A couple of photos...

I met with the sign company today and we will have our outside lighted sign up by late this week! We are also going to do a large 10' x 4' banner that will go up 25 feet in the air. Intellitec college is letting us put the banner up on their very large sign poles!

We have had several customers who are regulars at other shops tell us we are their new coffee shop after just one taste of our drinks! One guy stopped in and bought a large coffee with three shots of espresso (a triple red-eye). He immediately said we have a new regular! He was also impressed that our price for that drink was $1.65 less than his other (previous) favorite coffee shop (Pikes Perk). We were very happy to hear how much he liked it, and he came back an hour later with his family and ordered another one! Woo hoo!!

I have to run, but it is very encouraging that people are hearing about us by word of mouth and people around here are excited about our opening!
Later,
JD

78 Customers so far...

Well, we did it! The shop is open, and on Tracy's birthday, no less. Tracy and Nemo will share birthdays forever!

We do not have our lighted sign installed yet, we have not done any advertising, no fliers or brochures, no banners, nothing. These are obvious priorities now that construction is finished. I am meeting with the sign company Monday morning, and I'm working on some fliers now...

So far, we have had 78 customers with sales of $316.86! Tracy was discouraged, but I think that is great considering no one knows we are here or that we are open. Our goal is to have 300 customers a day. We are averaging about 30 per day in our first couple of days. I am ecstatic that we met 10% of our end goal with no advertising and no signage. Once the word gets out, I don't think 300 per day will be hard at all...

Too much work, and too little time... Gotta run.
JD

Open for Business...

Two weeks have gone by...

Wow, two weeks really fly by when you are working 18-24 hours per day, seven days a week...

Tracy and I have both really been busy. Here is an update:
Construction - we passed our final building inspection today! Not all is done, though. We have to obtain a longer ADA grab bar for the men's bathroom. The required length does not fit. Our plumbers ran the bathroom vent line and the mopsink vent line up the bathroom wall, and placed the vents right where the ADA bar goes. I have to buy an extra long bar to span across the vent pipes. I still have to mill solid oak rough lumber into transition strips where the tile meets wood, and at the front door entry ways. I still have to make the counter height seating for the front windows, as well as finish one table and build a third from start to finish. I think that is it, though...

As for operations, we still have a few things to finish up. I just finished installing our DSL modem and setting up a secure network between our office computer and our POS computer. I still need to hang the menu boards (three of them, and they weigh 70 pounds each). The wall we are hanging them on is 5/8" drywall that was liquid nailed to the exterior CMU wall. The cinder blocks were not filled with concrete and are hollow, so nothing wants to hold, especially heavy things. We have to drill through the sheetrock and cinder block, then set a lead expansion sleeve and wedge it very tightly with shims, then secure the menu boards with 1/2" lag screws. This is what we found works well, but it is a pain...

Our plumbers set our floor sink for the espresso machine right where the right front wheel of our 60" undercounter fridge sits. The refrigerator weighs 325 lbs empty! Ryan welded a really cool 1 1/2" unistrut frame for it to sit on (instead of on it's wheels, which we removed). The frame Ryan built is on heavy duty casters and offsets the wheels to clear the floor sink. We did laminate countertops for now since we didn't have the time to complete concrete countertops. The guy who built them for us used a single layer of 3/4" particleboard, which makes them really weak. Our espresso machine weighs around 300 lbs without water in it, and sits over the 61.5" span above the refrigerator. We told the countertop guy about the weight that will sit on this span, and he was supposed to make them strong enough. After he finished his install, you could flex the countertop up and down about 1.5" at the center of the span with just light hand pressure. The espresso machine would have caused it to collapse. Ryan welded a steel support for the countertop span from 1 1/2" unistrut, and made the cart/frame for the fridge to fit underneath. All was perfect, until we read the instructions for the fridge. It said the unit would fail within two weeks of operation if the air curtain and filter were not installed properly. I checked, and they were not installed at all. The vendor came and installed them, which added 1/2" to the underside of the fridge frame (for the filter brackets). After putting it back on Ryan's cart, it would no longer fit under the counter, and was binding on the metal support we added for the countertops. Ryan is welding up a new support tonight out of two sticks of 1" stock and we will swap it out tomorrow. That should fix that problem.

Our electrical engineer listed our espresso machine as a 20amp circuit, instead of 30 like we told him, and like the cutsheets for the equipment called for. They also called for the brewer to be three phase, four wire instead of single phase, four wire. The espresso machine was an easy fix, as the electricians pulled conductors rated for 30 amps through the wall. It was just a simple swap of the outlet and plug for the espresso machine. The electricians installed the male plug on the brewer, and plugged it in! (Electricians NEVER plug in equipment, EVER, EVER, EVER...). The three phase power blew up our twin brewer. Bummer... Maric Beverage Systems troubleshot it and found the main CPU board to be fried, as well as a heating element control solenoid. They obtained the new parts and installed them, and sent a repair bill to our electricians. I feel bad for them, because they got us up an running and did a great job with the new electrical service. But, Electricians NEVER, EVER plug in equipment, or they wind up paying for repairs if it is damaged.

We hired five partners to start with. They are Michelle, Nichole, Pam, Dion, and Artie. I'll post some quick bios and photos later once they have worked some shifts and I have some photos of them in action.

We have our Health Dept inspection tomorrow at 1:00pm.
Things I have to do before then...
1-finish milling the floor transition strips
2-install baseboard trim in a few last places (about 60 linear feet)
3-caulk some baseboard trim I installed yesterday, and the stuff I am installing tomorrow
4-get paper towel dispensers installed in the bathrooms, the back room, and in the bar area
5-epoxy coat the back room floor, and the floor in the storage room
6-linseed oil finish on several wood components in the store.

Well, it is 10:00 pm...
I need to clean the espresso machine, straighten up the POS station (Tracy is training our partners from 6:00am to 8:00am tomorrow).

Gotta go...
Take care,
JD

Lots of progress

We have been making lots of progress and I will post some new photos soon.
I have been working until 11:00pm and as late as 2:30am pretty much every night. The kids room is pretty much finished with the exception of painting the base molding.
I installed the white oak flooring in the Studio last weekend (til midnight Friday, 10:00am to 2:30am Saturday, and 6:00pm to midnight on Sunday) and it really looks great! Ryan was working on installing the base trim in there today. It just needs final paint, and to have a fire rated door installed. We received a quote of $509 for a fire rated door today, but Ryan has a friend who has one from a previous job that he might be able to give to us. That would be a huge help!
We are supposed to get our countertops by Friday, but I have a gut feeling that the guy is going to be late on those. Don't ask me why, but it is just what I am thinking...
We have equipment being delivered by Allied (all refrigeration, freezer, ice maker, microwave, food warmer, toaster, etc. on Wednesday next week. I still need to set up a date for the Maric package delivery.
The bathrooms are functional! All they need are ADA grab bars, toilet seats, and mirrors.
The cafe is really looking great. Most of the woodwork is finished, the tile is pretty much finished, and I am installing the wood floors today. I got started, but it was very difficult to work with the electricians and ceiling grid guys there. I'm going back tonight at 7:00pm and will probably be there until 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning. The problem with working so late is that I have much more to do the next day, and the next day, and the next day. I never get to catch up on sleep. It is more than worth it, though. Tracy's birthday is April 26, and I'd love to give her a completed coffee shop for her birthday!
I've posted a couple of photos of Rob doing various things during our construction. I have to compliment him (and Ryan) on the job he has done laying tile. We had intended to install tile in the bathrooms, the bar area, and the back room only. We ended up doing the bathrooms, the closet, both hallways, wrapping around the front of the bar and into the bar area, as well into the hallway from the bar towards the front door, and in the cafe seating area near the half wall, where the condiment bar and a couple of tables are going. I spent three days on my knees doing wood flooring and they hurt sooo much. Rob has been on his knees doing tile work for over three weeks. He has done some amazing work, and he deserves a huge compliment!

Tracy has been very busy as well. She has been working with vendors to get our initial orders in place, as well as coordinating our staff. We conducted interviews and hired five people! Tracy is putting together our company policies, recipes, employee handbook, etc. We are having an orientation Saturday morning for our new staff. Tracy (and Ethan) have also been a great help at the shop. Tracy has been cleaning and sealing tile work, scraping crud/drywall off the concrete floors in preparation for tile, painting the shelves in our store room, hand rubbing oil into some of the woodwork, etc, etc...

Well, I want to blog more than I have been, but every minute here is time away from getting the work done so we can open the shop. I'm taking photos every day or two, and I'll catch up on some of the details later...
No sleep for the weary...
JD

Long time, no blog...

Sorry it has been so long since I have made an entry. We have been completely swamped. I will try to recount some of the key issues over the last two weeks, and follow with a few photos. Too much has happened to give narration on everything, but I'll hit some of the highlights, and lowlights...

We were aiming to open the second week in April. We were marching towards that, but slowly came to the realization that we weren't going to make it. We were in the process of taking applications, setting up interviews with people, establishing timelines with vendors for perishable items, setting up equipment installation support from our equipment vendors, etc. Basically, we were at the point of making some time critical decisions, and the construction was not supporting our schedule. Tracy and I went through a great deal of stress as we 'encouraged' our subcontractors to get finished up. We caused them some stress, as well as Ryan. Basically, we had a lot of drama a couple of weeks ago. As a result, we pushed our opening back to the last week in April, which seems to be achievable at this point. We also decided to open with laminate countertops instead of concrete countertops. Custom formed concrete countertops are amazing, but Ryan lets them cure for 30 days before taking them out of the forms and beginning the grinding/polishing process. We discussed installing some temporary countertops, and following up with concrete in a month or two. For now, we have ditched that idea to relieve Ryan of the labor intensive process of getting them done. We would still like to go to concrete as some point in the future, but that is on hold for now. We received a bid from another sub for laminate tops and it came in at about $2000 for fabrication and installation. Ryan and I could make them ourselves for around $1000, but we have so many other projects to devote our time to. We are going to hire the sub and let him handle the entire countertop issue....

The plumbers (Robert and Wayne) came and set our grease trap, hot water heater, and mop sink. The grease trap was sub grade by an inch and a half, so we had to get a floor grate to go over the area. To have a floor grate cut to dimension from new stock was going to be about $350. We have gotten to the point in our construction budget where every dollar counts, so I went to some scrap metal yards and found a piece of floor grate for $30. I used a Sawzall to cut it to our dimensions. I bought a low end pressure washer from Home Depot and was thoroughly disgusted with it. The floor grate has about 1/4" thick coating of oily, greasy dirt and grime. The pressure washer didn't do a thing to it. Our garden hose has more pressure than this thing did. I took it back for a full refund. DO NOT EVER BUY A CHEAP PRESSURE WASHER!! You will be very disappointed!

I've been working with Ryan on our cabinet work and trim details. Ryan built our cabinets, and Tracy and I have been hand rubbing them with Linseed oil. I had my reservations to follow Ryan's advice to use Linseed Oil over poly, but I'm very happy now that we did. The Linseed oil really brings out the warmth of the wood, and really highlights the character of the wood grain. Once again, Ryan came through with solid advice based upon his own experience. If you need any high end cabinet or custom finish carpentry done, Ryan Thompson is your man. I can't say enough about his talent, skill, and creativity.

OK, I am very tired, and I'm getting sleepy. On to the photos:



Mark Garner has nearly completed the ceiling work. We are just waiting for the final HVAC inspection (called in for tomorrow April 2) and then we can close up the ceiling!



Ryan and Rob had to work another project last week. I thought about pouring the concrete around the grease trap myself. I was concerned about building the form correctly to allow a correct fit for the floor grate, as well as leaving full access to the grease trap top and the cleanout port (the round circle). I ended up waiting and Ryan did the form. We went through about 30 bags of cement for this pour, and it came out perfect.Ryan must keep pixie dust up his sleeve because it seems that everything he touches comes out just right. When he does make a mistake, he always knows how to work it to make it alright...



Since we are draining the hot water heater overpressure line into the mop sink instead of a floor drain, the plumbing inspector required us to raise the heater at least 12 inches, and it could not be a platform made of wood. This was a concrete project I was willing to take on without any help. I made a 24" x 24" x 13" high concrete block for the hot water heater to sit on. Nice work, eh??
Wayne had this $600 commercial mop sink left over from a previous job. It sat in his side yard at home for a year or so, which made his wife kind of mad. He didn't move it because it weighs about 250 pounds. He gave it to us for free to make his wife happy...



I can't even begin to count how many times I've gone to Home Depot over the last several months, not to mention CO Lumber, Lowes, Allied Restaurant Supply, Woodcraft, my woodshop, etc, etc. I could not be doing all of this without my trusty '69 Chevy. I bought it in 1998 and it starts everytime I get in it, no matter what. Well, except for once a month or so ago... My alternator went out, but we don't have the money to get it fixed right now. I just have to charge the battery every four or five days. It does OK as long as I don't have to have the lights on for long, or run the windshield wipers much, or run the heater fan, etc. I'm looking forward to getting open and generating some revenues so I can take care of a few things. Opening a new business is a roller coaster ride in so many ways, and finances can be very stressful. Everything seems to cost more than expected, take longer than expected, etc. Sometimes you just have to wear jeans with holes in them instead of buying new ones, or charge your battery every few days instead of buying a new alternator...



Ryan thought natural slate would look great in the shop, and I wasn't so sure. When I looked at the slate, it all seemed gray with some very minor color variations, and lots of visible defects. I trusted Ryan's judgement and I am so pleased with how the tile looks. It is amazing once it is cleaned up and sealed. The colors really stand out after the sealer is applied! As long as I keep listening to Ryan, we will have a great looking shop in the end!



This cabinet box is going to be wall mounted, up high, over the back bar counter. The top portion will have doors, and the lower portion will be open cubby storage. All of our cabinet work and trim/woodwork is being finished with hand-rubbed Linseed Oil. Tracy and I have spent hours and hours rubbing oil into the wood for various items in the shop. Tracy was able to drop Ethan off at a friends and come over and help this day. She has been behind the scenes through most of the construction, but she has been a huge help with some of this type of work!



Ryan brought over the boxes for the pastry case and the triangular retail shelves. That'll be four coats of Linseed oil, please...



This is a shot from the bar area, looking towards the front left of the store. The cabinets on the walls are retail merchandise displays. The upper cabinets are to be open faced, and the lowers are to have doors. I will be building a Padauk and Maple panel to go on top of the lower cabinet. We are considering not putting doors on the lowers, and letting them be additional open retail display, instead of locked merchandise/inventory storage.





One thing that absolutely cannot be overlooked during the planning phases is adequate storage. We are going to have lots of boxes of lids, cups, paper goods, coffee beans, flavored, syrups, condiments, etc, etc. We have a storage room and I am building shelves in there. These photos show some of the raw materials, and one set of shelves partially completed...



This is Ryan working on the Padauk and Maple top cap for the half wall. If I had the energy right now, I would put a super hero cape on him in Photoshop. If you can't tell from previous entries, I have a great deal of respect for Ryan as a person, not to mention his talents!
All superheros need a sidekick...
Here is a shot of Rob working on the bathroom tile. He also did most of the painting, much of the original demo, framing, and just about everything else in the shop...



Well, I am just plain worn out. I'm sure I have missed a great number of details over the last couple of weeks. I'll try to make more frequent blog entries from this point on. Take care and God bless!
JD