Chapter 36: 36: Golden Spoon Cafe?
The office remained silent for a few moments after the chef left.
Benny then looked at the closed door before asking, "So... what was that about?"
Sarah let out a tired sigh and dropped back into her chair.
"He was the chef I hired a few weeks ago."
Benny pulled out a chair and sat down.
Sarah continued.
"When we signed the contract, we agreed that if the café expanded successfully, we’d eventually introduce some of his own dishes onto the menu."
She rubbed her temples.
"At the time, I thought he was being reasonable. I assumed he would wait until the business became profitable before pushing for expansion."
Benny winced slightly.
Profitable.
Sarah didn’t notice his wince as she continued,"Instead, he’s been bringing it up almost every week."
She leaned back.
"Some of his suggestions weren’t completely unreasonable, so I listened."
Benny suddenly had a bad feeling about this but Sarah continued on.
"He suggested reducing portion sizes."
Bang! It was a direct hit.
"He also suggested hiring more college students because they cost less."
Another shot fired!
Benny felt as though he’d just been shot twice.
No, this was dangerous, very dangerous. He couldn’t let her continue on.
He immediately sat up.
"No, no, no."
Sarah blinked.
"What?"
"The portions aren’t the problem."
Sarah looked confused but Benny nodded seriously.
"They’re absolutely not the problem. Right now, your biggest advantage is that everyone knows this place gives larger portions than other cafes."
Sarah looked away awkwardly.
"You also think the portions are unusually large?"
Benny hesitated before replying,"...Perhaps a little."
Sarah immediately slumped and Benny quickly tried to recover.
"But look on the bright side, you have more satisfied customers than most cafes."
Sarah sighed.
"I suppose."
Her shoulders drooped.
"Honestly, I don’t know anymore."
The office became quiet.
After a few seconds, Sarah looked at him.
"Actually... I should probably apologize."
Benny frowned.
"For what?"
"You invested money into this café."
Her voice became softer.
"You own fifteen percent of the business."
Benny nodded.
"And?"
Sarah forced out a small smile.
"If things keep going like this, I might have to close it."
Benny froze.
Close it? Close the cafe?
The words echoed through his head.
Absolutely not. There was no way he was allowing that to happen.
Not when this was currently his most promising loss-making asset.
Benny immediately stood up.
Before Sarah could react, Benny placed both hands on her shoulders.
"Believe in yourself."
Sarah stared at him and noticed that Benny’s expression was filled with confidence.
"Today, I came here specifically to discuss expansion."
Sarah looked surprised and slightly suspicious.
Benny continued.
"I’ve been very satisfied with what you’ve done here.
Tell me. Why do you think this cafe isn’t making money despite being full almost every day?"
Sarah answered immediately.
"Because our portions are too large compared to our prices. We’re operating at a loss per every sale."
"Wrong!"
The answer came so quickly that Sarah froze.
"...What?"
Sarah stared at him.
Had she overlooked something? Was there another issue? A hidden cost?
Sarah found herself leaning forward slightly.
Benny pointed toward the window before saying with a straight face.
"It’s because you don’t have delivery."
"What?"
"Delivery."
Benny nodded confidently.
"Door-to-door delivery."
Sarah blinked.
"How does that solve anything?"
"It increases sales."
Sarah immediately pointed out the obvious problem.
"We already lose money every time someone buys food. Wouldn’t increasing sales just make us lose more money?"
Benny opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Sarah continued.
"And we’d have to pay delivery workers too."
She shook her head.
"I know you’re enthusiastic about this."
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"But I don’t think I can continue operating the business."
Benny’s expression stiffened slightly.
Sarah looked down at her desk.
"I’ll probably should go back to studying."
The words carried obvious regret.
This cafe had likely been her dream but dreams didn’t pay rent.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Benny found himself unexpectedly cornered.
Normally, convincing someone to keep a business running would be easy.
But convincing someone to continue operating a business that lost money on every sale?
That was difficult.
Any argument he came up with sounded ridiculous.
Of course a business owner wanted profits.
Of course they wanted sustainability.
Of course they couldn’t continue losing money forever.
What kind of company would willingly operate at a loss?
What kind of boss would want that?
Benny suddenly froze.
A thought struck him like lightning.
Wait.
If she closes this café...
Then I’ll just have to build one myself.
His eyes widened.
The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it sounded.
This cafe had already proven something very important.
It worked, he had made 75000*100 by simply buying 15% equity. Imagine how much he would make every month when he owned it all!
So why should he let such a valuable blueprint disappear?
Benny immediately stood up and Sarah looked up in surprise.
Then Benny extended his hand.
"While it’s disappointing, I suppose we’ll have to go our separate ways if that’s your decision."
Sarah blinked.
She had kinda expected some sort of a persuasion or perhaps disappointment or venting out his frustration on her.
Instead, Benny looked strangely calm, after a brief hesitation, she shook his hand.
"I’m sorry."
Benny smiled.
"It’s fine."
The handshake ended and a few moments later, he turned and headed toward the door.
Sarah remained seated in her chair.
Watching him leave.
A bitter feeling settled in her chest.
In the end, she hadn’t lived up to his expectations.
He had trusted her enough to invest.
And she was shutting the business down less than a month later.
The office door quietly closed behind him.
Outside, the cafe remained lively as ever.
Near the counter, Karina noticed him approaching.
Her face immediately brightened.
"Mister Benny, leaving already?"
"Looks like it."
Karina tilted her head.
"Then have a good evening."
Benny nodded.
"You too."
Karina gave a small wave.
"Goodbye, Mister Benny."
Benny returned the wave and headed toward the exit.
