A surprising announcement over the weekend from Jayme and Ryan Bendoski at Stevensville’s Full Circle Café and Espresso Bar… they are beginning a countdown to closure of the popular eatery by Christmastime.
In a lengthy social media post, the couple thanked their thousands of customers and friends and shared that it is simply time for a major change in their lives, in a different direction than the 24/7 life of restaurant owners.
The Bendoski’s suggested that it is not entirely an economic based decision and has more to do with what they want for themselves and their family in the years ahead.
In the meantime, Full Circle Café will continue full scale operations, with the planned shutdown coming on December 22, 2024.
Here is the full text of their announcement:
Dearest Friends,
Have we told you lately what an honor it has been to serve this amazing, closeknit community? If you’d have told me 8+ years ago that we were going to make it this far, I’m not sure I would have believed you. But here we are, thinking about back to school season, and wrapping up another amazing summer in the Village of Stevensville. With that comes some serious reflection.
The past 15 months have been the biggest adventure of them all. Believe it or not, it’s been even more of a learning experience than owning a restaurant amidst a global pandemic! In April 2023, we called on you to help us through a financial hardship that surely could have brought things to a screeching halt at Full Circle, and boy oh boy, did you show up. But who am I kidding? You’ve always shown up. Since May 27th, 2016, so many of you have been just like family to us. We sincerely thank you for that.
The long-term success of our business, employing and empowering amazing humans (more than 150 amazing humans over the past 8+ years, to be exact), giving back to the community that we love so much, existing as a welcoming space FOR ALL, and creating a legacy for our children, Grace (age 12) and Ryder (age 10), have always been the driving forces behind our work here. Yes, it is about the food, but it also kind of isn’t about the food most of the time. It is about the human connection of it all.
That’s the real magic.
Owning and operating this business has required grit, determination and dedication. It’s inspired us to learn and to grow every single day. It’s been the most amazing, humbling journey, and we’ve been blessed to experience all of it: the highs and the lows.
But we are reminded over and over again that time is fleeting. And, as much as this business has become a way of life and we never thought this day would come, we know in our hearts that it is time to move on, and to make a change for our family. For me, specifically, it is time to put my physical and mental health on the priority list. It’s time to explore new passions, new opportunities, and find other ways to serve our fellow humans. For years, my husband, Ryan has been by my side as I’ve chased my dream, running a business that could make a difference, and now it’s time for our family to chase new dreams, together.
We will be winding down over the next few months, putting a permanent pause on the business, effective Sunday, December 22, 2024.
In the meantime, we have lots of loose ends to tie up around here. We want to give our outstanding, loyal and fearless employees ample opportunity to find something new. Ryan and I will be exploring new career paths, as well. Once again, we’re calling on you to help make these last 4 months a BUSY time for us! Our hope and prayer is that we continue to have healthy margins (financially speaking) so that we can pay our employees through the end of the year, and maybe even have a little money put aside to take our kiddos on a real vacation – maybe even outside of Michigan, when this chapter is closed. 🙂
There will be more to come… including some really hard goodbyes. But for now: Let’s make some more memories. ❤ Again, it has been our greatest honor to serve you.
We love you! The Bendoski Family
