A New Look

I found out today that the store will have a decidedly different look once it's all said and done. After months of thinking we wouldn't have to do much to make the store approach ADA compliance, we have found out that a landing with a ramp spanning the full width of the store will be required. Thankfully, this should not impact the opening, as a temporary 30-day occupancy permit can be granted to allow us to open while sorting all of this out. But at some point during those thirty days, I will have to build the ramp and landing. This will hurt.

On the plus side, the building inspector is going to try to take as much of the pain out of it as possible, going so far as to seek some funding from the Town to help offset the costs. Even with that financial assistance - which is by no means guaranteed - this will still hurt, if for no other reason than it distracts me from trying to focus all my energies on getting a new restaurant off the ground.

In other news, I have hard confirmation that the oven will be ready for testing on Friday morning, and appointments are lined up to fire it up for the first time. The Health Inspector came by today and deemed the visit a waste of his time because we had not made much progress as far as cleaning things up and moving towards a state where food could be received since he last visited a few days ago. I apologized, and we'll try to have him come back soon, perhaps Monday or Tuesday.

I have decided to be bold and set a new target opening date: Wednesday, March 12. This will give us ample time not only for the contractors to finish up their final work, but also for adequate cleanup and preparation of all the necessary equipment for operation. We should also be able to get some food into the store in this time, as well. That will open us up just in time for the tail end of Spring Break, and leave us more than prepared to handle the rush and the students return in droves a few days later. I wonder if we can throw a ramp in front of the store before they get back...

Another day, a million more minute details. We received our replacement faucet for the hand sink that was leaky on arrival, while True Manufacturing is going to send us some missing brackets for our prep table. Still to be addressed are six missing screws for our ice machine. For anyone looking to open a restaurant, things might just be simple if everything arrived with the complete set of attachments. Oh, and equipment vendors stock most items you may need, but many are either special-order or out of stock; this leaves you with a multitude of mystery boxes littered all across the store - making it almost impossible to ever truly know if you got everything you pay for (it's good to trust your rep if you're buying a lot of stuff).

So, to recap, for all of the employees who read the daily postings, don't worry about scheduling just yet, because next Wednesday seems a world away. But at least it will allow me to get everything in order for a smooth and relatively stress-free opening (fingers crossed).

I promise this will be the last time we push back the opening...I hope.