The Project Begins

Next was choosing a name for our new business, a name that would be a direct reflection of my passion for good wine and food. The Bistro was all about my vision, a dream I dreamt for many years- at least that’s what I thought. As everything started to come together, I realized the Bistro would come to mean so much more too many people, more then I could have imagined, and some very close to me.

While in Europe I visited breathtaking vineyards, producing remarkable tasting wines, and I took the opportunity to sample as many as I could.  My mind was spinning, trying to figure out how I could skip all the hard work and time it took to make wine, and own my own vineyard. Most of these vineyards were passed down from generation to generation; some were hundreds of years old.

Owning a vineyard and picking your own grapes to make exquisite wines for people to enjoy would be my dream, but not a reality.  My daydream came to a halt, when I returned home and I realized there are no shortcuts, only years and years of hard work.  But it was certainly nice to daydream even for a short time!

So I took Penny (my name) and yard for the beautiful vineyards I visited and came up with “Pennyard”. I decided on Bistro because it felt so French and most of the wines I truly enjoy are French, and winery so everyone would know we sold wine, “Pennyard Bistro & Winery” was born.

After the name was created everything seemed to quickly fall in place.  This was my first time owing a bistro or any restaurant type business, when I lived in New Jersey I owned a catering business, and the rules were very different in New Jersey, and I was about to find out just how different.

We started our project in February of 2008, what I learned in those eight months before we opened will always be a valuable lesson for me. If and when I ever open another bistro (and that’s the plan) I will have learned some very valuable lessons I will never forget.

Because the location was not a previous restaurant, we needed an architect to draw the plans and submit the plans to the city of Charlotte.  What did we know about architects or how much they would cost? I thought, it’s just plans how much could it really cost.  Research does not prepare you for what we experienced.

We went through the yellow pages, we asked friends and acquaintances, and still, we could not find an architect willing to take on our project for less then seventeen thousand dollars. I remember Goran and I thinking, what the hell, seventeen thousand dollars, what are they drawing the plans for a small city?  This architect better have this project done within thirty days or we are going to be in trouble before we even open.  We soon found out that a competent architect was critical, and unfortunately for us, we got an incompetent architect in training. 

The adage, “You get what you pay for” well let’s just say we got exactly that. Goran and I basically drew the plans ourselves, bottom line, it took the architect three months to complete the plans and submit them to the city of Charlotte, as we waited with anticipation for our permit so we could get our project started, we were told the plans failed and had to be re-submitted. I was crushed and angry, but more crushed than anything else. How could the drawings fail?

Our architect all but guaranteed the drawings would be accepted and we would have our permit so we could start the rest of our project, but the drawings were not accepted, so it was back to the drawing board – I was furious, I could not believe we waited 3 months and still the drawing failed. We had already paid him one half of the fee, so there was no turning back.

We could not hire the rest of the subcontractors until the permit was secured.  If we started the work before the permit was approved we could get fined and the drawings would have to be resubmitted, which would delay us another three months, so reluctantly, we waited another month and finally, the drawings were accepted and released.  Hallelujah!  We finally had our permit.  

We had already gotten quotes for an electrician, and plumber, so were all set to get started, but what happens next almost broke my spirit and I almost gave up.  What a mess!

I can not stress the importance of finding the right people to do the right job, if you choose the wrong contractors, you’re screwed!   The plumber I selected was just wrong, but I would not know just how wrong until it was too late.  Goran knew right away that thus guy was the wrong contractor for our job, but I took the plumber at his word, when he told me he would do the best job and, within the 3 week time frame I requested. He offered references and said he was an honest, sincere and hard working man. He said he was a Christian man and believed in the Lord and he would not cheat me, and most importantly he would met my price of ten thousand dollars and complete the job within 3 weeks.  Lesson learned

It started out badly when the plumber wanted half the payment in advance before any work was done; we reluctantly agreed to pay him in three equal payments to get started, when the inspectors approved the 1^st phase and the last payment when the job was complete, and the inspectors release the project. At this point all I wanted was to get started and be open by the first week in June, and at the very worst the end of June.  I would be retiring from the bank, the end of June and was planning a spectacular grand opening.  

Goran was not optimistic about the June date, actually he did not have any faith in the June date at all, but me the forever optimist, I had faith and I just knew we would be having my grand opening in June.  The alarms should have been going off in my head and when I look back perhaps they were, but I choose to ignore them.  In retrospection, I should have chosen the other plumber, the one that told me it would take about two months to complete the job and would cost fifteen thousand dollars, because in the end it cost us that and more!