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A Dash of Panache Home > About UsThere are several sections "About Us" below including: You can also see any recent tid-bits in our What's New section.
Our Mission Statement"A Dash of Panache exists to serve our community by fostering friendships in a variety of unique, fun, and memorable ways."
Our History
They set their sights on the historic downtown portion of Roseville because it best fit the concept of their business. They were fortunate to find a 2,300 square foot building on Vernon Street, which they completely renovated. “It took almost four times as long as expected to jump through all of the hoops necessary to renovate the 1920's building, but it was actually a blessing to spread out the timeline so it didn’t impact our current jobs. We were excited to see everything finally come together,” admits Scott. They officially opened on Mother's Day, 2005! The Alvord family is known for hosting unique birthday parties for their children. Reflecting back on the origins of the concept, Karen stated, “At first we wanted to open just a place for women and girls to come and have fun. But after evaluating the needs on Vernon Street, we decided to add a Family Ice Cream and Refreshment Parlor as well, because the community really needed one. We set up a table in front of the gutted building and promoted the business with fliers during the Downtown Tuesday Nights event through the summer. We were amazed at the excitement and support the business generated in the community. This provided us a lot of encouragement.” The business contains four primary services to the community:
Both Scott and Karen originally planned to maintain their careers while acting as executive management of the business. However, when people ask God to lead in their lives...people make plans and God chuckles. To make a long story short, Scott eventually decided to resign after 18 years with the same employer and finally give in to God's leading. Scott now manages the business onsite while Karen remains active in designing events. Scott is a software developer and business consultant who holds an MBA-MCA degree (CSUS) while Karen is a LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) and the Executive Director for Lilliput Children’s Services. Scott used his other company, Advanced Development Concepts, to develop this website for the new business (www.ADashOfPanache.com). In describing their roles in the business, Scott explains, “Karen works behind the scenes and handles the fluffy stuff like the recipes, party design, décor, etc. while I setup the business plan, helped with construction, designed the policies and software integration, handle marketing and manage our great team of associates. We both enjoyed working together on things like policies and procedures. All of us are very concerned about quality and memorable experiences for our customers.” Karen added, “Our children are as involved as they want to be. Our three younger children can occasionally be found working in the kitchen, at parties, and behind the counter. Our grown children have all worked at the business at one time or another in various aspects. We also have had a few good friends employed here. Scott also does a good job of hiring quality high schoolers, college students, and adults from our community.”
Company ProfileWe felt that a list of bullet points was better than a boring blah blah blah paragraph. Therefore, here are some characteristics of our business:
About the Name...At first, the business was going to be called, Heart Chics, but after modifying the business model, it didn't fit the ice cream portion of the business. The name, A Dash of Panache, came about after many long discussions...OK, they were often deep discussions...also known as "arguments" or "boxing matches" by most folks. Sometimes we dragged friends into the arguments and sometimes they jumped right into the frying pan themselves. Often we had to call a truce to "think about it" (or to cool heels). Some believe there was horse trading and "called-in favors" behind the scenes to help eliminate or promote certain names...but that's just rumors and besides, it's far in the past now. Our name search included formal surveys, trademark research, and other Internet Research. Let's be honest here...some of the suggested names even came from dreams...and some from downright vivid nightmares! But trying to be honest to a friend or family member without hurting feelings can be difficult. Just about everyone close to us got involved in this naming process...everyone had the "perfect name." Several other potential feminine names ended up being the names of "adult websites" or had "other meanings" that we didn't want to have to explain. We conducted several written surveys that helped us eliminate names more than promote names. Celeste (a family friend) was the first to suggest the word, "Panache" and, after much debate about how people would pronounce it, it was decided that A Dash of Panache would use the word "Dash" to help influence the pronunciation of "Panache." What does "Panache" mean? It's French for "style," which fits our partial French-deco design. It can be properly pronounced either "Pa-NASH" (which is how we pronounce it...it also rhymes) or "Pa-NOSH." But we've also heard it errantly pronounced "Pa-NACH-ee" and "PAN-ake." There have been some other mistakes that have unfortunately been made more than once in relation to the business name:
However, we're still expecting that someday, someone will respond to our awesome tomato gorgonzola soup with, "The menu said potato soup," or "What does 'Tom Toe' Soup taste like?" But, hey, if you happen to be the one to drop this little hum-dinger, we might happily explain that, "It must be a misprint on the menu and that we'll get it fixed right away." ...How's that for a dash of panache?
So Panache! NewslettersWe send out a very informative newsletter every quarter or so (not very often). If you're not on our Private Mailing List, you will miss out on a LOT of great opportunities to get significant discounts and find out about fun events coming up on our calendar. We will not share your email address and you will not receive junk mail. |
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A Dash of Panache is located at
217 Vernon Street, Roseville, CA 95678. Phone:
(916) 788-4FUN (788-4386)
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After
a mini-family meeting back in the early summer of 2003, the Alvord family
decided to create a business that they could all join in on.
Karen (Mom) dreamed up the initial concept. After Scott (Dad) did some financial
analysis, he soon was just as excited about the idea as a way to invest some
extra funds the family had. They both were thrilled with the possibility of
working together and creating a business framework that their seven children
(and some friends) could get involved with as much or as little as desired. The
seven children (ages ranged from 13 to 32 at the time of this photo, Summer
2010) are considered “Co-Owners”
while their parents are “Executive Owners.” 