Monday, November 10, 2025
CASHMERE — “Downtown Cashmere” is an easy thing to envision. There’s Cottage Avenue, and, well, there’s the rest of town. That makes it the prime location for any business that wants to be established as a Cashmere mainstay. And back in 2011, when Teri Weedman opened her namesake cafe, that’s what she promptly set out to do.
But along the way, Teri picked up a very valuable employee — early on, in fact. She hired Jennifer MacCallum Provo about a dozen years ago, and Jennifer was so in love with the place, she’s just stayed on since. By “stayed on,” of course, it means she bought the place. Just a few months ago, MacCallum Provo bet everything that she could make it work as well as Weedman, and that the trick would be to just keep things going the way people were used to.
That’s because MacCallum Provo is a local through and through. She begins by offering a little feedback on the recent Founder’s Day celebration, which she remembers all the way back when it felt small and hometown-like, with the ping pong ball drop right on Cottage Avenue.
She says business is “going really good,” too, though she adds that it’s “been a bit of a rollercoaster. Staffing’s been really good, everybody stayed [over the transfer of ownership], but just because I’ve added some things, and I kind of get wrapped up in everything I want done. But you can’t get everything done. And there’s been some other new businesses that have come into Cashmere.”
She’s talking about another big coffee shop that opened up not too long ago in the Side Street district, but she’s not terribly worried at this point. “Everybody had to try everything out, but they’re coming back now.” And she knows the regulars. When she first began working here, she already had another job bartending over at Club Crow, so she really is a fixture around town.
Asked what the “vibe” is at Weeds, she pauses with a “Hi, guys!” to a couple of regulars, then hesitates. “I mean, I guess, like… home? Like, comforting, warm and relaxed. Some people who come in say ‘grounded,’ so that’s good.”
“We do have a core clientele. I would say they keep us going. You know, you’ve got your tourists that come through in the summers, you’ve got those bigger months during spring and summer, but our locals keep us afloat. And Cashmere is always here to support us.” In fact, she returns the favor. She’s currently sitting under a canvas photo of Horse Lake that she bought from one of her regulars, who comes in all the time with his brother.
What’s the most popular thing on the menu? “That would be the breakfast bagel sandwich and the breakfast burrito for sure. We did start carrying biscuits and gravy too, but they’re not up on the signboard yet. And hashbrown patties have been a big request.” MacCallum Provo says. She loves to bring in items that people ask for, but she never stops selling the classics.
“We sell a lot of the cranberry turkey and the BLT,” she says. What about coffee? That’s what got this place its start. “It’s picked up again,” she says, after a “lull” when a certain other coffee shop opened. “We’ve gotten a lot of people back drinking coffee.” She drinks plenty herself. “Iced, triple, honey, espresso, and then I put oat milk and heavy cream on top.” Coffee in three-shot doses sure will make you think of a lot more than needs to get done.
But she knows the neighborhood, and she sees the shifting demographic. She’s got ideas of maybe doing events at the Cafe, hosting live music and dancing. “I feel like people have lost the love of dancing, and I’d like to see it come back.” She’s ready to bring in local bands, and is considering the absolute showcase of a spot she’s got inside in the corner of the shop. “That table and chairs is garbage,” she says, pointing to the area she’s thinking of. Suddenly she remembers another regular. “But one of our local writers, that’s her favorite seat. KK Weakley (a Cashmere transplant from Ireland who’s published 11 books) writes all of her stuff here, and she sits right there. I’m sorry, KK, your seat is going to go.”
A night of live music at the place you went this morning for a bagel with everything? That sounds like easy money, and another addition to Cashmere’s already-growing nightlife. Heck, if the music gets too loud, Jennifer might even spot some of the Sheriff’s deputies and state patrol officers that frequent Weeds during the day. “They come here every day. We appreciate them so much,” she says.
As MacCallum Provo settles back in after jumping up to help a customer while the rest of the staff is occupied, she runs back to the counter, fetches something, and then comes back bearing a screwdriver. She’s about to fix the tabletop, which has been leaned on hard one too many times.
That’s the mark of a woman who cares about her shop, sure, but also someone who cares about her customers. If she noticed it, they will too. “New furniture someday,” she says, promising heady days in the future when she perhaps even has a minute to sit on some of it.
She’s even doctored up one of the rustic-looking signs that lists admonitions to be a good person: Be Grateful, Help Others, Eat More Vegetables, it says, among other traits of a virtuous soul. She’s added “Drink Good Espresso” in bright silver paint pen.
That hands-on, mindful of others approach has paid off for her. She loves her staff, all of whom are at work today — Ashley Potter, who MacCallum Provo calls her “second brain,” Harper Robbins (her soon-to-be daughter-in-law), and even her own daughter Justice Provo — and all of whom have been busily minding the business at their various stations throughout today’s visit.
And not just her employees, either. When asked what keeps her here in Cashmere, rather than taking a clearly popular and successful business into a more highly-populated area, MacCallum Provo says the town showed up for her.
“First of all, Cashmere is really special to me. They were very supportive when my grandson was born. He was in the hospital for a year, my daughter lived over there with him at Seattle Children’s, and we had so much support from Cashmere and even the surrounding area. I definitely want to give back here,” she says. “ There are a lot of genuine people here. And it’s home.”
Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here