There are tons of options when you are putting together the details for your upcoming event.  That is the great part about being in a city like Oklahoma City!  However, not all vendors are created equal.  It is easy to get their policy on how things work, how great of a job they do and get references from all the happy clients they have.  But what happens when things go wrong?

We have been providing specialty coffee to Montana and Oklahoma since 2005.  In that time, we have served at hundreds of events and served thousands of lattes.  From the start, we had several things that we wanted to be known for including top notch service, being on time, going above and beyond what our clients hire us for and taking care of our clients just as we would our own families - no matter the situation.  Well, a night a few weeks ago proved to be one of those times that we had to fall back on our foundations. 

Since 2005, we have only had one issue with an espresso machine that we could not fix before the event started.  That’s six years worth of work.  In fact, in that six years, we have only been late to get set up one time.  Even with the best equipment on the market, sometimes things just happen.

So, what happens?  Well, when you book with EVOKE, you are in good hands.  A refund is on the way.  Our policy is simple, if we have issues like that beyond our control, you have a choice:

1. Refund:  We will send you a refund with 14 business days for the amount of the contract we could not complete.  Hey, we breached the contract.  You will get an email from us explaining the refund and how the process will work.

2. Your next event, Free!  Yes, that’s right.  You can decide to just do another event in the future of equal value and we will bring the coffee!

There are TONS of great vendors in Oklahoma and 99% of them have no other intention but to create a flawless and perfect experience for you and your guests.  Get to know your vendors and what they are all about.  While we all hate the contracting, terms and conditions and the paperwork that goes along with it, it is important!  It keeps the good faith portion of the agreement, well, good I guess.

It’s your event.  Your vendors should do everything they can to make sure it is perfect.  Keep in mind though that things do happen.  If you have gotten to know your vendors, you will be able to take all of the bumps in the road in stride and without missing a beat.

Why do we tell you all of this?  Because we care about what you are planning.  Heck, it the occasion wasn’t important, you would not be going through the trouble of throwing a party or event over it.  You have a lot going on and to worry about your coffee caterer is something we want to take off your plate.

Have a great holiday season and we thank you for inviting EVOKE to be a part of it!

Jason Duncan, owner

Ok, Ok..  Yes, it has been quite a while since you had the chance to read one of our life changing blog posts.  When we say “you”, we mean the 1 person that reads this thing!  That actually got me thinking - not about the 1 person that reads the blog, but about blogs in general.  

When I first starting writing a blog back in late 2004, early 2005 - it was called A Thought Over Coffee - blogs where supposed to be like real time newspapers.  Yup.  The blog was updated every day and sometimes twice a day.  We kept content fresh, broad and linked to other blogs we read, magazines and other fun links that where worth a click. Ok, I’m rambling.  That was just a random thought at the difference between company blogs then and company blogs now.

So, it’s August - finally - and we are 1 day closer to getting out of the summer months. It’s been depressing for sure.  The good news is that July is a planning month for me and I get to spend lots of time listening to music, sipping coffee and being indoors in front of my computer working on new coffee bar packages, new add-ons and new policy that will make Cafe Evoke Catering an even better solution for your next event.  I’m excited to release a bunch of new things - soon.

Here is what is going to be coming up in the next month here on the blog (not in any order):

• Information on where you can find us since moving out of 1708
• New coffee bar add-on (it’s a cold something and a non coffee something)
• New coffee package that will make your taste buds clap
• New online reservation form
• Info for those getting married
• Why your event needs Cafe Evoke (and other great vendors) 

There will be more but those are the highlights!  Hopefully we will see you soon! Sip sweet….

Jason, Cafe Evoke

I’ve become slightly  obsessed with a blog called Not Without Salt. Aside from my admiration of her craft  and my jealousy of her stomping grounds (I really love Seattle), I love how she finds an art and appreciation for beautiful food and great coffee. She had a wonderful post a few weeks ago that I’ve been dying to share. Not only did it make me tear up a bit at her love and commitment to her husband (a trait I admire greatly) but it again reminded me that to truly enjoy good food and then settle for anything less then good coffee is a travesty!

I hope that you enjoy her post (and the rest of her blog) as much as I do. My plan is to post more on this culinary relationship as well as the relationship between coffee and wine, beer, etc in the future. We may even start to throw a few fun recipes on here for you to try. Stay tuned.

Jenni..  

(PS: Jason wrote a piece about “Last Impressions” several months ago in case you are interested.)

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  We have tons of things going on and… ok, no excuse.  We quickly wanted to get you a short update on the move from 1708 and how to find us from July 1st on (at least in the short term)!

At this point, we will not have a place for tastings but that, we hope, will be changing soon.  Until then, we are happy to meet where it is convenient for you or chat via phone and email - it’s up to you! We’ll even take you to coffee at one of our friends places here in OKC: Coffee Slingers or Elemental Coffee Roasters.   If you are in Tulsa, how about Double Shot or Topeca?

If you need us via phone, here is how to find us!

OKC: (405) 606-2200

If you need to email us, the best way is to contact us through our site, CafeEvoke.com.  You can also find our email address listed there as well if that is easier for you. 

We are super excited about all the things we are working on and hope that you can bare with us a few weeks as we try to tie up loose ends and start rolling out some of this newness to you.  We, again, appreciate your continued support and you love for great coffee in Oklahoma.

We will be here at 1708 for a few more weeks so if you do want to get in for a tasting or to chat with one of our baristas, now is the time!  We’d love to talk about your upcoming event or just about coffee.

Enjoy the hotness of this fine Oklahoma summer and we will see you soon.  Sip sweet.

“There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction” 

Winston Churchill said it and we believe it. Running a small business is a blast, 99.9% of the time. Until you, as owner and chief, need to make a tough decision. For over two years we have had the privilege of calling the Plaza District home. Our neighbors have become friends and eventually family. We love and support everything that the Plaza is doing in our great city and while it is hard to say goodbye to 1708 we feel that now is the time to chase down some larger plans for Evoke in Oklahoma and beyond.

Let us be VERY clear! We are NOT closing our doors. We will STILL be serving the world’s best coffees to Oklahoma’s best events! We are just making the hard decision to downsize the amount of administration space we have been using in order to bring you an even better and more flexible Cafe Evoke Catering. We have so much on our vision board that we can’t wait to share with you; just not quite yet.

We will continue to support the Plaza and encourage you to continue to pour into this great community!  If you haven’t already, we’d love it if you went online and signed up for our newsletter.  As we begin to have things to share, this will be the way we will announce it first.  

Thanks again for the support and we look forward to being your source for great coffee at your events.

Jason and Jenni, owners

Cafe Evoke Catering