Page 2

The feeling didn’t last very long; the painters arrive to paint the walls, because the building had not been occupied for over four years, no one realized rain had ruined the sheet rock on the back walls, meaning before they could paint, the sheetrock had to be replaced.  We contacted the property manager for the building, thinking perhaps we could get them to at least fix the sheetrock or at the very least help pay for the repair, nice try but the answer from the management company was no.  

I was infuriated, not only did they give us just three months to complete our project before, rent had to be paid; they were not contributing to any of the upfit at all. Meaning they would get a full upfit and we would be footing the bill.  By the time we figured the extent of work that would have to be done, we were well into the project, and there was no turning back now.

Finally the walls were fixed and painted, and even though we had to pay extra, the results were just what I wanted, the walls looked amazing.  Again things seem to be going in the right direction.   

Our next big hurdle was the coffee counter and the wine bar, Goran and I were in Comp USA looking for some last minute deals before the store closed, we were actually looking for a cash register and some accounting software.  As we walked into the store, Goran and I can up with the same idea; imagine that!  Both of us had the same light bulb moment, all the fixtures including the counters were for sale.  Wow, Goran and I on the same page, sometimes things just work out the way there suppose too.

With a little imagination, we could use some of the counters from CompUSA to design our own unique coffee counter. The pieces were seventy five dollars each; we needed five pieces to build our counter at the bistro, compared to the five thousand dollars for a custom built counter, this was a complete deal.  In addition to the counters, all the selves were for sale, and they were NSF approved.   NSF (National Science Foundation) which is a crock of bull, but all equipment must be NSF approved; I will explain that one later. So another obstacle completed! Halleluiah!

I was so happy that we got the counters taken care of, even thought it was not my intention to have such a elaborate counter just for coffee.  By this time, Goran and I was having a lot of disagreements about the look and feel of the bistro, and since it was his idea to have a big coffee counter, I let it go, fighting with him over a coffee counter was a very small sacrifice compared to what  was ahead for both of us.

Since the coffee counter was a done deal, it was time to move on to the wine bar, which for me was the most important piece of the décor in the bistro, besides the furniture. The bar was the one piece of furniture that would give the bistro that unique feel.  Finding someone to design a bar within our price range was almost impossible. When we calculated the preliminary cost for furniture and equipment, the cost for a bar was not really a concern or least we thought it wasn’t a concern.  It turned out, to build a bar would cost between six to eight thousand dollars. You have got to be kidding me, Right?  I went on line to get some information on building bars, and I was determined even if I had to make the bar myself, but lucky for me, that was not going to be necessary, because you can virtually find anything on the internet and I just hit the jackpot!

After searching the internet for a couple of hours, I found just what I was looking for, bar drawings, and for less that twenty dollars.  I could get the specifications to build a unique bar for the bistro and a chance to wine five hundred dollars for building the best unique bar in the process.  Wow!  I purchased the drawings online which consisted of 4 different types of bars. I was so excited and could not wait to get the drawings in my hands.  Now, telling Goran he would have to build a bar, well let’s just say, good luck with that!

A week later my package arrived with the bar drawings and was overjoyed, another piece of our bistro was about to come to life.  Goran took one look at the drawings and decided, no way was he going to tackle such a project, he had already totally redesigned the counters we purchased from CompUSA, he had beautiful granite tops made, which he had to assemble and find a way to glue, so building a bar was not on his agenda and he did not want any part of building a bar.

I was crushed, I had purchased the drawings and even though I would attempt to build the bar myself, if I had to. I was absolutely sure I was way out of my scope of experience, but I was willing to at least try. I was thinking all kinds of thoughts, hire a carpenter, then it came to me, with the hell Pennie! You have eight brothers, and all of them had skills; Jimmy had already agreed to lay the floor and anything else I needed.  I was willing to bet, Jimmy could build the bar with no problem at all.  I called Jimmy and he came over that evening, looked at the drawings and said, no sweat building the bar would be simple,  a piece of cake.  I knew he would able to do it, did I mention my brothers were brilliant!  One less problem I had to deal with, the materials for the bar cost less than five hundred dollars, which was a far cry from six to eight thousand dollars. 

So now we had the main fixtures for the front of the bistro and everything seemed to be progressing, but every time I thought that, something went wrong and this time was not an exception.  We were fast approaching mid April and the plumbers were still not finish with laying the pipes for the kitchen as they had promised.  Everyday was a different excuse from them, and since we were 3 weeks behind and I didn’t want to hear anymore excuses.  Each step of the process had to be approved by the Mecklenburg county inspectors, which meant each process, had to be correct, no excuses.  And nothing else could get done until the kitchen was complete.  

Each re-inspection not only cost money, but also valuable time, because if you failed the inspection you had to go back and correct the problem and the resubmit it to the county, then the inspector would have to come back to re-inspect, and they usually took their own sweet time.

The first plumbing inspection failed because the pipes were not correct and the plumbers had installed the wrong grease trap. The blueprints required a three hundred seventy five gallon grease trap installed in the kitchen, the plumbers decided to ignore the blueprints and install a one hundred seventy five gallon grease trap without a top.  I was beyond livid, because we had stressed to the plumbers to follow the blueprints and not deviate or take shortcuts.   

Not only did they install the wrong grease trap, but they refused to put a top on the grease, why would you not put a top on a big hole in floor, why?  A grease trap or grease interceptor is a receptacle located between the restaurant drain lines and the sanitary sewer lines that allows for the separation and collection of fats, oils and greases (FOG) from the used water, preventing such materials from entering the municipal sewer system.  Our bistro was required to have a three hundred seventy five gallon grease trap. Even though I did not see the purpose of such a big grease trap, it was what was required per specification and there was no way around it. We ended up paying five hundred dollars for a top for the grease trap, only to be told it would not pass inspection because of the size.

I was furious, I just paid over five dollars for a  grease trap top, just to be told the grease trap could not be used, and we had failed our first inspection. The plumber was also livid, because they had just finished a much larger restaurant and the other side of town and that restaurant required a one hundred seventy five pound grease trap, which was installed, and passed inspection the first time. They were baffled at why such a small place in comparison required such a large grease trap. You would think the problem would be solved by installing the correct grease trap, and it would have, if the plumbers had money to buy one.

Apparently they ran out money and needed an advance; keep in mind the agreement was, the second payment was due when they passed inspection, which did not happen, and they were asking for the second payment already.  

To be continued……..