After getting the ‘go-ahead’ from her Crew Leader, Athena walked into the small abandoned building along Bricktown main street. It was a bit of a chore to pry down the boards on the windows and doors with her complimentary gangster crowbar, but after a couple of hours of hard work, Athena had gotten the small buildings windows board free. After that, Athena cleaned up and her new machinery in the door while she waited for the initial shipment of products and baking goods she needed. She had taken out a few jobs and loans from her new family to afford her new location, but she knew it was worth it. This café was going to be a big hit! She planned on only selling healthy options as well as non-healthy options, such as her low-fat muffins and her deep-fried doughnuts. Once she had gotten it set up, Athena heard the sound of a loud truck pull up outside.

“Over here, men!”

Athena called as she walked outside, watching the men unload her business sign.  ‘Athena’s Café’

“Right here, gentlemen. Put it on those hooks up there.” She said as she stood aside, letting the gentlemen put the signup.

“A little to the left... Yes, perfect. Right there.”

Athena stated with certainty as she paid the men with a wad of cash. Once they took off, Athena looked at the sign and grinned before walking back into her shop. As she laid out a few tablecloths on the circle tables, Athena hummed and then sat down a few centerpieces.

“That should do it. Time to get baking!”

Athena said with a grin before hitting the kitchens.

[A few hours later]

After several hours, Athena left the kitchens and filled her display case with bunches of different goodies. She then sat out Catering order sheets in case customers wanted to order dozens of her items for events. Once she sat out a stack, Athena walked to the door and flipped on her open sign.

“We are open for business. Just in time for the afternoon rush.”

Athena said as she sat out the hours of operation sign and then put the breakfast menu up and then the dinner menu. Once the menus were put up, Athena walked behind the counter and tied an apron around her waist, glancing out the windows of her business of the men and women walking past.

Mickey left his speakeasy well after the sun had come up. His tuxedo was partially undone, hair a mess and the first sign of facial hair growing in. The light was too bright and he struggled to adjust his eyes. He put on his fedora and began walking down the street. His father, standing in the door with a cigar and a chuckle said, "Happy New Year, son."

"Happy New Year, pop," he said as he started his walk.

The sudden smell of delicious food overwhelmed him, and for a minute he almost entirely forgot that he was at death's grip with a hell of a hangover. He looks up at the sign, craning his neck and squinting to see straight "Athena's Cafe."

He steps inside and looks at the menu and he's sold. He's ready to drown the alcohol in his stomach and overeat, and promptly orders coffee, pancakes, and the three meat medley.

Having only just settled into Detroit, Anna didn't yet have much in the way of food at her place.  So she wandered into Athena's cafe for a bite to eat.  She opened the menu and smiled brightly at what she saw.

"I'll have the southern fried pork chops, green beans, and mashed potatoes.  Also, I don't suppose you make sweet potato pie here?"  Anna arched a hopeful eye at the waitress.

As Mickey enters Athena’s café, Athena is busy in the back while the girl at the counter goes and takes a menu to Mickey's table.

“Here you go, sir.”

 The young lady said while pulling out a pen and a small notebook.

“Can I start you off with a drink?”

The waitress offered. As Mickey ordered coffee and then his meal, the waitress was taken a bit by surprise but nodded with a grin as she scribbled furiously on the paper to get all the details of his order. This was a customer who knew what he wanted.

“Alrighty sir, I’ll get that in for you.”

She said before taking the slip and hanging it up in the kitchen slot before grabbing a red coffee cup and a pot of freshly brewed coffee. As she took it to the table, she smiled and poured him a cup. On the table, he would find the generic cream and sugar packets and containers. Of course, there was also a pepper and salt grinder there as well as jam and jellies.

“Here you go sir. It’ll be a few minutes on your order.”

~~

After the young waitress got the first order in, she heard the familiar bell chimed over the door as a new customer walked in.

“Welcome to Athena’s café.”

She said as she showed the customer to her seat. As she laid down the menu, she picked up her writing pad again and spoke.

“Can I help you with a drink today?”

She asked as she smiled and then looked back at the woman.

“Okay. I actually think Miss Athena is working on some more pie creations in the back. I can check for you if sweet potato is on her list.”

She said with a smile.

“It’ll just be a moment.”

The young waitress said before walking back to the kitchen.

“Miss Athena, I have a lady asking for sweet potato pie.” Her waitress said as Athena looked up from her mixing bowl, a streak of flour on her cheek.

“Sweet potato pie! Believe it or not, I have one on the cooling rack. It’s the first one I’ve made in a while. I’m not a big fan of it, but I wanted to see if it would draw in the customers. Tell er we do have one. “

Athena said before going back to mixing her dough. The young waitress quickly left the baking area and walked swiftly to the customer's table.

“Yes Ma’am. Miss Athena has a pie on the cooling rack right now. Would you like me to bring you a slice after you finish your meal and would you like a scoop of ice cream with it?” she asked as she smiled, holding onto the pen and paper in anticipation of the customer’s request.

Kaiya shivered as she entered athena's cafe it was certainly cold out, she removed her mitt's from her hands and rubbed her cheeks.She spotted Athena and waved frantically "Hi Athena it's frozen out right"? she walked over to the counter and scanned the menu "May i please have a spiced pumpkin latte thanks" Kaiya then huddled close to the heater and waited patiently, it was lovely having a cosy little cafe so close to home.

After the waitress received the information from her other customer, AnnaMarie , the young lady took the order and put it in. She then went to greet the new customer, just as her boss came out of the baking area, rubbing her hands together. As Athena heard her name and saw rapid motions, she grinned and waved a hand to Kaiya as she came into the warmth.

“Oh hello, Kaiya!”

Athena said with a big grin. As Kaiya came to the counter, the girl that was waiting tables smiled politely and took Kaiya’s order.

“Will that be whole milk, soy, 2% or skim milk Ma’am? Would you like whipped cream on that?”

The waitress asked as she smiled. Once the waitress received the information, she went to work making the drink while Athena walked over to the window, hearing the ding of the bell and seeing the platter of food Mickey_Brocato ordered.  As she swung by the counter, she picked up a fresh coffee pot and brought it with her. As Athena dropped it off, she smiled and spoke.

“Coffee, pancakes, and the three-meat medley. “

Athena said as she poured him a fresh cup of coffee and sat the food down, as well as the pot of coffee.

“I’ll leave this here in case you want more. Hollar if you need anything. Enjoy.”

Athena said before walking away from the table, just in time to take the finished drink from her waitress and take it to Kaiya.

“Here ya go. “

Athena said with a smile as she saw her waitress typing up the checks for the customers, in order for them to get out the door with ease.

Meanwhile, the chef was still in the back, preparing the masterpiece that is AnnaMarie’s food.

Rico was walking through the Detroit Business District when the smell of fresh doughnuts caught his nose. After a moment his stomach started to grumble. Rico wanted to make the healthy decision and avoid the doughnuts, after all it was the beginning of a new year and he was trying to start the year off right, but he simply could not resist. He walked into Athena’s Cafe, took a seat. He never even picked up a menu but looks at Athena and says 

Hi there Athena! Those doughnuts you have smell absolutely fantastic. May I please have an order of those with a hot coffee? 

There was a lot of time for Figment to gather his thoughts before entering the business, he had to make sure to know exactly what to order before he went inside and went to great lengths to secure himself a dinner menu before having ever set foot into the place. A lot was riding on this going well, and everyone there would be people who he had only known for a few days, if he pulled this off perfectly they would all love and revere him, surely. 

"Yes, I would like... no, no. Hey! I'll have the... no, you can do better than that...", using his reflection in a puddle outside of the joint he workshopped his opening for a few minutes until he had nailed the perfect one. Once he was happy with his choice of greeting the man pushed open the doors and walked inside proudly with his head held high.

"Hey how's it going, guys?"

Waving towards Athena he stepped up to the counter and with a hue of red on his cheeks noticed that the menus were displayed right at the front and he didn't need to spend the last three hours reading a small pamphlet he had a young boy write down on a napkin for $20 which he know realized was a gross overpay-- over and over again. Slightly defeated, but not ready to give up, he uttered out his order and smiled widely at the success.

"I'll have some chicken noodle."

Straight to the point, he came across as a real go-getter. Perfect. Sitting down, he waited for his food to be brought to him and was sure that everyone was pleasantly impressed with the perfect rendition of the soup. He barely even looked up at the menu! It was probably noticed by them all... or not, at this point he was too hungry to care.

Time to eat.

Athena looked away from Kaiya as Rico came in and took a seat. As she looked at the man who was speaking, Athena nodded and looked at her waitress who was bringing AnnaMarie her food. Noticing that the waitress was busy, Athena nodded and walked to the counter, taking a few doughnuts from the display case and picking up a coffee cup and coffee, sitting them down on a tray before she walked to RicoLuciano ‘s table. Once she got to the table, she sat the items down and poured the cup.

“Here you go.”

Athena said before she heard the tinkle of the bell overhead.  As Athena looked at the man who entered, she smiled and spoke.

“Hey Figment,”

Athena said as she moved behind the counter to take his order. As he spoke, Athena craned to hear him before she nodded and watched him take a seat.

“Coming right up.”

Athena said before going to the warmers in the back. On a tray, Athena placed a bowl of chicken noodle soup with a few packs of crackers. She then took the tray to the table and sat out the order that Figment ordered.

“Here you go. Would you like a drink with that? We have coffee, soft drinks, tea. Any of these interest you?”

Athena offered with a smile.

Rico sipped his coffee and took a bite of the doughnuts. They were incredible, some of the best doughnuts he had ever eaten. 

Athena what do you put in these? They are delicious! I think I need another order to go if that is possible!

Rico pulled a newspaper out of his briefcase and began to read as he enjoyed his coffee and doughnuts. 

Athena glanced to RicoLuciano as she nodded and a waitress came over with a baggy of doughnuts and the check for his order. 

"Here you go, sir."

The waitress said as she handed him his order and the check. The price for the two orders of doughnuts and the cup of coffee was not a bad price. It was seven dollars. Three for each order of doughnuts and a dollar for the cup of coffee. 

Meanwhile, Athena was once again looking back to Figment to see if he needed a drink with his previous order. 

Twirling his spoon around in his soup, he heard what Athena had said but his embarrassment of not ordering a drink with his food was already too much. Staring deeply into the warm broth as its steam pressed against his face to hide the few tears that had already formed around his eyes was all that was able to console him at this moment, but he couldn't let this get the best of him, no! He would order a drink now and pull it off with such aplomb that they would all still be extremely impressed.

"I will have a choc... a hot chocolate, please. Thank you."

Sitting down he gave off his best attempt at a smile given the situation and slurped at his soup. 

Athena looked at figment expectantly and smiled some as he ordered a hot chocolate.

“A hot chocolate for the best guy in my crew.”

Athena joked while giving Figment a gentle nudge before walking to the back and making the drink personally. After a few moments, Athena walked back to Figment's table and sat down a hot chocolate and a complimentary chocolate chip muffin.

“Here you go Figment. Here’s a muffin on the house for all of the help you have given me. Just holler if you need anything, okay buddy?”

Athena said before smiling and walking back behind the counter, to make sure to add a discount to Figments bill for the muffin, so if the waitress took him the bill, he would not be charged for the chocolate chip muffin.

Rico finishes his doughnuts and coffee, pays the bill and leaves the waitress a generous tip. He grabs the bag of doughnuts to go and gets ready to leave.

Great place you have here Athena! I will be sure to stop by next time I am in Detroit!

He heads out the door checking his watch to ensure he is not late for his flight. 

Athena smiled as Rico Left, waving to him as he left her fine establishment.

"Thank's Rico. I'll see you later."

Athena said as she headed back into the back to get stuff done while her waitress took care of the customers in the front. Athena was a very busy lady and she had several things in the oven that needed to be taken out before they got burnt.

Chris walked into Athena's Café it was very early in the morning as Chris loved the early morning workouts and walks.  Chris sat at a table and a waitress walked over.  Chris ordered a coffee black no sugar and three blueberry pancakes with maple syrup and six strips of bacon and a glass of orange juice.  He then started reading the morning paper, the president was Calvin Coolidge and he was the guy that brought prosperity back to America.  

Chris food arrived and he immediately poured the syrup onto his hot pancakes as he started slicing and digging his fork into them and eating away.  They were great and the thick strips of bacon added more flavor to them.  He would wash a little down with orange juice from time to time.  As he continued to read the paper.  When it was all said and done Chris got the bill and he paid telling the waitress to keep the change.

Athena worked away in the back of the shop as her waitress efficiently handled Chris-Luchese 's order efficiently. Once the young woman had handled everything and the man had paid the bill, she graciously accepted her tip. At that moment, Athena left the back and nodded towards Chris-Lucchese before approaching him.

"Welcome! How was everything to your liking today Sir? " 

Athena asked as she smiled. She very much wanted to hear how everything was since she had had a few customers. She was eager for feedback, as one would say. Feedback meant she could progress to her customers needs, such as if the price was too much or if the portion sizes were too small.

Taking his muffin he quickly shoved it into his pocket and began to slurp down the hot chocolate, more tears now pouring from his eyes as the scalding hot beverage burns every bit of his mouth, but at this point, his commitment to showing off for the crowd is far too great and so grasping hard at the seat he was placed upon he continued to guzzle the burning drink until there was none left. 

"Thank thoo, Athoona." 

Quickly shuffling from the seat and leaving the noodle soup at the table he rushed out of the Cafe and went directly to the nearest hospital for something to soothe his mouth and throat from the terrible pain.

Athena moved towards Figments table as he rushed out of her cafe. She looked a bit confused and surprised as he ran out, but shrugged slightly. Figment always seemed like an odd person to her, but she knew he was a good guy.

"No problem Figment.. come back soon." 

Athena said as he rushed out the door. As Athena cleared the table and then wiped it down, she laid down two menus and some silverware before heading back to take the dishes to the dish room to be cleaned later on. 

Dick had been wandering about a bit along the streets of Detroit. He was still in a bit of a daze but the cold Detroit breeze was fighting that off little by little. He tucked his jacket tight against himself before he spotted a warm place to rest a few businesses down. It certainly helped that he was starving. 

Ducking inside, Dick shucked his jacket, laying it over the back of his seat before settling down himself. He still kept his left arm tight to his body, the sling helping with that a little bit. Scanning over the menu, he decided that he needed something warm to help with the chill that set into his bones as he had been walking along the street.

”If it’s not too much trouble ma’am,” Dick smiled politely at the server who came to take his order, “Could I please have a tomato soup, a side of French fries and a hot chocolate? Thank you kindly.”

Resting his good arm on the table, Dick finally relaxed enough to take in the sounds, sights and smells around him. The place was full but it wasn’t to the point that he had to jockey for position or anything like that. He noticed the smells of the place next, nothing over powering but each and everyone different in their own way yet delicious none the less. If the food was half as good as it smelt, he was going to enjoy this meal more than most.