FALL RIVER: Sarah MacLennan saw a need for a local cafe, and the space was available in Fall River in the old Chef’s Jeff location.

Seeing that everything was in place pretty much for her to open, she jumped at the chance and A Good Day Kitchen & Cafe was born. It’s a quaint little spot atop the building that houses MRD Driving School and The Men’s Den, among others.

In the summer one can sit out in the warm sunshine on the patio, chow down on their delicious eats, and look out towards Lake Thomas and Highway 2.

“At my age, I don’t know how good you are at working for someone else, so I wanted to create my own employment,” she said. “I saw a need for something like this in the area.”

MacLennan said owning her own business—which has two employees beside herself—has been great. She is a member of FRABA.

“What a great way to become part of the community; get to know the parents and children that my kids go to school with,” she said.

She was working a few days at The Vegetorium Country Farm Market in Fall River, by the roundabout, and got to understand the kinds of food people liked and to know the people as well.

“There were lots of conversations about what I did previously in Australia,” said MacLenann. “One of my customers mentioned to me that I should talk to the owners of the blue building in Fall River as there was an empty space. My dad visited at Christmas time a couple years back and said ‘why not.’ So I did it.”

MacLennan said she knew there would be risks in owning her own business, but she was up for the challenge.

“I was absolutely ready to face them,” she said. “I had worked for myself before. I think the number one thing is you have to back yourself. Just believe in yourself.

“It wasn’t an uncalculated or just a stab int he dark. I had done my research of the area. I thought something like this would work.”

A Good Day Kitchen & Cafe will be celebrating their second anniversary in March. They have had a lot of hurdles—no bridge for the first summer; then the building was under construction in the fall. Now, she’s dealing with the water project underway.

She said the cafe has become a destination for many—some who do their daily work business from there.

“The community has really welcomed me with open arms,” said MacLennan. “We’re a real hub for people that are not from here. A lot of internati0nal people have moved here and they come to the cafe.

“There’s also a lot of people work for themselves, so I have become a place where people come and sit, and do their work remotely at the cafe. We become a Fall River office for some.”