councilman Vince D'Aliesio asked if Grind & Gears also does repairs and maintenance. Mr. Little said they do, and they have a master repairman. Councilman Stephen Hatcher added that his wife wants a bike. I was later told that she did buy a bike from Grind and Gears.
(Lyn's note: Vince recently broadcast his Saturday morning "Varsity Sports Show" from Grind & Gears, with Vice Mayor John Crane as a guest. Herbert brought over his camera and made a fun short 1 minute & 18 second video with still shots for our new Carefree business. Enjoy!
https://vimeo.com/726598159 )
https://vimeo.com/696779296
A speaker at the June 7th Call to the Public said he and his wife moved to Carefree from Chicago 2 years ago. "It's a beautiful town, especially coming from a city like Chicago." Mike and Helen moved here for the natural beauty of the Sonoran Desert, the clean air, less traffic, and peace and tranquility, as stated on the Town website. Their house and others like it in Carefree that have a direct southwest line of sight to the Hampton Inn find the excessively bright lights of the hotel an eyesore and an affront to the beauty of the Sonoran Desert and the dark skies appeal of beautiful Carefree. He asked that something be done to reduce the light pollution of the Hampton Inn at night.
https://vimeo.com/718167537
Also at the June 7th Call to the Public, Evelyn Johnson, the Executive Director of the Cave Creek Museum (CCM), said the CCM had an incredible year. She wanted to shine a good light on Covid. They had over 10,000 visitors this season, which is a huge amount even previous to Covid. She thought that Covid made people want to discover their own community, which she felt helped drive those numbers. These numbers didn't even include the Arizona Gold Mining Experience that pulled in over 100 people every time it ran. They didn't know what to do with crowds, but it was a nice problem to have.
Although the CCM is now closed for the summer, the back door is always open, and as long as you don't mind things not in the perfect condition expected in a museum, people are welcome to come in to look around, get a tour, chat, and ask questions. Mrs. Johnson handed copies of the CCM's annual report to each of the Council members and to the Town Clerk. She noted that it is available on the CCM website, or if people called and wanted a copy, they would print it and have it available for pick up at the museum.
She thanked the Mayor and Council for the opportunity to talk about the museum. The Mayor thanked her for coming and told her to keep up the great work.
https://vimeo.com/718163705
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Copyrighted
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list.
Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.