Capannari Ice Cream has been preparing to re-open the retail shop to make it CDC compliant. Our focus is to ensure both our customers and our staff are safe, prepared, and ready to make the necessary adjustments.

With some small changes, we are ready to go!

I was able to sit in the gazebo this past Friday and reflect on the past three months.  I thought about how excited we were back in March to kick off the 20th season. I thought about bringing our staff back, who were ready and eager. I thought about how blessed we were to have been a part of the community for the last 20 years.  

Little did I realize how vulnerable we would be. All the starting details seemed so irrelevant up against the background of what we are facing today. We were suddenly faced with a level of uncertainty, refocused understanding, and much larger reflections. 

As I sat in the gazebo, a young family walked to the butterfly park.  They did not realize I was there.  I watched as the three young kids jumped up and down with excitement.  The father uncovering the netting so that each child could reach in and softly grabbed a newly hatched butterfly. With much delight, the butterflies flew away, kids chasing them around the park.

It hit me how symbolic the event was. New beginnings.

We have learned from the past three months that we need each other and that we are only stronger together. 

The events of the past fifteen days call for us to look within. That we are, every moment and every day, all responsible for each other.

Capannari’s was founded on community – as a gathering place for neighbors, a place to create life-long memories, and a place to bring out-of-town guests, relatives, and friends to show pride in our town and city. A place committed to creating a community where we all can gather and celebrate our differences. But community goes so much further than our shop’s four walls and where intolerance is unacceptable in our business and our homes, we understand that we must actively do more. 

COVID-19 forced us to restructure how we do business. The greater pandemic of racism in America has opened our eyes and hearts to understanding that we need to do more, learn more, communicate more on how we, as members of this community, stand up to intolerance, hate, and injustice. 

Where we still have a tremendous amount to learn and will move forward with a commitment to the long-run of creating real change, we know we can start by immediately integrating new events to our 2020 schedule that will directly support racial equality and justice. We are working out specifics and will keep you informed. 

Our partners at Goldbelly said it best – Hate has no place at our table. 

May this unbelievable time in our world’s history be a time of real change, real learning, and new beginnings. We at Capannari’s are committed to being a part of it – for ourselves, our neighbors, and our community. 

Let’s all commit ourselves to be agents of change.