November ... you're kidding, right? Where has the year gone? For most of us, this year has been one of the most challenging of our lives. The economy is about as bad as it can be with faint signs of recovery; unemployment is at multi-year highs and soon will be over 10%; and many of us watched as our hard-earned savings get cut in half over night. Yikes!! As with most of you, the events of the past year forced us to look at our own balance sheets and take stock to get our house in order, and that meant cutting back on our expenses and discretionary spending.

Of course, we have felt that cut in spending here at Stevens & Stevens and have looked for ways to get lean and mean in tough times. Although on the surface that may seem like a negative, it presents a positive opportunity, especially in a mature business like ours, to take stock of what your doing and make sure that you are doing it better than ever.

That has been my goal the last few months. To take a look at the current economic reality and say "OK, it is what it is". But to survive it, one has to look at the operation and ask some tough questions. Are we delivering the kind of food and service that when people do decide to spend some hard earned money, their happy with their experience here? Of course, I hope the answer is a resounding yes, but I also know that we fail sometimes. Perhaps we were late to deliver a lunch, or you got the wrong order on a take out, perhaps you got the wrong sandwich, or did not get exactly what you ordered. Whatever the case I assure you that we are looking at everything we do. We're looking at each menu item with a dedication to freshness and quality. We're looking at each customer and making sure that you get the best, friendliest and most competent service that we can provide.

Enough of that! November of course means Thanksgiving. It’s the one day in the year that regardless of religion, race, or politics, we can all come together to say thanks. It's a day to assemble around a meal, to reflect on the true value of life, and to be humbled by the many good things we let slip by without notice. I lost a good friend this month: Frank Abel. He has a grade school friend of my father-in-law, and over the past twenty five years, Frank became a good friend of mine. He came to every Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas, and significant life event of our family. As a Chef, my most rewarding thing I do is to cook for people that really get and appreciate the craft of cooking. Perhaps a handful of people in my life so filled me with the joy and satisfaction of seeing their face light up as the enjoyed a good meal that I worked hard to prepare. My friend Frank was one, and this Thanksgiving just won't be the same without him. Farewell my dear friend, and thank you for all that you taught me.

Mark Stevens