Folsom Cafe Owners Dip Into Savings, Sell Everything To Keep Business Alive

FOLSOM (CBS13) - The sweet smell of coffee brews at Reset Café in Folsom. The last year and a half have been a grind for owner John Voelz.

Voelz and his wife Tahni opened the café in March 2020.

Money wasn't pouring in during the pandemic after closing, reopening, limiting orders to-go and outdoor dining, and missing out on PPP and grants.

"We were able to pay our employees and keep this place going on our very limited saving," Voelz said. "We had to dip into retirement for sure. Retirement is a thing of the past. This is our retirement."

The couple had another idea bubbling in their minds to help keep the café alive.

"We thought we have another card to play. We can sell our home and we can use some of that money to pour back into the business and try to get debt-free," Voelz said.

After selling their home, cars and furniture, they bought their new home, an Airstream motorhome.

"We have recognized that through all of that, nothing is permanent. And so this is just another transition for us," Voelz said.

The transition from watering plants outside of their home of decades to the outside of the new airstream of a few weeks is all in hope of one last chance of salvation for their dream café.

"I think it just shows that they're really working their passion," Amanda Watson, a customer, said. "That's really cool that they did that. Now even more reason to support."

Voelz's employees are also seeing the sacrifice for them and the couple's business.

"It definitely motivates me more when you know that who you're working for is invested and cares a lot about you as an employee and the company as a whole," Rose Maeding, a Reset Café employee, said.

John and his wife are making the most of their new home, hoping to soon taste the fruits of their labor and sacrifice now that the state has reopened.

"This isn't just a job. If it were, we would've just walked away. We would've thrown in the towel. But there's something else at stake," Voelz said.

Voelz said that they're excited for Reset Café to have a full menu and extend their hours to what they would've been before the pandemic.

He told CBS13 that it'll feel like a new grand opening for the restaurant.