Bring on the Butter Ball
17 years ago this month, I completed a long journey to start a new life as the owner, operator of Butter Bakery Cafe. The official transition came on December 31 of 2005 and in honor of its coinciding with New Year's Eve, our family decided to celebrate this adventure with a gathering at the cafe to ring in the new year with friends, many who had helped make the purchase possible.
My sister's family had, for many years, been celebrating New Year's with her spouse's family in New York including a trip to Times Square, so asking her to stay in town came with a special request: to recreate a ball-drop at Butter at midnight. Left to her own creativity and a nod to the shop - the ball was formed of butter and hung ceremoniously above our counter. And yes, at the stroke of 12, we dropped the ball amidst much delight.
Memorable as it was, the following year required a repeat performance, and thus a tradition was born. Year after year, the Butter Ball, would find a place to hang in the shop on New Year's Eve, and although midnight drops didn't seem as plausible, we were aware that at 7 pm or even 5 pm, New Yea's was being celebrated somewhere to the east and eventually it felt just fine to join neighbors in Scandinavia to mark the year change.
There have been challenges along the way of course. One year the hanging spot was a bit too near the kitchen and our baristas at the front counter needed to dodge butter drips. Moving to Nicollet brought new options as we learned to capture the event on video to post. As our 15-year anniversary approached, Covid was in full force and the cafe was closed to customers, so we found a way to hang the Butter Ball outside and livestreamed the whole event to provide access to those who weren't venturing out. It was such fun that we chose to stay outside last year and will be outside again for the years to come.
Why?
Sure, it's a spectacle, a little odd, and, I know, an expensive but unnecessary use of perfectly good Hope creamery butter. But for me, marking milestones and acknowledging a moment in time is important. So many of the days at Butter fade into "a day like any other day." Biscuits get baked, eggs get fried, coffee is poured, regular faces come and go. Groups mark their day of the week or a monthly gathering. We do allow vegetables and fruits to come and go with the seasons to mark some passage of time and yearly cycles. Our frosted cookies take on new shapes as holidays come and go. But in many ways, one day at Butter is much like the others.
Over the course of 17 years that means nearly 6200 of those days, and yes, I've been here for most all of them. There have been some truly one-of-a-kind days these past 17 years that we have shared together and it has been an honor to have been a connecting place in days of great joys and sorrows. But, if once every year, I can tie up a decorated ball of butter and consider the year that was and the year that might be to come, I can be reminded that each day has a special gift to provide, a chance to be of service and provide joy, an opportunity to put my love for this neighborhood into action, and to create a space that is fun to work, shop, eat, meet, and build the beloved community we all desire.
Oh, and celebrate a bit of butter.
We will host the 18th drop on Saturday, December 31 - with festivities beginning at 4:30 pm and the drop coming at 5:00 PM - (Midnight in Stockholm) - exactly!
Hot cider, Butter treats, a chance to mark the year that's passed, and a Butter Ball to drop. Do join us to welcome 2023 on the corner of 37th and Nicollet!