It's Official!

Finally, we are receiving our LLC documents in the mail. Here is a screen capture of the Colorado Secretary of State website:



We were able to set up our business bank account today! We have a deadline of January 12 to set up EFT payments for our utilities, otherwise, we would have to pay an $800 deposit for 36 months. I'd rather hang on to that money, as opposed to letting Colorado Springs Utilities hang on to it. I was beginning to wonder if we would get our LLC documents in time...

Speaking of CSU, I received our variance from their Wastewater division engineers today. As I stated before, they wanted a $45,000 1000 gallon Interceptor set below grade out in the parking lot. After much diplomacy/meetings/lobbying by our archtect, they agreed to give us a variance to place a grease trap inside. The one they specified in the variance is way overkill, though. They want us to install one that is 48" x 36" x 27" below grade, which means cutting the concrete slab and digging down quite a ways. Paul and Heather have a small grease trap in their shop (The Raven's Nest). They have been in operation for about four years (or more???) and have only needed to clean their small one once. If we put in the one CSU wants, I'll have to put it on my long range calendar to clean it in 2015. We'll be driving Jetson's cars by then!
Our architect is going to have the plumbing/mech engineer write up a calculation sheet based upon the capacities of the components that will be plumbed to the grease trap. We are hoping to convince them that a much smaller unit will suffice.

Tracy visited a couple of coffee shops today to get a feel for lighting. I need to develop a lighting plan prior to Thursday. Ryan is field walking subcontractors on Thursday to get some rough numbers for construction. We are going to do some recessed can lighting, some wall sconces, lots of track lighting for artwork, and a few drop down lights (blown glass). She checked out some Starbucks and

It's a Grind:


Jim and I stripped one of the separation walls of drywall yesterday, and took down about 1200 sq ft of ceiling tiles. I started to demo the framing, but had to move some electrical outlets. That pretty much wrapped up the day. I had planned to go back over there and finish that wall demo, and remove the remaining ceiling tiles and grid. I ended up spending the whole day dealing with the bank stuff, LLC stuff, getting our variance from CSU and passing the information along to Vic (architect), talking with some vendors for security systems and credit card processing, getting our EFT set up for utilities payments, and sending out some Judo team photos. I plan to be at the shop tomorrow to continue demo work. One day is a button down Ralph Lauren shirt, the next is camo cargo pants and an old t-shirt...

OK...
Since I was posting webshots, here is one more. This is a Mapquest capture of our shop location:


Just south of us on Printers Parkway and the connecting roads are numerous medical buildings. I plan to print a larger version of this map and drive around and label the map with the buildings and companies that are there. It is unbelievable how much there is. The city's Fire Department Headquarter Building is there, as is the El Paso County Regional Building Department.

You can see that the Olympic Training Center is a couple of blocks to the Northwest, as is Memorial Hospital, which is huge! The Memorial Hospital Headquarter building is jsut to the right of us, and the Chidlaw buidling is right behind us. I'd like to post the labeled map within a week or so just to show you how concentrated the area is. The demographics report said there were over 18,000 employees within a one mile radius of us. There is also a high density of residential, not to mention the largest athlectic park in the city one block west... Memorial Park has the City Parks and Recreation Headquarters, as well as the velodrome, a lake, indoor swimming pool, ice skating/hockey center, too many football/baseball/soccer fields to count, and the International Fallen Firefighters Memorial...

In fact, here is an aerial shot:



OK, that's enough blogging for tonight, except I need to share this:

1Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails...

A friend of mine was recently separated and wants very much to repair and save his marriage. I won't mention names, but please pray for them. God will know who you mean. The passage above can help all marriages if used by both people in sincerity...

Ryan Thompson's Work

Here are a few photos of Ryan's work we took a look at today.
They are just snapshots, but they show his talents very well!

Actually, we have to take off. We are going to Heather Fay's birthday party at the Raven's Nest Coffee Shop, then to church. We are going to stop at a couple of coffee shops inbetween and look at some lighting concepts. I'll post more photos later, along with some comments!

You can click on any of the photos to see a larger version.

Meeting with Ryan

We met with Ryan Thompson of Thompson Builders this afternoon. We took a look at our commercial space and talked about some ideas he has, and he is going to start putting together some rough numbers for construction. He is offering his immense talents to help us out with our construction as our GC and to guide us on some of our own 'sweat equity' work. He had a great idea to add another wall to the layout to separate the space in front of the bar, which will allow additional seating. I have added it on the layout (shown below) in purple, which represents a half wall. It will guide customers past the merchandise refrigerator and to the POS, but will make the space directly in front of the bar usable for seating.




We also discussed lighting, and getting rid of the hideous drop ceiling. He wants to create some soffets here and there, and reinstall a more contemporary grid system where needed. The added cost of replacing the grid will be offset by the reduced construction cost due to the contractors having free access to run their systems, instead of trying to piece it in through existing grid.
We also went to take a look at one of his recent projects. It is a residential remodel, but had a lot of the elements we are wanting to do, including concrete countertops, cabinetry, specialized lighting (canned, track, drop down, and sconces).
Not only is Ryan very creative, but he does exceptional work, as you can see in the photos that I will post soon...

The decision to pull out the grid will give me more work to do now. I can begin pulling the tiles and taking down the grid, as well as demo of existing walls.

Thanks for taking a look and following along. Many of the puzzle pieces are falling into place and we are looking forward to moving ahead!

Another busy day brings promise...

I had several meetings today. Vic (the architect) and I went the Colorado Springs Utilities Wastewater division and met with several individuals. Their spec documents state that if you are spending less than $100,000 on your capital improvements, then the requirement for an outdoor grease interceptor is waived, and an internal grease trap can be installed. The Wastewater folks were quick to state that they can supercede the spec documents at their discretion at any time, for any reason. There is a headline in today's paper about CSU Wastewater division being fined (significantly) by the Federal EPA for violations of EPA requirements with regard to wastewater effluent leaving the city and travelling south to Pueblo, Colorado in Fountain Creek. As it turns out, we are trying to get our plans reviewed and approved right after the Wastewater division received reprimands and heavy fines. They are in a knee-jerk reaction mode, wanting to require everyone to install a $50,000 interceptor, regardless of what the policies state, or what commom sense migt dictate. What a great place for us to be...
We did review their documents in detail and it states that we can request a hearing if CSU dictates policy that we do not agree with, or is not backed up by their own specifications, procedures, and policies. I'm hoping it will not come to that. I'm hoping and praying that CSU will notify us tomorrow or Monday that they are going to authorize us to proceed with a reasonable plan.

I've received feedback from several sources and everyone seems to like the newest layout. The angles seem to be really appealing to the masses! I set a meeting for Saturday morning with Ryan Thompson (our GC). He is going to take a look at our commercial space to get a feel for it, as compared to just looking at our plan. He is also going to show me some of his recent work, which I am looking forward to seeing. I'll take some photos and post them...

Tracy and I met with Sean Rafferty today. He has come up with several concepts for our logo, as well as some graphics that could be used for indoor artwork themes. We really like several of his concepts, but we are going to pursue one in particular. I don't want to describe it and spoil the surprise, though. It sticks with the whole nautical theme, but plays on a concept that no one has done before. Sean is approaching it with an abstract feel to it. The design element will grab your attention, but makes you take a closer look and use your imagination to pull the concept together. That's all I'm saying for now...
Sean also mentioned a couple of sources for drywall work, and some texture that is applied like stucco, but to interior walls. Our original plan was to use existing walls to a large extent, but the new plan requires almost all new walls. I want to do some kind of texture on the walls, but I don't want it to look like your living room. I'd like to see an example of the texture he was talking about.

I stopped by The Ravens Nest today, which is a coffee shop ran by our friends Paul and Heather Fay. Once again, stop by their shop at Boulder and Institute (just west of Memorial Hospital and the Olympic Training Center) if you are in the area! (I will keep plugging them as much as possible... They have great espresso drinks!)

This has nothing to do with our coffee shop, but my brother Aubrey sent me some photos from Iraq. He is serving in Iraq for his third tour, as is our neighbor. Please take time to thank our troops in one way or another. If you don't know any, then take some time just to appreciate them and say a prayer for them. Supporting our troops, by the way, has nothing to do with whether or not you agree with the war, or any political affiliation you might have. They are just young Americans serving our country and deserve our respect and appreciation.




Gotta run...
JD

Layout with added features

I've made a little more progress on our layout features. Here is an update:

2007 Brings Changes!

I met with the CSU Wastewater engineers today and they quickly informed me that we will be required to install a 1000 gallon grease interceptor out in the parking lot. Yikes, just what I was hoping to not hear. They were not very interested in what we will be doing in the shop (ie, no cooking, no deep fat fryers, etc), and they were especially not interested in the fact that our budget will not allow this $40,000 to $50,000 expense. After talking with them some more and desperately trying to establish some kind of rapport with them, they finally decided to listen to me. I asked if there are any other possibilities as far as a work around or variance would be concerned. If not, I told them they need to leave because I need to go file for bankruptcy...
They asked to speak in private for a few minutes, then came back and said if we delete our sanitizer (hi-temp dishwasher) that they would allow an indoor grease trap! Whoo-hoo... game on again... They are writing up a variance, along with the requirements we will have to follow to keep the variance. Those prayers I said while they were deciding whether to work with us or to crush us worked! I' glad God is on our side!

I then met with our architect, and he stated that El Paso County just adopted a new code book that changed the calcualation for establishing occupancy. For a restaurant, you get one person of occupancy for every 15 square foot of accessible customer space. The studio is one per 100 sq ft, the bar/kitchen area is one per 200 sq ft, storage is one per 300, and the bathrooms and halls don't count. When applying these numbers to the layout I did, we came up with an occupancy rating of approximately 70. THIS is bad! At 50 or higher, we would need multiple stall bathrooms, dual UL rated fire doors that have to be separated by more distance than our entire storefront width, less four feet. The door separation distance is calculated by taking half of our longest diagonal line drawn through our space. Our space is 40'x50', therefore, half our diagonal is 32'. Our existing doors are 19' feet apart. In order to meet this requirement, we would have to reconfigure our entire storefront, as well as purchase new UL fire rated doors. Modifying the store front and buying doors would cost about $15,000. The expanded bathrooms would wreak havoc on our layout, and be very expensive. So instead, it was back to the drawing board. I developed a new layout that meets the occupancy criteria!! It reduces our available seating area significantly, but I guess that is better than a new storefront and new bathrooms...

Here is the new layout. I have completed all of the equipment layout on paper, but have not finished transferring it to soft copy. The main thing is that it works for occupancy, meets all code requirements, and will meet our needs for operating a coffee shop. The photo studio is a little oddly shaped, but I can arrange my studio lights, subject, and camera location with no problems.

Now, a little side note. Vic, our architect, indicated that we could build the shop per this layout, and tear down a wall at a later date in the future to add more seating. The storage room in the front right corner will become additional seating if needed. We would just demo the wall adjacent to the existing seating area, and keep the door to the studio locked. The very small storage space at the bottom right of the studio will actually be a small dressing room so people can change clothes during a photo shoot.

Well it is getting late and I'm tired.
Here is what I have completed of the layout so far on soft copy:

New Layout

I have made more progress on our layout drawing...
Here is the latest:
(Click on t to enlarge)


I am meeting with Vic, our architect today to take a look at his concepts. I like the one Tracy and I have come up with, but it will be interesting to compare ours to his.

I am meeting with the CSU Wastewater engineers tomorrow to figure out a solution for the grease trap. Their decision tomorrow is the biggest hurdle we face. Inside, all is a go, outside and we are probably dead in the water.

We also set a meeting for Thursday with Sean Rafferty, to take a look at the concepts he has come up with for our logo. Sean heads up the Missions Ministry at our church (Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel - www.rmcalvary.org), and he also does graphic arts/design on the side. He is especially amazing with choosing color combinations! Color doesn't sound that tough, but some people are really good at it, and some are really horrible. Sean is one of the good ones...

Today is the last day of Josh and Jonah's Christmas vacation. We are going to go see Eragon at the movies...
Gotta run.
JD