Last winter my husband and I were in the process of opening The Prana Café, our raw vegan café in Newton Corner—just three doors down from Prana Power Yoga Newton.  “Excited” didn’t even begin to describe our energy around opening The Prana Café.  Two kids in a, errr, (raw) candy store.

So excited were we to visualize and design the space, design and build the tables and chairs, create the murals both outside and in, create the menu, work with our four chefs to make the menu even better, hire all the front of the house Prana Café family, and do all of the other bazillion things that need to get taken care of before we opened our doors to the first Raw Vegan Café in Newton Corner (it’s about time).

So what were we spending most of our time on?

Parking spots.

“What?” you ask.  “Parking spots?  Whatever do you mean?”

What I mean is City Hall—and the dealings with the aforementioned that could fill a forty-hour workweek, if you let it.

When you own a Café, the city “allows” you a certain number of tables in your space, depending upon how many parking spots are available near your Café.  Our space had a certain number of tables “grandfathered in”—to the sum of 18.

“Grand-who?” you ask.

Grandfathered simply means that many years ago there were restaurants in our space, and since these restaurants were there, we are “allowed” a certain number of tables.
But 18 tables wasn’t gonna cut it, Sister.  Most Prana Power Yoga Newton classes I teach have an average of 35 people in them, and if half of those yogis come on down to the Prana Café after class to grab a bite, along with the other health and delicious and hearty-but-not-heavy-Prana-Café-food seeking people, we’d be needing more tables-n-chairs.

So the process we went through—girl, you have no idea.

Unless, of course, you’ve done it before.
Alissa Cohen, raw food chef, raw food restaurant owner, and author extraordinaire, treated us to dinner at her restaurant—Grezzo–and told us “all she knew” about opening her restaurant.

When Philippe brought up the parking space/table issues, she moaned, rolled her eyes, and whispered “Let me call Dennis, he dealt with all that stuff.  I totally remember what a pain it was.”
So we talked to Dennis and we learned that we did indeed need to walk this path.

The only way out was, in fact, through.

But here was the enigma.  Some of the Aldermen loved the idea of the Café, but were concerned because “Newton Corner already has parking issues.”

Wait a minute, it was a recession, and they were concerned about parking?  These well-educated holders of public office were ignoring the fact that The Prana Café would bring lots of good energy, business, and droves of happy people to the area.

Talk about seeing the forest for the trees.

What about Harvard Square? Newbury Street? Faneuil Hall?

All of the places that you “HAVE to take visitors” when they’re in town, are notorious for their “parking issues.”
What do we want, Aldermen?  Newton Corner businesses growing and thriving or plenty of parking because everyone is stayin’ home and the Corner is quiet?

Does this sound familiar, Super-people?

It’s the same lesson we keep learning again and again, on and off of our mats,

It all boils down to:  Abundance… or fear and the illusion of control.

What will you choose, Super-mom?

*The Prana Café, owned and operated by Taylor and Philippe Wells of Prana Power Yoga Cambridge, Newton, NYC, and Winchester, is located at 292 Centre Street in Newton Corner and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day except Tuesday.   There is plenty of parking and plenty of tables for your convenience and enjoyment.   J   The Prana Café serves healthy, delectable, “high vibration” food–raw vegan delicacies and some cooked food treats as well.  It’s reasonably priced and you can eat in or take out.  The Café also offers a full juice and smoothie bar as well as the best raw desserts you’ll ever experience, which you can enjoy with hot tea or a steaming hot cup of Biscuit™ brand coffee.  It doesn’t matter if you know what raw vegan food is—this food tastes so good that you won’t even know that it’s raw vegan.  But you’ll FEEL the difference after.  The Prana Café:  “hearty but not heavy.”