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PLAIN CITY — When Suzanne and Bill Whitelock visited the United States, they fell in love with everything about it.
The Whitelocks had family already living in the U.S. for several decades, and the natives of Great Britain wanted to live in America. The best way to do so, the couple figured, was opening a business. So, the Whitelocks moved to the United States in February 2015 and began Roylies Cafe just north of Ogden in Plain City.
“We came out to visit and meet family we never met before, and we gradually over the years fell in love with the place and wanted to live here,” Suzanne Whitelock said over the phone, the clamoring of a busy restaurant behind her. She admits that the business has been swamped all day with customers.
In the short amount of time, Roylies became a staple of the community. So much so that several residents and community members are rallying around the business in an attempt to ensure the family and their business remain in operation for years to come.
The Whitelocks came to America through an E-2 visa. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, those coming into the U.S. through this visa must open a business venture and demonstrate that “the capital you are investing is substantial.” That is one of five major requirements of the visa.
That visa must also be renewed every two years, otherwise, the owners will be forced to return to their native land. The business must produce services or goods for profit that provides for the owner or owner’s family, or makes “significant economic contribution.”
The owner must also own funds and invest in their business, there must be a “clear and legitimate” path for gaining capital and the owner must come to the U.S. must develop and direct at least 50 percent of the enterprise or by possessing operation control through a managerial position.
However, the family’s visa was granted for three years and an I-94 form expired after two years, Whitelock said, causing a situation that puts their residency in the U.S. in limbo. The form is issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for those entering the country.
While the Whitelocks sort their immigration issues out, several residents are banding together to let immigration officials understand they believe the Whitelocks belong in their community. At an ice cream social planned at the cafe Thursday night, residents were encouraged to send letters of support of the Whitelocks to immigration officials.
“The Whitelocks have been very supportive of the community — they’ve not just provided a gathering place, whenever we go there we always see friends,” said Craig Call, one of several organizers of the event. “They’ve been very involved. Some friends of ours had their daughter’s house burned down, and Roylies basically catered for the family during the time they had to bounce back.”
He said at times it has felt that the cafe has become the town’s “center base.”
“It’s a very community-oriented business. I guess when you walk in, you feel like you’re home — kind of like going to grandma’s house other than it’s a cafe.” -- Rep. Lee Perry, R-Perry
Call said dozens of letters had already been signed prior to Thursday’s event. Letters of supporters, he said, came in from all sorts of individuals from the state and local government agencies, even LDS stake presidency.
Among the vocal supporters is the town’s legislative representative Rep. Lee Perry, R-Perry, who praised the way the business has brought a touch of British uniqueness while keeping pride in where it’s located. It’s a place where customers can order authentic fish and chips, while also be surrounded local high school memorabilia on the walls.
“It’s a very community-oriented business,” Perry said. “I guess when you walk in, you feel like you’re home — kind of like going to grandma’s house other than it’s a cafe.”
Perry also admired how the Whitelocks took a vacant grocery store that had stayed empty for more than a decade and turned it into a spot in town people wanted to go. He said the couple leased other buildings in the area for other businesses, giving the area of town a life once lost in the economy.
“All of a sudden, this place in Plain City that was basically nothing has now opened and renovated and rejuvenated,” Perry said. “They had like two or three retail businesses and all in Plain City and now they have six or seven. It’s just exciting to see.”
Perry was among the government officials that wrote a letter to immigration services.
The way the community has rallied behind Roylies stunned Whitelock, who called the support “mind-blowing.”
Just on Thursday alone, she said the familiar faces had come in droves — as had people as far away as Bountiful and even Idaho.
“It’s been absolutely amazing,” Whitelock said. “We live in the best community we could ever have hoped for. They have been with us right from the beginning and gradually they’ve watched us grow and develop. They’ve helped us to grow and develop and the support that they have offered has been absolutely phenomenal. It was the community that started this.
“The community is what makes this place. Without them, we would have never succeeded.”
