Sludge on a Brush...

I was supposed to finish painting today. The high temperature was also supposed to be in the 40s. Neither happened. Try 33 with a gusting wind rushing in out of the Northwest completely unblocked. My paint started the day at a paltry 45 degrees; it didn't stay there for long. Thus, the picture below represents Phase 2 1/2.


I managed to apply a more or less solid coat with a small roller over the two main columns. The paint was so thick it more or less refused to leave the roller without a significant persuasion. Worse, rolling over a painted area a second time actually removed more paint than it applied, creating all sorts of problems. I only persevered through the two columns so my store wouldn't look utterly ridiculous while I figure out how to finish the job. I didn't bother doing the detail work with a brush, given that for every gap I filled, I probably would have created another two. I also took two car breaks to warm my weatherbeaten hands.

An interesting note: my picture may be appearing in The Pantagraph (the local newspaper). One of their photographers just happened to be milling about, introduced himself, and was thrilled to get a picture of me up on the ladder painting away in the freezing cold. I'll be sure to share my fame in this space if I catch myself on Page 1.

Finally, I'm happy to report that today is Plan Day, of sorts. My architect has everything he needs, and just sent the plans out for printing; the ten copies will be distributed to the Town of Normal and its various departments, Tarter Construction, Edwards Architects, and yours truly. We may still have a few more things to mark up, but at long last it looks like the plans will get where they need to go.

More after what promises to be an eventful day in Champaign tomorrow.

Postscript: I've just spent the past four hours creating a killer job application people can fill out online and email back to me. For the first time in a while, I may just have done something right...maybe.

More Swag!

Behold the spoils!


I finally made it back to Lincoln...about a week later than I'd expected. Never to fear, though - everything was exactly where I'd left it. Running down the list of my latest scores:

- "Open" neon sign (modeled above by very significant other Rebecca): $40
- Rubber floor mats (5): $25
- 6-foot stainless steel work table: $100
- Safe and drop box: $140
- Dining room trash receptacle and bin: $75
- Ticket hangers (5): $50
- Three more calzone trays and other assorted crap

I may also buy a super heavy-duty storage rack on massive wheels. At $250, though, it's a tougher call than the other stuff.

Anyways, there's more going on than just the draining of my bank account. For instance, I had the pleasure of renewing acquaintances with the health inspector today. My favorite exchange went as follows:

Me: "We're going to grandfather in the 3-compartment sink that the landlord left behind."
Health Inspector: "No you're not."

Contrary to what you might think based on the above dialogue, he's not a bad guy. Rather, it seems that the town has a meddlesome code that requires a drain board on each side of the sink; the one left behind has a board on only one side. Oh, well. The Health Dept. is also huge on dry storage space (aka shelving), which is at an extreme premium in my store. No surprise there; we expected this to be an issue, and I'm pretty sure we'll be able to address it adequately. I also will likely need a filter in my exhaust hood, to catch any grease particulates that might escape the inferno of my ovens. What I find funny is that the HVAC contractor who has been in business for 50+ years didn't have this built into the plans. As I have said all too often of late: Another day, another delay.

Not to despair, though. Plans should be submitted Friday, and I'm still hoping that my contractor can get his guys into the store early next week and make me feel a whole lot better about everything.

On another decidedly happy note, the Rain Gods, Snow Gods, and Wind Gods have locked horns in a crazy game of poker (the Cold Gods are out picking up the sandwiches and pickles), and thus I have one more suitable day during which to paint. The storefront is already taped up and ready to go (I took care of that the other day amidst gale-force winds). It'll be barely warm enough to paint, but at this point I'll take "barely" (as opposed to "not"). Check out the progress at the completion of Stage II below.


Finally, I played around for a few hours this afternoon printing out my very own business cards - I'll show them off on here soon. I know I have said this from the start, but it's worth mentioning ad nauseum: everything always takes longer than you ever could have dreamed it could. I could say that about the business cards, as well as the stack of my business-related papers I futilely tried to organize tonight.

Anyways, painting wraps up Friday, and then I will be off to Champaign on Saturday with future manager extraordinaire David Flood to get him his first calzone...and then put him to work. It also won't hurt me to stay fresh and get some more much-needed seasoning. And if we get bored, there's a hookah bar next door.

Stay tuned...More soon!

How (and When) Not to Paint a Storefront

"Is it sleeting?"

The above is a question you never want to hear while holding a paint roller in your hand standing on the top rung of a ladder. Nevertheless, that's where I stood on a decidedly un-balmy Sunday afternoon as my latest good-friend-turned-free-labor Mike grinned at me from his ladder five feet away. His expression affirmatively answered the question without my having to give it a thought. As God slowly turned his magic knob that turns sleet into majestic snowflakes (the first of the year, incidentally), it quickly dawned on me that today we would have the kind of fun that isn't really fun until you're sitting in a warm bar with a beer afterwards laughing about what you've just endured.


As you may have already surmised, I dared to paint my storefront in November. Late November. In the face of a Northern crosswind. In rain. In sleet. In snow. Sometimes all three at once. Thanks to Mike sharing my perverse predilection for self-abuse and fighting for a lost cause, I did not paint alone. Thus, the empty streets of Uptown were privy to a spectacle involving two hobos - third stooge Jeff joined us on Saturday in much better weather - on ladders swallowing snowflakes and spilling paint all over themselves, all the while precariously balancing slippery feet on wet ladder rungs (See quick video of me in action below).



I'm astounded to report that the weekend was not a total washout; in fact, we actually managed to cover the whole facade in a solid coat of Pittsburgh Paint's Manor Hall water-based outdoor paint, in a shade called grey stone. Remarkably, in some places, we even managed to apply a second coat. How this paint managed to maintain a liquid state for consistent application and subsequently adhere to the building defies science. My infrared thermometer confirmed that the Weather Channel promise of a 49-degree high never materialized; 35 was my warmest reading for the day. It probably helped that we managed to keep the paint at a toasty 42 degrees by keeping it inside the store until the last possible moment.

So, at the moment I am looking at finishing the paint job this week. The best laid plan is to overcome the mild cold I came down with from today's adventures, and then try to catch a break in the weather Tuesday to finish the second coat of grey stone. After that, I have two columns and a long baseboard to paint a delightful color known as "Black Magic". The forecast is not especially promising, so I'll have to make more of my infamous tough choices.

Of course, all the other balls are going to keep bouncing while I continue playing with paint. I meet with Mr. Pepsi in the morning and - weather permitting - will take my postponed trip to Lincoln to buy more random stuff for the store. Stay tuned.

Time Warp

My contractor forwarded to me the other day a clip out of that Mind Freak show. It involved pounding a chicken into an egg into a lemon into...well, you get the idea. The bottom line is that no one can reconcile how it is possible that these items could fit inside one another, let alone emerge unscathed.


I have been living in a sort of mind freak these last few weeks, but with nowhere to really direct my frustration other than inwards. I had good reason to believe that my architectural plans - complete with mechanical, electrical, and HVAC drawings - would be ready for submission to the town two weeks ago. Today I watched as our optimistic projection of Tuesday, 11/20 evaporated; when the smoke had cleared, I found myself staring at next Monday (the 26th) as plan submission date. The main culprit here: turkey.

No one is sure whether the Town of Normal will open its doors for business on Friday; however, Jeff (contractor) and I agreed that if they do, it is highly unlikely that much business will get done, as the whole rest of the world is in Operation Shutdown mode.

So what caused the initial two-week delay? Scroll down a few posts to the one entitled "Hood Trauma". Since my HVAC sub-contractor had not originally been consulted (my fault) when I took my equipment list to vendors for pricing, Bob the HVAC sub-contractor only got involved in specifying a code-compliant hood - which I have subsequently decided to purchase from him so that no further issues/delays arise - late last week.

Thus, I find myself very much in that state of exasperation very similar to that experienced by someone putting the finishing touches on a puzzle, only find near the moment of ultimate triumph that a single piece is missing. That piece will eventually be found, but the agony lies in the uncertainty. It could be on the floor, or it could be lodged in Fido's digestive tract.

Thankfully (I think), I have yet to hit a Fido-sized snag; however, time keeps slipping through my hands and I cringe every time I imagine the worst case scenario of not being open when ISU re-awakens after winter break on January 10.

In some years, getting past the Thanksgiving holiday would relieve me of the trauma associated with the loss of an entire week in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, a look ahead finds Christmas and New Years falling on Tuesdays this year - great for the working man (consecutive four-day weekends), but HORRIBLE for a guy itching to sling calzones in January.

Anyways, in other blunders, I'm heading back to Lincoln today (Wednesday) to pick up all the stuff I forgot to buy when I had that nice big Budget truck because I had to hurry back while my friends could help me unload my swag. I'll be playing Stuff the Saturn while people who don't trip over their own shoelaces every two seconds are chasing down turkeys.

Also on the agenda: requisition paint supplies for Saturday (while praying that the 44-degree high and partly cloudy forecast holds), find willing accomplices to join me in this ritual a** freezing, and finally create job applications and Now Hiring flyers and take care of other mundane paperwork I've managed to put off to date.

Despite all of the above, I'll still enjoy this Black Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving when everyone drinks) more than I did last year, when I worked 13 hours at Steak n Shake Evanston because we weren't allowed to close until 2 AM and didn't manage to leave until the sun was coming up after 6 (it's one of only two days in the entire year when that store actually closes; thus, nobody has a clue how to do it). Memories like that remind me why it was so easy to jump off a cliff and go into business for myself...

With a Little Help from my Friends

Today I backed myself into a corner. Thankfully, I was able to utilize the all-important skills of prodding, cajoling, and outright groveling down to the wire in order to get the job done.


So here's the story:

knew all week that I had to go to Lincoln to pick up the mixer (pictured above) and salad prep table I'd purchased on Monday. I rented a truck and enlisted my brother to help me; however, the seller made it very clear that no fewer than four people could lift the 500 lb. mixer out of the truck (we used the seller's mechanical lift to get it into the truck). As I drove back from Lincoln into a bitter wind with the sun setting behind a wall of clouds, Steve leveled his gaze from the passenger seat and said, "You don't have anyone lined up to help us, do you?"

Rather than answer that question, I instead reached for my cell phone (safe driver's note: I was wearing my ear bud). As the truck began to list dangerously in the wind as my attention to the road ebbed, I quickly began to dial my three friends who were both male and not in Bourbannais opening a new Kroger, thus qualifying them for heavy lifting detail.

My first call was to SNS Joe (SNS is street for Steak 'n Shake) Ritacco; I knew Joe had class at night, so I maxed out the truck at 75 and sped toward town, hoping against hope that he wouldn't mind being a little late.

Realizing that three people is only 75 percent of the way to four, and also pondering how difficult this lift would be when one of the three happened to be me. Assuming the mixer weighs 480 pounds, it's a bit of a stretch to imagine a guy who has never benched over 135 pounds in his life deadlifting and holding my equal share of an unevenly weighted piece of machinery.

Thankfully, I had an ace up my sleeve. Lucus "Happy" Hellmer works just up the road from where I'd be unloading, and I'd already conscripted him into some light demolition work a few weeks prior when we took sledgehammers to the store. He had his reservations about doing grunt work in his shirt and tie, but thankfully today's duty dealt exclusively with squeaky clean material.

I consider today a triumph, since it's always the little things that you take for granted that can wreak the greatest havoc. Had I not been able to find those two extra bodies to help with the equipment transfer, I can see my stubbornness having led to heavy things falling off the truck and breaking in ways that cannot be fixed...at least for cheap by me.

Therefore, my deepest gratitude to the three brave souls who I have to imagine would have preferred doing just about anything rather than jockey an ornery mixer off a Budget truck in the frigid November wind. Sometimes only friends and family can save you from yourself...or in my case my acute procrastinatory proclivities.

...which makes me wonder how much fun I'm going to have painting my storefront as winter draws ever nearer. Stay tuned.

Hood Trauma

A new day, a new headache. They're all manageable, of course - just annoying. This morning's hiccup involved the exhaust hood for my ovens. Lacking specific knowledge of the local building code, I had been unable to give my equipment vendors the precise requirements for my hood; this of course was due to eventually blow up in my face. This morning my HVAC (heating, ventillation, air conditioning) contractor emailed me stating that the hood quoted as part of my equipment package was not sufficient because its intake air (the air coming in to make up for the air going out) would not be heated to within ten degrees of the interior temperature, as the town's code mandates.

So...my day has been filled with calls from my contractor, architect, and equipment vendor. Meanwhile, I am anxiously awaiting my final architectural drawings so that I can give them my final approval and get them submitted to the town for approval as soon as possible. It's interesting to discover that starting a business feels very time-consuming because of all the time that is spent in a state of paralysis - waiting for some piece of information without which you are unable to do the next thing.

After spending the early part of the afternoon dealing with the above issue and filling out and faxing various vendor applications and paying my overdue electric bill (it got buried in a stack of personal mail at home - a tip: get a PO Box and make sure that all business correspondence is sent there), I'm planning on spending the rest of the day near the store. I'll stop into the Town of Normal's office and see if I can switch the water service into my name; I'll probably also swing past Big Mouth's - a Chicago-style restaurant run by guys a lot like me who are looking to see if together we can help draw more people to "Uptown" Normal.

Tomorrow I pick up my mixer and refrigerated salad prep table from Lincoln. Details to follow.

Welcome to the Madness

Welcome to D.P. Dough Normal - target opening date (subject to change) January 11, 2008. My name is Ryan. I'm a 26-year-old ISU alum who enjoyed his time down here in Normal so much that I didn't want to leave. Being too hyperactive to sit at a desk all day, my only appealing option was to go into business for myself. So this is where I find myself: two months away from living, breathing, and more than occasionally eating calzones 24/7. Every day is a chaotic ballet of dealing with whatever circumstances require my attention, as well as filling out all the right paperwork and paying all the right people so that everything falls into place in time for the opening.

In the following months, I will post in as much detail as possible the day-to-day happenings that go into the opening of a new business in a college town. I am already pretty far along, but have a long way left to go. I'll do my best to touch on everything significant that has happened to date, mixing it in with all the latest developments. Hopefully, in doing so, anyone interested in starting their own business will have a better idea of what goes into nurturing a business from a seed planted in the mind to an opening date when (hopefully) everything comes together harmoniously.

Before I forget, you may want to know a little bit about the store I'm opening. For those who don't yet know, D.P. Dough is the Original Calzone Company, established in 1987; I will be opening the twentieth store nationwide. For those who need to know everything, click on the link to the company's website on the sidebar; for those who prefer just the basics, D.P. Dough offers delivery, dine-in, and carry-out options, and is famous for five things:

- Calzones and cheese sticks
- Salads (including Build-Your-Own)
- Homemade fresh-baked cookies
- Ben & Jerry's ice cream (if I can manage to track down the local distributor)
- Wings and chicken tenders

So, with the background now out of the way, on to the latest in current events:

Yesterday was an eventful day. Not only am I now allowed to proceed with my plans for the storefront (see above), but I also managed to score some high-quality restaurant equipment on the cheap. Since this project is already costing me far more than I had initially projected, every opportunity to save money without sacrificing quality is viewed a major score.

So anyways, I found two things down in Lincoln, IL (30 miles away) by religiously scouring the ebay listings. The first is a 40 quart mixer that I managed to pick up at a very steep discount - I had originally budgeted for a 30 quart mixer, but my brother convinced me that was too small. The second was a six-foot-wide refrigerated salad prep table, also sold to me at about one-fifth of what I could have expected to pay for an identical item on its own.

A tip for anyone looking to go the ebay or craigslist route: buy relatively local, so that you can view the products in person before purchasing. I bought 20 chairs and 13 tables for my store last weekend from a guy who was storing them in his basement; being able to see them in person, take measurements, and then physically measure in my store where and how they could best fit allowed me to determine exactly how many I would need (including a few backups/replacements).

This has been a rather long post, but I'll end it with what will probably become a recurring theme in this space: place your trust in people who know more than you do. I have a contractor and architect who have good working relationships with the building and health inspectors, as well as signage and awning professionals who have dealt with the Uptown Design Review Commission, without whose approval nothing can be done to a storefront. When my HVAC subcontractor said that the exhaust hood for my ovens may be insufficient, my job was to simply email the equipment vendors with the updated specs so that they can make the necessary adjustments.

There's a ton more to come, but for now I have to turn my attention to picking out my favorite shade of grey for my storefront. I need to paint the exterior of the store before winter sets in - wish me luck!