Coffee Lovers Unite

My name is Alyssa Fyffe and I am a military spouse and mom of 2. When my husband joined the military, I had a full-time job working in Finance. After moving to a new duty station and having my first son, with no family support available to care for my first born I decided to quit my job to be a stay-at-home mom. My husband was in flight school and taking care of my son became my life. After my second was born I experienced severe postpartum depression and realized through a lot of therapy that I had to find something that I enjoyed outside of raising my family to help me rediscover myself. I now had 2 children with no family support system and COVID was in full swing with limited childcare availability. My friend and I decided to start a home-based business because I could keep my children with me AND get back into the swing of work. We successfully launched “The LO Cafe”. The LO Café was one of the first approved home-based businesses in Linden Oaks, but it did not come easily. Jessica Bateman, my former partner, helped to pave the way for a process that was indeed, incredibly broken. We asked several times for a list of guidelines and expectations, and we were given nothing. We tried to talk to Corvias and were told "we aren't having this conversation with you." There was, however, an "Army Initiative" to help spouses to be able to run home based businesses. According to the MWR website, "Home Based Businesses (HBBs) are an important contributor to Army Family quality of life – new changes to procedures make it easier and quicker to gain approval to operate an on-post HBB." It became very clear to us very quickly that there was no process, we were one of the first to even try. The phone numbers and email addresses of the many points of contact we had to have signatures from were incorrect or out of service. Corvias (our housing office) was a huge sticking point as they had no interest in signing off on their portion of the solicitation packet. We were met with more issues when a disgruntled hateful neighbor reported our business claiming we were “increasing traffic” however we were able to prove to Corvias that our “traffic footprint” was minimal due to the nature of our business: delivery coffee. Finally, after a lot of back and forth, inspections etc. the permit was signed, and we could legitimately operate The Lo Café. This happened in November 2021. Jessica knew her time here was short, and she’d be moving to another base the following year, so we started talking about transferring ownership of the business in 2022. In March of 2022 I began the lengthy process of getting my own home-based business permit for the same business to maintain compliance. This time I was met with far more requirements than Jessica had. I had to take new courses, submit new paperwork, submit a business proposal to Corvias and more. I did it all without complaint. When I submitted my packet to Corvias, they denied me stating that I had a dog. The same dog that I had when Jessica got her permit approved. The only thing changing was the ownership of the Café that was already running in my house, with my dog, but the rules had now changed. I asked solicitation what I was supposed to do with that, and they told me to go ahead and submit the packet without Corvias’ approval, and so I did. I received approvals from everyone else including environmental health & safety. After submitting the packet, I was sent a letter of disapproval in June of 2022. I was told that I could not operate the business in my home (that Jessica had already been approved to operate) because of my dog and should my circumstances change, I could resubmit my packet. I said “ok, what if I send my dog to live with my parents, then would you approve?”. I was told “Yes” but then I was called the same day and told “No”. Katherine Spahn, a civilian solicitation employee, with whom I worked for this entire process, called me to tell me that a meeting was held about my business where it was determined that traffic complaints were now the reason I was being denied. I told her that the traffic complaints had already been addressed. She said, “I’m sorry but there’s nothing you can do”. I told her I’d like to appeal that decision and be involved in any further discussions about the future of my business. I asked what I could do to get this approved, as I had a lot on the line, she told me “There is nothing you can do”. I asked to speak to her manager, she told me “it won’t matter, things won’t change, the decision is made”. At that point, defeated, I asked her what would happen if I ran the business anyway, she told me “you’ll have to deal with Corvias” so I thanked her for her time and got off the phone. I continued running the business with Jessica under her permit until she moved away and then I continued running it on my own, without a permit after all, there was NOTHING I could do according to solicitation. No one (as far as I’m aware) complained again – because the hateful neighbor moved on. On Monday, August 14th, 2023, a solicitation meeting was held and someone I assisted to begin the process of getting their home-based business license mentioned my business and how helpful I had been - solicitation became aware that I was operating, and things started going downhill fast. Solicitation sent me emails on August 14th & August 15th telling me I am to stop operating until I get my home-based business license, which they already told me I’d never get. They called my husband at work and threatened to report me to Jag and admitted to him they were “all over” my Facebook page and business page. I emailed them back a response to their “cease and desist” and they ceased any further written communication with me. They called me on Wednesday, August 16th (for the first time) and told me to take down my Facebook page, which I told them I would not do. In response they called my husband’s chain of command to report me. I then called the Garrison Commander’s office and requested a meeting to discuss this. Once his executive assistant got my message, I was pushed off to the housing advocate. I shut my business down on August 18th (and it has been closed since) while waiting on a reply from Garrison, hoping that an audience might be obtained. I followed up with an email to the executive assistant and continued to be ignored. I was informed on August 22nd by my husband’s chain of command that paperwork had been started to evict me from my home. No one had told me that my home was at stake until then - housing had not even contacted me, I was completely shocked. Finally, after speaking out publicly about my inability to obtain an audience with Garrison, I got the meeting I requested. I finally did get the meeting with Col Wilcox, the Garrison Commander. He gave me his time but that was it. My petition to have my business reinstated was ignored & denied. The letters I had people write to Garrison on my behalf were brushed off. I was told I had to go through the home-based business application process yet again. I told him I knew what the outcome would be, and he just kept telling me to try again. I started the process the same day I had the meeting. It took me one day to get my “no”. Environmental health told me that due to army regulations in the tri-service food code, I could not serve dairy out of my home as it was a time-temperature controlled item and was considered “high risk”. A completely different denial then the first two times I applied for this same business. I reached out to other environmental offices at other installations and was told my business plan would have no issue getting approved – regardless of the regulation, because it was up to the approval authority. In 2022 I tried to go through the proper steps to ensure compliance and was met with roadblock after roadblock. I should not have been denied a business permit for a business that was already permitted to run, and yet I was told there was nothing I could do. According to the MWR website, “Home Based Business approval is quick and easy!” That could not be further from the truth. The website also says “New Army guidance directs installations to ‘find a way to say yes’ to HBB owners – so we’re prepared to make this easy for you.” In my experience, the only thing the solicitation office and Corvias were doing was trying to find a way to say “no”. Throughout the last few years my business became a pillar in the community. I helped moms at home who needed a caffeine kick but didn't want to drag their kids out. I helped teachers at school who needed an afternoon pick-me-up but couldn't leave their place of duty. I helped work from home spouses who wanted a coffee or a muffin to get through their workday. I donated gift cards to the Linden Oaks PTAs and supplied back to school coffee bars and events for the Linden Oaks Community. I supported other local businesses within Linden Oaks. I helped other military spouses try to get through the process of getting their own home-based business license – but most gave up because the process is so broken and difficult. My business was incredibly successful, and I served almost 1,000 clients on Linden Oaks alone. LO Café was so much more than just a coffee venture. This business provided income to my family and to two other families who I employed. The additional income allowed me to send my children to incredible preschools that we could not otherwise have afforded. This business allowed me to bring other women into my home to work alongside of me and build relationships that I would otherwise never have built. It has been a beacon of hope in a community that is frustrated, tired, and often alone. The community loves the product and service that I provide, and taking away my ability to provide it not only has devastating consequences to my family, but it ripples far further into the Linden Oaks Community as well. I served this community of military spouses with caffeine of course, but more importantly I offered kindness, compassion, and assistance to those who need it most – when their spouses are deployed, or their children are sick, or they are facing a loss. I have heard time and again that the LO Café is one of the best parts of living in Linden Oaks, and I agree whole heartedly. In one day, two people lost their incomes and an entire community lost an amenity that they loved. I had to kick, scream, and fight to gain an audience with the one person that I hoped would be able to help me get it back. This person told me to start all over with a process that is broken and was not set up with the military spouse in mind. What once was permitted to run in Linden Oaks under a different owner, has now been shut down and denied. When I jumped through the hoops that solicitation asked me to jump through, a door was still slammed in my face. When I requested a way to legitimize an already approved business just by changing it to my name, I was told it would never happen. After my “no” from environmental health I went ahead and made the very difficult decision to sell off what I could from my inventory, taking a significant loss. My monthly income source is now gone as well. I was planning on selling my business to another spouse in the community so that The LO Café could be enjoyed even after I have PCSed from here, but that possibility too, was blocked by environmental. The emotional, and financial implications from what happened here, is almost immeasurable. In response, I've launched this website to try to sell some of my recipes and recoup some of my lost income and costs from shutting down. I appreciate you reading my story, and I truly hope you will find something that will make your mouth water and your tastebuds light up. Thank you for supporting me and my hard work! Much love, Alyssa