To the editor:

When I read the article about Country Lakes Café last week, I felt like someone had slapped me across the face.

When Barb Smith first approached me the first part of December, she said she would be able to help me with my startup costs and I would be able to purchase any inventory that was left after she closed.

I felt like I was being handed the opportunity of a lifetime. I really loved working there and loved all the clientele. I also knew the business and how things were run.

By the end of December, Barb told me they wouldn’t be able to help me out with startup costs, which I tried to understand. This made me search for funds.

I was still trying to get funding when I read that story. Getting that kind of money doesn’t happen overnight, and I can’t pull that kind of cash out of my back pocket. As far as having all my “ducks in a row,” I had everything ready to go. I just couldn’t do anything without cash in hand.

I hope Barb will be able to find the “right person” because I’m not that person anymore.

— Gretchen Bernhardt