WILTON – It all started simply enough.
Becky Tyler figured that when her children made it through school, she’d maybe start a craft business and work weekends. We’ll, that idea has sort of grown into a little more than that now.
As owner of the new, The Sportsmans Wife Café at the Nichols Expo Center, Tyler of Temple, starts her work day by 6 a.m. and arrives home many hours later. But she couldn’t be happier.
The Wilton native looks up at the colorful line up of her fine quilts, crotchet and knit work decorating the dining area and smiles. With her mission to find a place to display her many crafts for sale accomplished, she also works each day in the small kitchen of the former Shoe Shop Café creating an amazing array of dishes made from scratch, along with an assortment of bakery items that include real homemade doughnuts.
“I came here looking for a place to put up my crafts,” Tyler said. “And they (Nichols Center management) asked if I would open up a café.” Never having had experience in food service didn’t deter her willingness to give it a try.
“I always liked to bake. I guess it’s a learn-as-you-go kind of thing,” she said. Everything is made from scratch. Every morning “the boys,” as she calls them, from Nichols Welding, Inc. arrive for coffee and her homemade doughnuts or breakfast sandwiches. From 11 to 1 p.m., there’s a steady flow of the employees of ICT and Barclays, also located in the complex. Then there’s a mid-afternoon and evening crowd from the gymnastics classes, also held at the center.
A big board features an impressive menu of daily specials that may include comfort food favorites such as beef stew, Shephard’s Pie, Haddock Newburg, soups and chili.
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As word has spread of Tyler’s and her daughter Amanda’s skill in the kitchen, patrons outside of the center’s complex are arriving in greater numbers. Her father, Lincoln Flagg also pitches in with “his deadly desserts,” as Tyler calls them, to make this an all-in-the-family business. His wood crafts are also on display at the café.
To celebrate her business start, Tyler is holding a grand opening beginning 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow, Jan. 16, and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Besides her good cooking at the café, 14 crafters and product consultants, such as Avon, Pampered Chef, Home & Garden, Party Lite, Longaberger, Tupperware and Dove Chocolates will have tables featuring their wares. There will be drawings held and door prizes awarded throughout the weekend.
Tyler said, after first taking a deep breath, she is looking ahead to the really big shows thousands usually attend in the spring that include the Sportsman’s Show and the Greater Franklin Business Expo. Mt. Blue High School’s benefit craft fair held in November was an initiation of just how to handle a big crowd, so now she feels she’s ready and very busy at the stove. For more, go to sportsmanswife.etsy.com
