The Birchwood Cafe is celebrating its 20th anniversary next weekend. How time flies.

Especially for co-owner Tracy Singleton. The casual restaurant, a longtime leader in the local-sustainable-organic movement, can trace its roots to a small inheritance that Singleton received from her late grandfather when she was in her mid-20s.

“It was something like $10,000, which seemed like a lot of money at the time,” she said with a laugh. “It was like, ‘Wow, I’m rich.’ ”

Her responsible side was leaning toward buying a house. “But I also thought it would be fun to open a business,” she said, and probably a restaurant.

Keep reading.