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Tanya Buchanan has made a success of launching The Broadway House in Myrtle Creek despite tight economic times. Her bistro offers homemade breakfast and lunch items.
Tanya Buchanan wanted to both fulfill a dream and be an inspiration.
She figured with a realistic approach and hard work, she could accomplish her goals despite the economic times. So with her husband, Robert, she opened The Broadway House in Myrtle Creek in July 2008.
The business at 132 Broadway St. offers breakfast and lunch items that are made by Buchanan. There are muffins, cookies, croissants, fruit pies, specialty cakes, quiche and frittata — all of them baked.
“I've met all the goals I've set for myself, and I've surpassed them,” said Buchanan, who begins baking each morning at about 6 a.m. She uses herbs, vegetables and fruits that are grown in the yard by her friend, Shawna Hare. “By the grace of God, I'm doing it right. I'm going to keep doing it. I'm here to stay.
“Part of my satisfaction out of all this has been not just to make money, but to have a business that is clean and looks good,” she added. “My husband and I take pride in that.”
Buchanan, 59, said that she was willing to open a new business in the midst of a struggling economy — and in a small rural community such as Myrtle Creek — because there was no other business like it in the area. The shop's hours are 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Buchanan said that early on she had to explain to people she wasn't opening another coffee stand.
“I call it a bistro,” she said.
The Buchanans retired from jobs in central California and moved to Myrtle Creek in 2005. Tanya Buchanan's brother is a longtime resident of the area, and the Buchanans had previously made trips north to visit. The Buchanans had no intentions of starting a new business, but when Tanya Buchanan saw that the small building next to the Myrtle Creek Post Office was up for sale, she decided it was time to fulfill her dream of owning a food business.
She wasn't interested in a full-scale restaurant because of the expense of getting it up and running. She said she also knew a lot of restaurants open, only to fail.
She said she believed a breakfast-lunch business with one baker/server could make it.
Buchanan and her 54-year-old spouse did much of the work renovating their new property after purchasing it. They basically gutted the one-story, 850-square-foot house, then put up new drywall, insulation, electrical and plumbing systems, floors, doors, windows, paint and a new walkway out front. The building's exterior was painted, a picket fence and deck were built, and landscaping has been done.
“I heard comments of every type, from words of encouragement to, ‘You must be crazy, you must be from California,'” said Buchanan. “I just made a conscious decision to just nod and smile. I had a strong feeling that it was going to do well and I wasn't going to get talked out of it.
“I wanted to hopefully inspire somebody else, to get on that same bandwagon so to speak,” she added. “To be a role model, to light a fire, to say look what you can do if you just try. With some elbow grease and a little bit of money, you can do it.”
The Broadway House was named Myrtle Creek's Business of the Month in August 2008, just a month after opening.
“Even in a struggling economy, people want to give themselves a treat,” said Buchanan. “A lot of time, they'll pick food.”
• You can reach Features editor Craig Reed at 957-4210 or by e-mail at creed@nrtoday.com.
She figured with a realistic approach and hard work, she could accomplish her goals despite the economic times. So with her husband, Robert, she opened The Broadway House in Myrtle Creek in July 2008.
The business at 132 Broadway St. offers breakfast and lunch items that are made by Buchanan. There are muffins, cookies, croissants, fruit pies, specialty cakes, quiche and frittata — all of them baked.
“I've met all the goals I've set for myself, and I've surpassed them,” said Buchanan, who begins baking each morning at about 6 a.m. She uses herbs, vegetables and fruits that are grown in the yard by her friend, Shawna Hare. “By the grace of God, I'm doing it right. I'm going to keep doing it. I'm here to stay.
“Part of my satisfaction out of all this has been not just to make money, but to have a business that is clean and looks good,” she added. “My husband and I take pride in that.”
Buchanan, 59, said that she was willing to open a new business in the midst of a struggling economy — and in a small rural community such as Myrtle Creek — because there was no other business like it in the area. The shop's hours are 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Buchanan said that early on she had to explain to people she wasn't opening another coffee stand.
“I call it a bistro,” she said.
The Buchanans retired from jobs in central California and moved to Myrtle Creek in 2005. Tanya Buchanan's brother is a longtime resident of the area, and the Buchanans had previously made trips north to visit. The Buchanans had no intentions of starting a new business, but when Tanya Buchanan saw that the small building next to the Myrtle Creek Post Office was up for sale, she decided it was time to fulfill her dream of owning a food business.
She wasn't interested in a full-scale restaurant because of the expense of getting it up and running. She said she also knew a lot of restaurants open, only to fail.
She said she believed a breakfast-lunch business with one baker/server could make it.
Buchanan and her 54-year-old spouse did much of the work renovating their new property after purchasing it. They basically gutted the one-story, 850-square-foot house, then put up new drywall, insulation, electrical and plumbing systems, floors, doors, windows, paint and a new walkway out front. The building's exterior was painted, a picket fence and deck were built, and landscaping has been done.
“I heard comments of every type, from words of encouragement to, ‘You must be crazy, you must be from California,'” said Buchanan. “I just made a conscious decision to just nod and smile. I had a strong feeling that it was going to do well and I wasn't going to get talked out of it.
“I wanted to hopefully inspire somebody else, to get on that same bandwagon so to speak,” she added. “To be a role model, to light a fire, to say look what you can do if you just try. With some elbow grease and a little bit of money, you can do it.”
The Broadway House was named Myrtle Creek's Business of the Month in August 2008, just a month after opening.
“Even in a struggling economy, people want to give themselves a treat,” said Buchanan. “A lot of time, they'll pick food.”
• You can reach Features editor Craig Reed at 957-4210 or by e-mail at creed@nrtoday.com.
