We received this email from Amy Cooke of Summer Thyme’s:
Dear Friends,
We are writing with news of a heart-rending decision we’ve had to make for our physical, emotional, and financial health. Today, June 30, 2019, at the end of the day, Summer Thyme’s Bakery & Deli will close its doors. We hope you will come by today to celebrate all that Summer Thyme’s has been as we serve our last muffins and lattes, breakfasts and lunches.
When we bought Summer Thyme’s in 2008 from Sara and Jeromy Laurin, it became clear to us that serving food was a front for what was really going on at Summer Thyme’s – Love. Love is what Summer Thyme’s was about from the beginning. Love for people. Love for food. For farms and for health. Love for community and music and art and kids.
We can hardly express the gratitude we have for this journey. From momentary connections across the counter to friendships that have grown over years, we have gotten to know remarkable people. Our customers are truly our friends. Together we have celebrated loves and births and graduations and weddings and all the little and big triumphs along the way. We have mourned losses and hardships. You have honored us by inviting us to serve food at memorials and weddings, birthdays and anniversaries. We often stood in the back with teary eyes and full hearts as we witnessed the love that these events conveyed. Thank you.
We have been privileged to be a part of the local arts community through our gallery and live music. Musicians have filled our dining room with joy, some of them from the earliest days of Summer Thyme’s. Our walls have featured artists showing for the first time and those who were well established. It has been an honor to nurture the arts through our restaurant.
Our dream of supporting nonprofits found fulfillment through Summer Thyme’s. We are honored to have taken part in the annual SYRCL Yuba River clean up, in donating to the Interfaith Food Bank, and in sponsoring the Turkey Trot and the Woolman Salmon Run. Sierra Harvest has held a special place for us, and we’ve loved taking part in the farm to school weeks. Being able to support people who are working so hard at making our community a better place has been deeply gratifying.
Thank you to the farmers who grew and raised the food we served. It has been a particular joy to see how the farm to fork movement has blossomed in our county.
Our last words are for our employees. You are where our love for Summer Thyme’s started. Your poured your hearts into this restaurant. You made incredible food, served people from love, stayed late and came in early. You cared (and you know what that means)! You laughed with us and cried with us, saw us at our worst and at our best. If family means people who stick with you through thick and thin, then yes, you are family. And we are grateful to you more than words can say.
Today, June 30th, we will close our doors. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for taking part in the true mission of Summer Thyme’s.
Love,
Amy and Chamba Cooke
(Photo: John Burnett)
Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report 
Sad!
I will miss summer thymes!! You have been my favorite place to grab a sandwich for years! (Always the Turkey, bacon and gorgonzola!!) The staff and service has always been amazing. Grass valley will truly be loosing a gem ❤ I wish you luck on your new journey!
I posted this article on Facebook, including some of the local user groups, and it has gone viral — well over 2,000 visits, dozens of “shares,” and dozens and dozens of comments. It shows how much love surrounds this business, as well as Amy and Chamba. I wrote this on my Facebook page when I posted the letter: “Amy and Chamba are wonderful people. We were honored to host them at our cabin in Lake Tahoe last fall — for Amy’s birthday. There is so much love emanating from both of them, not to mention their cooking, support of local farms, local art, and nonprofits, and the legacy of Summer Thyme’s. When Mitchell was in grade school, Amy lent Mitchell a book about “yarrow” for a school project. She was thrilled to learn he got an
‘A.” In the meantime, Amy has returned as executive director of the Woolman School. We are longtime supporters of that institution: https://www.woolman.org/woolman-staff
This post has now generated over 4,000 page views. It is clear that Summer Thyme’s was beloved.
This is, indeed, sad news ☹️
For the years that I was the producer of the Empty Bowl for Hospitality House and when I put on other fundraisers, Amy, Chamba and their wonderful staff were most kind and generous! They will be missed and I’m sure I speak for everyone in our Community when I say we wish them well and the next legs of their journeys. 🙏🏻
The Union has now published this news here: https://www.theunion.com/news/business/thymes-they-are-a-changin-summer-thymes-bakery-and-deli-closed-after-sunday/
I also heard that Mill Street Clothing is closed or is closing. Brick & Mortar retail is tough these daysLinda Robinson **Love your newsletters!
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What a sad loss for our community,
I had no idea this was happening. Thank-you to all the staff who have been a part of serving up delicious healthy food. Best wishes to you all!!!