I loved every inch of this post. Lonely Planet guides follow such a restrictive formula. I'd buy a Cafe Anne NYC Roulette guide to the city's true grit and grace (as witnessed in a cake truck lot and Monte Carlo Tommy). If you did it in the old flipbook style, there could be a little walking Anne on the bottom right corner of every page. Wait, maybe you could do scissor lift tours of the city?
No need for Easter chocolate---this post is the sweet spot, as always!
First stop: Fentanyl ice cream. Do you think you could swing those aerial certification classes on Tuesdays in time for a mid-summer launch? For $800 a month rental, there's serious money to be made, Anne.
You should take time off more often. This was the best newsletter ever! I have so many questions. First…I MUST know about the operation cake company. So mysterious and so many nondescript trucks! There is a real story there for sure. Maybe even dangerous.
And the ice cream…sounds like some MBA student asked gpt “what business venture has the lowest overhead, ensures no customer complaints, ensures free advertising and can scale for low investment.” Bingo. Somehow though I don’t think it will last. I’m glad you opted for the whipped cream.
Please keep up the senior interview feature. Some wisdoms there! We don’t honor our seniors enough. (And I am one)
And finally…thanks for letting the car enthusiast down gently. I doubt he gets out much.
1) I left a message with Operative Cakes and so far no one has called. I think my one goal for the year is now to get inside that warehouse.
2) I love the idea that Surprise Scoop is an MBA project! That totally checks out! I am pretty sure it won't last the year and I am also pretty sure it isn't meant to.
3) I love playing Senior Citizen Roulette and I will for sure do more extensive version soon!
I like that the heavy machinery businesses were like, "Yes this is what we do, thanks for swinging by" but the cake business was like, "donchu fuckin' look at me!"
This was the funniest and most interesting/random Cafe Anne in a while. A Cat dealership, a "cake" company and a guy who likes getting drunk and riding in his 81 Monte Carlo is one hell of a day. Loved this one.
Thank you Justin! The first two—ice cream and random block— were both stories I'd been wanting to do for a while but didn't seem like enough on their own. I was so happy when I came up with the idea to bundle them together and add a senior citizen roulette.
From Operative Cake’s google reviews (which mostly enumerate complaints about the tight parking for semi trucks) : “The old man is a very excellent man, but the other one treats him with contempt.” Are these the two guys you encountered?
So glad you also checked out the Google reviews for Operative Cakes. They're so interesting, right? So the silent guy was for sure much older than the talker guy. And he was clearly the heavy while the talker guy was the brains. So yes, that checks out!
$10 to NOT choose my flavor of ice cream! And a signed release form! Talk about a masochist’s dream! Maybe they could also insult you on the way out for another $2, or at least slam the sliding door shut if you ask a question 😂
Haha now that I think of it, I think your suggestions would for sure add to the appeal for a certain sort of person, Eric. It could be the Soup Nazi of Ice Cream!
as someone who also loves randomness/surprises (and has no food allergies), i quite like the idea of ice cream roulette! i can be quite stodgy in sticking to flavors/meals i know i like so the push to let someone else choose and maybe find a new favorite is fun. but probably i would get mad if i didn't like the flavor, so a bit risky.
I agree, Megan. I really enjoyed Surprise Scoop but I really loved the flavor I got, which was something I'd never have chosen myself. Which is really the best possible outcome. Shelly asked if I'd have been happy if I didn't like my ice cream flavor and I had to admit—probably not!
I love, love, love ice cream and in my world there’s only one flavor: chocolate. So Surprise Scoop would likely be a big fail for me, LOL, but I loved the story.
Operative Cakes?! If it's not a secret cake delivery service, then it's the most boring name for a cake business ever. I'm hoping for the former but betting on the latter.
And I love Arnie's attitude. I need to try to be more grateful for what we have. Hard to do when you're worried about being shipped off to a camp in another country...
I had the same response to Arnie. In a way it's too good to be true that food grows on trees and water falls out of the sky, and I never really stop to appreciate that.
I loved every inch of this post. Lonely Planet guides follow such a restrictive formula. I'd buy a Cafe Anne NYC Roulette guide to the city's true grit and grace (as witnessed in a cake truck lot and Monte Carlo Tommy). If you did it in the old flipbook style, there could be a little walking Anne on the bottom right corner of every page. Wait, maybe you could do scissor lift tours of the city?
No need for Easter chocolate---this post is the sweet spot, as always!
Awww thank Jules! So glad you enjoyed the issue.
And good lord, I l LOVE the idea of offering scissor lift tours of NYC!
First stop: Fentanyl ice cream. Do you think you could swing those aerial certification classes on Tuesdays in time for a mid-summer launch? For $800 a month rental, there's serious money to be made, Anne.
You should take time off more often. This was the best newsletter ever! I have so many questions. First…I MUST know about the operation cake company. So mysterious and so many nondescript trucks! There is a real story there for sure. Maybe even dangerous.
And the ice cream…sounds like some MBA student asked gpt “what business venture has the lowest overhead, ensures no customer complaints, ensures free advertising and can scale for low investment.” Bingo. Somehow though I don’t think it will last. I’m glad you opted for the whipped cream.
Please keep up the senior interview feature. Some wisdoms there! We don’t honor our seniors enough. (And I am one)
And finally…thanks for letting the car enthusiast down gently. I doubt he gets out much.
Thanks Toni!
1) I left a message with Operative Cakes and so far no one has called. I think my one goal for the year is now to get inside that warehouse.
2) I love the idea that Surprise Scoop is an MBA project! That totally checks out! I am pretty sure it won't last the year and I am also pretty sure it isn't meant to.
3) I love playing Senior Citizen Roulette and I will for sure do more extensive version soon!
I like that the heavy machinery businesses were like, "Yes this is what we do, thanks for swinging by" but the cake business was like, "donchu fuckin' look at me!"
LOL LOL LOL
This was a box of randomly delicious chocolates.
Ice cream waiver. Haha.
Operative cakes is definitely a money laundering scheme.
Tommy should review obscure alcoholic beverages on IG.
Arnie delivers wisdom.
🥰👏
CK that is such a good idea to have Tommy do hooch reviews on Insta. But only if he writes like he talks!!
You are the second to suggest that Operative Cakes is not on the up-and-up. But I think it is far too weird for that!
Glad you enjoyed the issue. Thanks for your kind words.:)
This was the funniest and most interesting/random Cafe Anne in a while. A Cat dealership, a "cake" company and a guy who likes getting drunk and riding in his 81 Monte Carlo is one hell of a day. Loved this one.
Thank you Justin! The first two—ice cream and random block— were both stories I'd been wanting to do for a while but didn't seem like enough on their own. I was so happy when I came up with the idea to bundle them together and add a senior citizen roulette.
Glad you enjoyed!
From Operative Cake’s google reviews (which mostly enumerate complaints about the tight parking for semi trucks) : “The old man is a very excellent man, but the other one treats him with contempt.” Are these the two guys you encountered?
So glad you also checked out the Google reviews for Operative Cakes. They're so interesting, right? So the silent guy was for sure much older than the talker guy. And he was clearly the heavy while the talker guy was the brains. So yes, that checks out!
That review has me laughing, but then I looked at the other reviews, and I am wondering if it's all in code! Maybe tight parking means something else
$10 to NOT choose my flavor of ice cream! And a signed release form! Talk about a masochist’s dream! Maybe they could also insult you on the way out for another $2, or at least slam the sliding door shut if you ask a question 😂
Haha now that I think of it, I think your suggestions would for sure add to the appeal for a certain sort of person, Eric. It could be the Soup Nazi of Ice Cream!
as someone who also loves randomness/surprises (and has no food allergies), i quite like the idea of ice cream roulette! i can be quite stodgy in sticking to flavors/meals i know i like so the push to let someone else choose and maybe find a new favorite is fun. but probably i would get mad if i didn't like the flavor, so a bit risky.
I agree, Megan. I really enjoyed Surprise Scoop but I really loved the flavor I got, which was something I'd never have chosen myself. Which is really the best possible outcome. Shelly asked if I'd have been happy if I didn't like my ice cream flavor and I had to admit—probably not!
I love, love, love ice cream and in my world there’s only one flavor: chocolate. So Surprise Scoop would likely be a big fail for me, LOL, but I loved the story.
You are always a delight.
Thank you, Anne.
Thanks Drew! Very glad you enjoyed!
You should have accepted the dinner invite and gotten a ride in his car!
That didn't occur to me, Steve! Dang.
Operative Cakes?! If it's not a secret cake delivery service, then it's the most boring name for a cake business ever. I'm hoping for the former but betting on the latter.
And I love Arnie's attitude. I need to try to be more grateful for what we have. Hard to do when you're worried about being shipped off to a camp in another country...
Good Fucking Newsletter.
GFN! Thanks Justin!!!
I had the same response to Arnie. In a way it's too good to be true that food grows on trees and water falls out of the sky, and I never really stop to appreciate that.
That ice cream store -- and the need to make sure they aren't serving fentanyl ice cream -- is the most American thing I've read this year.
This made me laugh like crazy. Thank you Mr. Jensen!
LOVE all of this! You inspire me to be more adventurous
Yay I am happy to hear that Lisa. Thank you!
Can cash be sent to your address ?
Absolutely Ruth! I very much welcome cash in the mail. It's the best kind of mail! Address is 100 Remsen Street Apt 6D Brooklyn NY 11201
Are you with Operative Cakes?
How would I know Rob???
Is operation cakes a front !!!?!???
I did a little more research on Operative Cake Corp., Hilary. Apparently its a subsidiary of the even more mysteriously named GROCERY HAULERS INC.
I really admire Tommy for asking you out!!!! That is very brave!!!! This was such a great newsletter. Maybe Operative Cake is cakes for spies!
Molly, Operative Cake creating cakes for spies would explain EVERYTHING!!!