JUST KEEP SWIMMING

October 13, 2020

In the middle of “Finding Nemo,” the fearful but unabashedly hopeful character, Dory, says to herself “just keep swimming.” It’s a bit of self encouragement, the equivalent of putting one foot in front of the other for us land folk. But the message is really simple. No matter what is happening, just keeping going. Keep swimming.

I recognize that this is the second animated movie I’ve drawn inspiration from this year, after channeling Anna in “Frozen II” to help us persevere during the onset of the pandemic. But when you have children at home, you have to work with what’s available.

For Summit, the notion of “just keep swimming” comes pretty natural in a flow state, where we strive to exist. But it’s immensely important as an ethos in 2020, when swimming has gone from following the tide to swimming upstream. When Covid meant we couldn’t have customers in our cafés, we launched a Drive To and a mobile app. When small businesses were forced to close and lay off their employees, we stayed open and guaranteed employment. When companies halted or paused their growth plans, we made small pivots in relentless pursuit of our dreams.

Bloomberg News ran a story last week on the pandemic’s impact with the headline, “Say Goodbye to Your Local Coffee Shop in America’s Cafe Shakeup.”  This article is, unfortunately, full of truths. But not Summit’s truth. This headline is why we need to “just keep swimming.”

The need to “just keep swimming” is why, in spite of horror stories about how Covid has impacted downtown Chapel Hill, Summit opened a café right on Franklin Street last week. And there was a line out the door for eight straight hours. Just keep swimming.

The need to “just keep swimming” is why we rebranded our menus, the second time in a year, because ours weren’t remarkable enough. It’s why we’ve launched an entirely new lineup of baked goods, because we aspire to be in love with everything we sell.

It’s why we’re committed to creating great content, creating great merchandise, creating great seasonal drinks. It’s why I am teaching an internal course this month on “Storytelling,” it’s why we’re making plans to evolve during the winter months.

When you stop swimming, you get caught up in the current and swept away. In 2020, so many small businesses, so many service industry workers, are being swept away. Not Summit, not at Summit.

In 2020, we’ve had to work harder, dig deeper, get more creative, and lean into one another. Chapel Hill is open, NoDa is weeks away, and the downtown Asheville café is right behind that. We are growing and evolving, getting better and trying new things, because when “just keep swimming” means swimming upstream, you have to work harder.