Today we’d like to introduce you to Beth Rumsey.
Hi Beth, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Whew.
I don’t know where to begin. I guess the beginning. I was born and raised in Bicknell. Not far from Torrey. I grew up in the kitchen with my mom baking from scratch. Cooking and baking out of the old cookbook her mom used. I started working in the dish pit at 14, watching and soaking in all places I worked in all the local restaurants. I have deep roots in the restaurant business.
I’ve taken everything I have learned and loved and hated about all my jobs and turned it into the wild rabbit. A fun cool place with a great vibe, great atmosphere, good food, and good coffee. We support local farmers as much as possible. And along with simple down-home cooking, my menu is influenced by the most recent place I worked, the Goldener Hirsch. And Austrian fine dining restaurant in park city deer valley. Working with best of state winning chefs and Pastry Chef. I gained appreciation really quickly that I was a lowly food runner and pastry kitchen fill-in, instead of the server.
I got to see the best of both worlds and was lucky enough to have people show me and teach me. I learned ways to heighten the skills my mom and sisters taught me and make it my own, play with it, get a little outside the box, have fun with it, make it delicious. Making it my own has not been possible without my dad. He is my partner in crime, and when I went to him in 2019 and said that the father-daughter duos are all the rage this year, let’s open a coffee shop.
He didn’t hesitate, being a previous business owner himself I knew I could learn a lot from him and I didn’t really know the first thing about business. I always tease him that I signed up to bake and cook… None of this other business stuff. We found a spot in Torrey and approached the business owner if he would like to sell. It was set up as a coffee shop and tiny kitchen in the back. I knew a bit from my experience at the castle rock coffee shop that opened in 2000. (we later acquired castle rock in May of 2020) But I didn’t know anything about owning and operating a coffee shop.
I always say it was divine guidance that we were at the right time and in the right place. Over the three years in business (2022 being our 3rd year), we have grown and expanded into our own larger kitchen and prep area, retail space, patio area for more dining, more indoor dining, upgraded larger commercial equipment, (to handle that line out to the road all day every day!). This is a huge compliment to us, but we also outgrew our equipment real fast. We are fortunate enough and from all the support we have had from the locals and tourists alike that love our food and what we have to offer, we were able to upgrade our equipment this year to better take care of our customer flow and really up our game.
It makes me proud to know that people love what we are doing that we are able to do this. We are supporting local farmers, locally sourcing ingredients as much as possible. Taking care of relationships, growing old relationships, cooking with love, because food is a universal language that everyone loves. We gather over food in good and bad times, and starting with a good cup of coffee and breakfast like your mama made it, can make any day good. We cater to our local customer base in the off-season that keeps us going, that my family had started when my dad owned the gas station.
The people I have served in this community since I was old enough to take food orders. Winter is secretly my favorite so I can reconnect with the locals I miss during the busy months. The tourists that come through also have items for what they need. Hiking, biking, camping, RV’ing, whatever adventure, whatever diet, I try to offer something for everyone. We offer gluten-free options including in our pastry case. Playing with recipes to make them gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, sugar-free, and still taste good was and can still be a challenge but I love it and the bakery is where my heart is and that pastry case is my favorite!
The smells, and feasting with your eyes! Oh man, you can’t help but have dessert too! My grandpa always had dessert first that’s where I blame my sweet tooth. I love making sweets and savory complement each other and pair things you’d never guess, we started with humble small-town roots, moved away, learned, came home, and we serve and work hard and play hard, and love what we do because they all love what we do. I hope we can be a staple in Torrey for a long time.
“You go out there and do the best you can, and you do the things that are interesting to you. Hopefully, it will be interesting to other people. I don’t want to be adequate. I’d rather fail gloriously making something strange, awesome, but ultimately a failure.” -Anthony Bourdain.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it has not been, and yes it has been, we started with a small amount of money between us, couldn’t get a loan so was lucky enough to have the grace to pay monthly, strict terms, but we did it, we paid it off, and within the first 6 months!!!
We’ve missed payroll more than a few times, I’ve cried more and celebrated more in the last 3 years than anybody should, but I wouldn’t be doing this and working this hard for anybody else. My dad, my kids, my friends, my community, it’s smooth in the fact that I get to own a business in Torrey, Utah. A town that is about to start booming. I get to do what I love. Bake and cook for people, and have them love and enjoy it, and the atmosphere and vibe we have created there.
It’s been hard trying to find help, and good help, but I have been blessed to have the team I do because they are passionate fun, and supportive and I couldn’t do it without them. We grew from me telling my dad that it will be a small operation and it can be run by me and one or two other people.
During the season, we had 15 people on payroll and couldn’t make a day go smooth with less than 6 people on staff.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We own and operate a coffee shop/cafe. We bake from scratch everything in our pastry case. We source locally for our ingredients and menu items. We support local farmers with meat herbs and vegetables. I love playing with flavors.
Mixing sweet and savory and pushing the boundary. Balancing flavors that are bold. My specialty. We are known for having good food, leaving with leftovers, a great vibe a great atmosphere, family. I am the proudest of the love we have there.
Everyone that comes in the door leaves satisfied and happy. And if you don’t that’s on you and I will call you out on it. No fun haters. I have created a place where people have fun in their workplace. We work hard and play hard. We are a family at the wild rabbit.
What’s next?
For now, I think we are as big as we want to go. I still have a young family at home and having a schedule that fits their’s (and being fortunate enough to do so) is the goal right now. Balance home and family. (I have a 12-year-old son Lakota and an 8-year-old daughter Madison).
Pricing:
- Breakfasts $8 to $10
- Lunch $10 to $13
- Pastries $3-$6
Contact Info:
- Email: info@thewildrabbitcafe.com
- Website: www.thewildrabbitcafe.com
- Instagram: @thewildrabbitcafe
- Facebook: @thewildrabbitcafeutah
Image Credits
@heatherwaegnerphotography
