Charlotte Charlton has long been a familiar face at the Pink Cherry.

The 21-year-old entrepreneur became familiar with the downtown Salmon Arm coffee shop/eatery in 2010, when her parents Helen and Stephen Charlton became its owners. Charlotte and her siblings Natasha and William (they are triplets) were photographed serving their mother coffee and a meal at the restaurant that year for a feature story in the Salmon Arm Observer. Asked then about her ideal Mother乌鸦传媒檚 Day, Helen responded, 乌鸦传媒淭his Mother乌鸦传媒檚 Day I would like to have a lazy morning with my family, then, to tell you the truth, I will be coming into the Pink Cherry to make sure other mothers are having a good time.乌鸦传媒�

That devotion to customer service, and the business, rubbed off on Charlotte, who began working at the Pink Cherry when she was old enough, and continued to do so after the Charltons sold the business to Angie and Bill Alde in 2016.

This summer, Charlotte had an opportunity to follow in her parents乌鸦传媒� footsteps and become the latest owner of the Pink Cherry.

乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檝e always wanted to, I just didn乌鸦传媒檛 know it would be possible so early,乌鸦传媒� said Charlotte. 乌鸦传媒淚 started inquiring with my accountant, with my mom and found it was possible, and everything started moving faster.乌鸦传媒�

While the idea of running your own business might be daunting for some, Charlotte had the benefit of experience, from seeing what it was like for her parents running the business, to having a good, close working relationship with the Aldes.

乌鸦传媒淚t feels really good,乌鸦传媒� said Charlotte of owning the Pink Cherry. 乌鸦传媒淭he opportunity would never have arose if I hadn乌鸦传媒檛 worked here for so long and had a good connection with the previous owner.乌鸦传媒�

Helen said it was a shock for her and Stephen when they learned of their daughter乌鸦传媒檚 interest in buying the restaurant. She said they talked a lot about it. Charlotte knew from her parents乌鸦传媒� experience alone how much time and commitment running a business involves.

乌鸦传媒淚 saw Mom and Dad when they ran it, they were always working,乌鸦传媒� said Charlotte. 乌鸦传媒淚 saw that for a lot of years so I knew that乌鸦传媒檚 how it was going to be. It didn乌鸦传媒檛 bother me.乌鸦传媒�

乌鸦传媒淪he says it乌鸦传媒檚 her passion, so yeah, we backed her 100 per cent and said, 乌鸦传媒楬oney, if that乌鸦传媒檚 what you want to do, go for it,乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮�媒� said Helen.

After taking over the Pink Cherry, Charlotte said the one change she wanted to make was to extend its hours of operation back to seven days a week (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday). Otherwise, consistency continues to be a valued ingredient behind the Pink Cherry乌鸦传媒檚 success.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 been here for a long time, it乌鸦传媒檚 kind of a community staple,乌鸦传媒� said Charlotte. 乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檝e had a lot of the same customers for the last 10-12 years.乌鸦传媒�

Helen said she and Stephen are proud of Charlotte, noting they乌鸦传媒檝e always been patrons of the Pink Cherry, 乌鸦传媒渘ow even more so.乌鸦传媒�

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