Brad's adventure with culinary school has just ended and we are taking more critical steps to seeing our dream into reality. After reading our last blog, we thought we would update you on the journey.

Although we would like to think our idea is an original one, in summer 2004, we researched and found some restaurants out in the world that were similar to our dream. This summer (2005) we took a road trip to visit the restaurant closest to our idea and closest to our home. We found One World Cafe in Salt Lake City, Utah. We heard about One World from NPR and researched its founder, Denise Cerreta, on the internet. On our way back to Denver from Yellowstone National Park, we stopped in SLC to experience this anomaly.

We wanted to see if this idea could really work. Would people really be honest and leave what they could afford and felt was fair? Would people of various backgrounds and lifestyles eat together and patronize the same establishment? Would it feel "right"? Would it be a profitable endeavor? Can we actually make this happen? We found the answers (Yes!) to all of these questions after two days of volunteering and interviewing several of the people involved.

We were so nervous pulling up to the small and inconspicuous space. We actually thought about checking out of our hotel and just driving straight back to Denver without going in. We were afraid our dream would be shattered by this one step. It felt like a giant step to the two of us.

Our plan was to go in as customers and hopefully have the chance to ask a few questions of whomever was working at the cafe. We finally got out of the car and entered. We were welcomed in and told how the restaurant works. We ate delicious food in a cozy environment and got up enough nerve to ask the women behind the counter if she was Denise.

I, Libby, believe there are no such things as accidents. It was no accident that we caught Denise checking in on her restaurant an hour before her shift began. It was no accident that she had the time and energy to sit down and answer all our questions. It was also no accident that we had the chance to receive our first bit of press while we were there. The Deseret News (click here to read the article) interviewed Denise while we were there and included us on the interview. If you look closely at the photos, you can see Brad and I hard at work. The whole trip was exactly what we needed to take the leap and it was no accident.

After our visit to Salt Lake City, we knew that our idea would work. We saw a similar model in action. It finally proved to us and all of our skeptics that this was possible.

We are not going into this business to become rich. Our goal for this business is to provide profits that allow us a healthy, balanced lifestyle while making it possible to continue serving food for all.