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!