The first visitors on Friday were the installation technicians from ADT Security, who set up and activated our intrusion alarm system. While they were working on that, an agent from Advanced Plumbing arrived, to do some looking around so he could provide an estimate on some work that we wanted done on the staff washroom.
My next visitors were a welcome sight - they were the guys who were sent by Irving to look after the propane setup. These guys were very good to work with. We disconnected the old tanks, then looked at requirements for moving them to the new location and getting them hooked up properly, and filled out an application for a license to make everything legal, since New Brunswick just started a permitting process for this kind of thing a couple of years ago. The biggest issue was with the removal of our old tanks. They were located into a sunken shed within the patio of the old restaurant in such a way that the tanks couldn't just be pulled out easily and moved. The guys suggested that they'd have to bring in a crane to pull them out, which sounded pretty expensive to me. I told them that if they could give me a couple days, I could get them pulled out by hand with the help of a few of my friends on the MTA varsity football team. They said that it would take a few days for the permit to be processed, so that would work for them. In the end, we decided that they would come back next Friday to move the tanks, replace some gas piping going into the new restaurant, and do the final hookups to our stoves. I was pretty happy to get this all sorted out, even though it was going to take another week before everything would be working.
During the afternoon, Tiffany worked on some of the tough cleaning work in the old basement, while Jeff and I brought more loads of stuff from the old place to the new place. We are definitely running out of room to put anything in the new location. Lois-Anne MacGregor arrived in the afternoon with some vinyl fabric, and she and Alison spent several hours doing re-upholstery work on the old chairs that were left behind from Remy's Bistro, the previous restaurant. The old chairs are the same style as the chairs from our restaurant, so we just have to spray-paint the metal black, and re-upholster them, and everything will match nicely.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
Missed Meetings
On Thursday, Amanda and Tiffany spent several hours moving truckloads of supplies and small equipment to the new location. I had cleared out the Upper Dining Room area the previous evening, and they started filling it up. While they were doing that, Jeff worked on removing pieces of equipment that were temporarily fixed in place, like security cameras, and coffee makers.
It is starting to become painfully obvious that although our dining room and kitchen and office areas will all be several times as large as the old restaurant, we are going to be far more cramped for storage space in the new location. There are only a couple of small storage rooms, whereas we had an enormous basement for storage at the old location. It looks like I’ll be building a lot of shelving in the next few weeks.
I was supposed to have several early-morning meetings on Thursday. ADT was supposed to install the intrusion alarm system starting at 8am, but they called to say that there had been a mixup in communications and wouldn’t be able to show up. Advanced Plumbing was supposed to show up for a consultation at 9am, to provide an estimate for some work in the staff washroom, but they called to say that they had been diverted by an emergency repair call.
I spent the afternoon and evening doing random jobs:
- Bringing paperwork and files from the old office.
- Getting supplies for repairs at Home Hardware.
- Buying an ice sink for the bar counter at Happy Harry’s.
- Testing three different types of paint on some metal chair frames.
It is starting to become painfully obvious that although our dining room and kitchen and office areas will all be several times as large as the old restaurant, we are going to be far more cramped for storage space in the new location. There are only a couple of small storage rooms, whereas we had an enormous basement for storage at the old location. It looks like I’ll be building a lot of shelving in the next few weeks.
I was supposed to have several early-morning meetings on Thursday. ADT was supposed to install the intrusion alarm system starting at 8am, but they called to say that there had been a mixup in communications and wouldn’t be able to show up. Advanced Plumbing was supposed to show up for a consultation at 9am, to provide an estimate for some work in the staff washroom, but they called to say that they had been diverted by an emergency repair call.
I spent the afternoon and evening doing random jobs:
- Bringing paperwork and files from the old office.
- Getting supplies for repairs at Home Hardware.
- Buying an ice sink for the bar counter at Happy Harry’s.
- Testing three different types of paint on some metal chair frames.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Propane Progress
Yesterday’s adventures started out with headaches because of the propane. Irving still hadn’t called back to let me know what was happening with the moving of the propane tanks, so I decided to start investigating elsewhere. I called Kevin Munroe, the manager of the Superior Propane outlet in Moncton, and explained the situation. Although he knew that I already had an account with Irving, and wasn’t necessarily going to switch suppliers if I could things settled with Irving, he was extremely helpful and answered a lot of questions that I had (which was more than Irving had been able to do up to that point). He told me that he could probably get someone down to help me within a day, if I decided that I definitely needed their assistance, which was good news.
After talking to Kevin, I called Irving back and told them that I had called three times without any satisfactory answers about when the tanks could be moved. After explaining quite clearly that I was going to get Superior to do the work if Irving couldn’t resolve things quickly, I finally was told that Irving would send a contractor down on Friday to take care of the problem. I’m still not holding my breath that this will go smoothly, but at least it sounds like things are finally in motion. However, knowing what I know now, if I had to start over, there’s no question that I’d set up an account with Superior.
Jeff spent most of the day packing items up at the old restaurant, and removing the cabling for the old security system, POS terminals, ethernet lines, and that sort of stuff. He filled half a dozen milk crates with cables and connectors and equipment. It’s going to be a challenge to reinstall all of that stuff in the new restaurant. While he was doing that, Alison did a lot of painting and touchups. I spent most of the afternoon running errands and “facilitating” activities, and got the office set up so the computer and printer can be used again.
Finally, Amanda and Tiffany moved all the patio furniture from the old restaurant to my house. I now have the best equipped patio on my street. In fact, I could probably have a “patio party” that fills my front lawn. Not having a patio at the restaurant next summer is going to be a major problem. Sackville is a very tough market in the summer, when the students at the University have gone home for a few months. With the US dollar being punished, our tourist traffic is probably going to be decimated next summer. Add the loss of the patio to that, and I am very concerned about our ability to function effectively in June, July, and August. Without question, I am going to have to seriously scale back operations this summer, or possibly go back to being a seasonal operation. The only possible thing I can think of that might keep us open for regular hours in the summer would be if the town would permit us to set up a sidewalk patio like the Bridge Street Cafe has, but I don’t know how receptive they’d be to that idea.
After talking to Kevin, I called Irving back and told them that I had called three times without any satisfactory answers about when the tanks could be moved. After explaining quite clearly that I was going to get Superior to do the work if Irving couldn’t resolve things quickly, I finally was told that Irving would send a contractor down on Friday to take care of the problem. I’m still not holding my breath that this will go smoothly, but at least it sounds like things are finally in motion. However, knowing what I know now, if I had to start over, there’s no question that I’d set up an account with Superior.
Jeff spent most of the day packing items up at the old restaurant, and removing the cabling for the old security system, POS terminals, ethernet lines, and that sort of stuff. He filled half a dozen milk crates with cables and connectors and equipment. It’s going to be a challenge to reinstall all of that stuff in the new restaurant. While he was doing that, Alison did a lot of painting and touchups. I spent most of the afternoon running errands and “facilitating” activities, and got the office set up so the computer and printer can be used again.
Finally, Amanda and Tiffany moved all the patio furniture from the old restaurant to my house. I now have the best equipped patio on my street. In fact, I could probably have a “patio party” that fills my front lawn. Not having a patio at the restaurant next summer is going to be a major problem. Sackville is a very tough market in the summer, when the students at the University have gone home for a few months. With the US dollar being punished, our tourist traffic is probably going to be decimated next summer. Add the loss of the patio to that, and I am very concerned about our ability to function effectively in June, July, and August. Without question, I am going to have to seriously scale back operations this summer, or possibly go back to being a seasonal operation. The only possible thing I can think of that might keep us open for regular hours in the summer would be if the town would permit us to set up a sidewalk patio like the Bridge Street Cafe has, but I don’t know how receptive they’d be to that idea.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Old Dining Room Emptied
Again, yesterday was a very busy day. Tiffany and Amanda started their day helping Alison paint the stalls in the two washrooms. After that, they spent all day packing kitchen equipment and supplies, and using Amanda's truck to move tables and chairs into the new restaurant. While they did that, Alison finished painting the trim in the upper room (I need to come up with an official name for that room). Tiffany also stayed later in the evening and scrubbed out all of the freezers and fridges.
I finished the rough coat on the ceiling tiles, sort of. There were about twenty tiles that proved to be a big problem. To paint most of the tiles, I just took them down and used a roller on them on a table, and then let them dry overnight, and reinstalled them the next day. However, the twenty special tiles were in place before the building's sprinkler system was installed, so the sprinklers were cut through the tiles, rather than tiles being put up in separate pieces around sprinkler heads. I was too nervous to pull down or cut out those tiles, because all of the sprinklers have glass heads on them which burst in high temperature. If I had accidentally broken one, it would have set off the sprinklers. I presume it would have only been in the one I broke, but I wasn't positive, and I didn't want to risk setting off the sprinklers in the entire building (including in the apartments of the 27 students living upstairs). Therefore, I had to paint those specific tiles while they were on the ceiling.
The drawback, of course, is that the tiles are porous, and it is impossible to use gravity to get the paint to run "up" into the holes when a tile is upside-down (on the ceiling), so I taped off each tile and spray painted them brown. The brown doesn't quite match the brown latex that I used on all of the other tiles, so they still stand out a bit, but I'll brush a coat of latex on them later this week to make them match a bit better. Anyway, the long and short of it is that the ceiling is NOT done yet, but at a quick glance, it looks like it is finished.
Nick finished painting the final coat on the bar area, and then finished the trim in the rest of the restaurant. I'm glad that we can finally clean up most of the painting equipment and supplies. While Nick was finishing the painting, Jeff did dozens of odd jobs, including removing all the lights and signs and stereo system/speakers from the old restaurant, and also disassembled the old office. The old restaurant is already looking very different, now that it is starting to get emptied out.
I finished the rough coat on the ceiling tiles, sort of. There were about twenty tiles that proved to be a big problem. To paint most of the tiles, I just took them down and used a roller on them on a table, and then let them dry overnight, and reinstalled them the next day. However, the twenty special tiles were in place before the building's sprinkler system was installed, so the sprinklers were cut through the tiles, rather than tiles being put up in separate pieces around sprinkler heads. I was too nervous to pull down or cut out those tiles, because all of the sprinklers have glass heads on them which burst in high temperature. If I had accidentally broken one, it would have set off the sprinklers. I presume it would have only been in the one I broke, but I wasn't positive, and I didn't want to risk setting off the sprinklers in the entire building (including in the apartments of the 27 students living upstairs). Therefore, I had to paint those specific tiles while they were on the ceiling.
The drawback, of course, is that the tiles are porous, and it is impossible to use gravity to get the paint to run "up" into the holes when a tile is upside-down (on the ceiling), so I taped off each tile and spray painted them brown. The brown doesn't quite match the brown latex that I used on all of the other tiles, so they still stand out a bit, but I'll brush a coat of latex on them later this week to make them match a bit better. Anyway, the long and short of it is that the ceiling is NOT done yet, but at a quick glance, it looks like it is finished.
Nick finished painting the final coat on the bar area, and then finished the trim in the rest of the restaurant. I'm glad that we can finally clean up most of the painting equipment and supplies. While Nick was finishing the painting, Jeff did dozens of odd jobs, including removing all the lights and signs and stereo system/speakers from the old restaurant, and also disassembled the old office. The old restaurant is already looking very different, now that it is starting to get emptied out.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Busy Start to the Week
For the first time in several days, a lot got accomplished on Monday. I had originally hoped to be completely finished painting by Sunday evening, but that fell apart on the weekend. However, yesterday I spent a lot of time working on ceiling tiles whenever I had a few minutes free, so that major task is finally almost finished. Also, Nick added a few more coats of paint to the walls and counter of the bar.
Tiffany and Amanda Purdy started to help move equipment, and Jeff and I worked on heavier items throughout the day. First our two upright freezers were emptied into a large chest freezer, and then Jeff and I got them out of the basement and moved over to the new location. After that, he and the girls packed up a pretty significant portion of the stuff in the old kitchen and serving area, and then he spent a few hours disassembling the portable equipment such as the metro racks, wine racks, and similar items.
One problem that we've run into so far is with Irving Propane. I've called them a couple times now to inquire about when they are moving our propane tanks. They keep saying that a contractor is going to call back to arrange an appointment, but the problem is that until the tanks are moved, we can't make an appointment to move our stoves, and I wanted to have the stoves moved and certified by this Friday, so I could start working on staff training for the week or so before Christmas, while there is lots of "free time." Well, it's not really free time, but at least we aren't open to the public, so that's as good a time as any to work on cook training. If I don't hear from them soon to at least book an appointment, I'm going to start making calls and see if there are any other propane companies in the area who will respond more quickly.
ADT Security came in and did an inspection of the place and we laid out the blueprints for the security system. We also got all of our recycleables out of the old restaurant, and did a major garbage collection.
It doesn't really sound like a lot got accomplished, but it was a good start. The time-consuming stuff isn't moving the equipment and loose items from one place to another, it's just trying to finish the painting and get the kitchen ready to receive equipment. In fact, I'm pretty sure that we'll be completely out of the old location by the end of this week. The tricky thing to consider is that our new kitchen is quite a bit bigger (as you can see from the "before" photo below), but I want to move things in an orderly manner and set equipment up as I go, to make the transition happen more smoothly.
Tiffany and Amanda Purdy started to help move equipment, and Jeff and I worked on heavier items throughout the day. First our two upright freezers were emptied into a large chest freezer, and then Jeff and I got them out of the basement and moved over to the new location. After that, he and the girls packed up a pretty significant portion of the stuff in the old kitchen and serving area, and then he spent a few hours disassembling the portable equipment such as the metro racks, wine racks, and similar items.
One problem that we've run into so far is with Irving Propane. I've called them a couple times now to inquire about when they are moving our propane tanks. They keep saying that a contractor is going to call back to arrange an appointment, but the problem is that until the tanks are moved, we can't make an appointment to move our stoves, and I wanted to have the stoves moved and certified by this Friday, so I could start working on staff training for the week or so before Christmas, while there is lots of "free time." Well, it's not really free time, but at least we aren't open to the public, so that's as good a time as any to work on cook training. If I don't hear from them soon to at least book an appointment, I'm going to start making calls and see if there are any other propane companies in the area who will respond more quickly.
ADT Security came in and did an inspection of the place and we laid out the blueprints for the security system. We also got all of our recycleables out of the old restaurant, and did a major garbage collection.
It doesn't really sound like a lot got accomplished, but it was a good start. The time-consuming stuff isn't moving the equipment and loose items from one place to another, it's just trying to finish the painting and get the kitchen ready to receive equipment. In fact, I'm pretty sure that we'll be completely out of the old location by the end of this week. The tricky thing to consider is that our new kitchen is quite a bit bigger (as you can see from the "before" photo below), but I want to move things in an orderly manner and set equipment up as I go, to make the transition happen more smoothly.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Day of Rest
Again, not a lot got accomplished yesterday, a Sunday. I spent most of the day trying to catch up on some music projects, but I wasn't able to do much at the restaurant itself. However, we start moving kitchen equipment today, so I suspect there will be a lot to write about here in the coming week.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Saturday Progress
There was not much progress on Saturday. Although Friday was our last night to be open to the public, last night was the last night of operations at 28A York Street. We finished things off by hosting a private Christmas party for one of the businesses in town.
Other than that, Nick got some more painting done in the bar area, but I didn't get much accomplished because I had to spend most of the day doing some work for one of my other jobs.
Other than that, Nick got some more painting done in the bar area, but I didn't get much accomplished because I had to spend most of the day doing some work for one of my other jobs.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Friday Confusion
Yesterday afternoon started to get tricky. We don't start moving equipment until Monday, but I had a number of questions to answer yesterday afternoon. We were trying to get our hot water working, and ADT came in to check out the layout of the restaurant, and I was trying to run errands and get painting done at the same time. It wasn't that confusing, but I'm pretty sure that was a forerunner of next week's fun.
Tonight was also the last night at the restaurant. Last night was our last night being open to the public. It didn't seem like it was the "last night," but probably that was because we're so focused on the new location right now.
Tonight was also the last night at the restaurant. Last night was our last night being open to the public. It didn't seem like it was the "last night," but probably that was because we're so focused on the new location right now.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Painting The Bar Area
Yesterday was a solid workday. We looked at the bar (& cash register) area for a while, and decided that rather than keeping it in dark blue colors, we'd paint it to match the theme of the dining room. The alternative was to pull all the tiles off the counter and walls (which is still possible), but we thought we'd like to try painting them first. We primed them with a BIN primer product, then started to apply a heavy melanine paint that supposedly dries into a nice countertop finish. The process was very time-consuming, and Nick worked on it all afternoon and all evening. By the time he was done, he finished all the priming and then finished the first coat of brown on the counter, which looks ok today. However, the second coat will tell the tale.
The first coat has slight ripples in it, and we want the counter to look like real tiles. When we apply the second coat this afternoon, we're going to lay it on fairly thick and apply a hair dryer the whole time behind him, so the heat and gravity should smooth the surface out better. Hopefully that will give us the effect that we want. The walls are less of a concern - if those surfaces turn out to be rough, I can live with that, so at the very worst, we'll only have to install new tiles on the bar countertop.
Also last night, the strangest thing happened. At 1:30am, we had our first customer. Now you have to realize that at the time, there were about 50-60 ceiling tiles spread around the restaurant, covering all of the visible floors and tables. And there were about 14 milk crates of old tools in the entryway that had to be navigated to get into the restaurant. Add several trouble lights, newspaper on the windows, a missing ceiling, and paint buckets spread out everywhere, and you are probably starting to get a good mental image. The restaurant looked like a cross between a construction site and a war zone. Anyway, the gentleman that came in looked around for a minute, then he looked at me and said, "Are you open?" I was slightly taken aback, and said, "for what?" He said, "Can you make me a pizza?" I laughed and told him that I'd love to, but it would be about four weeks.
The only other notable thing that I got accomplished yesterday was talking to some of our major suppliers to arrange times and dates for changing services, ie. NB Power, Aliant Communications (to move our phone lines), Irving (to move our propane tanks), and ADT Security (to set up a new alarm system).
Today is the last day that we're open to the public in our old location at 28A York Street. We have a private Christmas banquet tomorrow evening, then we can finally start moving equipment into the kitchen next week to start the second phase of our move/expansion.
The first coat has slight ripples in it, and we want the counter to look like real tiles. When we apply the second coat this afternoon, we're going to lay it on fairly thick and apply a hair dryer the whole time behind him, so the heat and gravity should smooth the surface out better. Hopefully that will give us the effect that we want. The walls are less of a concern - if those surfaces turn out to be rough, I can live with that, so at the very worst, we'll only have to install new tiles on the bar countertop.
Also last night, the strangest thing happened. At 1:30am, we had our first customer. Now you have to realize that at the time, there were about 50-60 ceiling tiles spread around the restaurant, covering all of the visible floors and tables. And there were about 14 milk crates of old tools in the entryway that had to be navigated to get into the restaurant. Add several trouble lights, newspaper on the windows, a missing ceiling, and paint buckets spread out everywhere, and you are probably starting to get a good mental image. The restaurant looked like a cross between a construction site and a war zone. Anyway, the gentleman that came in looked around for a minute, then he looked at me and said, "Are you open?" I was slightly taken aback, and said, "for what?" He said, "Can you make me a pizza?" I laughed and told him that I'd love to, but it would be about four weeks.
The only other notable thing that I got accomplished yesterday was talking to some of our major suppliers to arrange times and dates for changing services, ie. NB Power, Aliant Communications (to move our phone lines), Irving (to move our propane tanks), and ADT Security (to set up a new alarm system).
Today is the last day that we're open to the public in our old location at 28A York Street. We have a private Christmas banquet tomorrow evening, then we can finally start moving equipment into the kitchen next week to start the second phase of our move/expansion.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Tour of M&S Foods
Again, yesterday was another day without a lot physically accomplished in the restaurant, except a few more ceiling tiles painted. I do still hope to be finished the ceiling by Sunday night.
Yesterday afternoon, Alison and I went over to Amherst to take a tour of the M&S Foods distribution center. M&S is the Atlantic Canadian subsidiary of GFS (Gordon Food Services). We have predominantly used Sysco as our major supplier for the last few years, and only use M&S occasionally, but we have noticed that the quality at M&S appears to have been improving over the past couple of years (they have only been in business in the new distribution center in Amherst for about four years). Although we didn't plan to switch suppliers, it's good to keep informed about what's available in the marketplace.
We started with an office tour, and while doing so, ran into a friend from MTA (Rory Faulkner) who is now working in the accounting office there. After the office tour, we spent about an hour walking through the warehouse and looking at various products, which was the most important part of the visit. It quickly became obvious that their inventory system and product quality has come a long way in the past few years. While we didn't find any compelling reasons to switch suppliers just yet, I certainly feel more comfortable using M&S more frequently in the future, based on what I saw of their food quality control systems (especially on produce). I think I will monitor comparison pricing quite carefully in the next few months to see which company has the overall advantage for us in terms of minimizing food costs.
Yesterday afternoon, Alison and I went over to Amherst to take a tour of the M&S Foods distribution center. M&S is the Atlantic Canadian subsidiary of GFS (Gordon Food Services). We have predominantly used Sysco as our major supplier for the last few years, and only use M&S occasionally, but we have noticed that the quality at M&S appears to have been improving over the past couple of years (they have only been in business in the new distribution center in Amherst for about four years). Although we didn't plan to switch suppliers, it's good to keep informed about what's available in the marketplace.
We started with an office tour, and while doing so, ran into a friend from MTA (Rory Faulkner) who is now working in the accounting office there. After the office tour, we spent about an hour walking through the warehouse and looking at various products, which was the most important part of the visit. It quickly became obvious that their inventory system and product quality has come a long way in the past few years. While we didn't find any compelling reasons to switch suppliers just yet, I certainly feel more comfortable using M&S more frequently in the future, based on what I saw of their food quality control systems (especially on produce). I think I will monitor comparison pricing quite carefully in the next few months to see which company has the overall advantage for us in terms of minimizing food costs.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Cell Phone Problems
Yesterday, due to the snow storm, I didn't get a whole lot accomplished. I did spend a little while painting some more ceiling tiles though. I wonder if I'll have them finished by the end of the weekend.
One thing that I've recognized as a major problem in the past couple days is the fact that for some reason, I can't get proper cell phone reception on my Aliant cell phone when I'm in the new restaurant. We're located in downtown Sackville, so for a company that bills itself as having the best cell coverage in New Brunswick, that's a major problem. The cell phone will work fine in some places on the street outside, but other times I have to walk up or down the street to receive a call. That will be pretty annoying after Christmas if I start spending a lot of hours down here (although I do dislike getting constant phone calls, so maybe this is a blessing in disguise). Anyway, I currently have my house phone forwarded to my cell phone when I'm out of the house, so maybe I'll also have to forward my cell to the restaurant line when I'm at work (although I don't know if the phone network can handle that double-forwarding). That's something to look into tomorrow.
One other small but important thing that I did manage to accomplish yesterday was that I wrote letters to about thirty of our most important suppliers to let them know about our change of address for mail and deliveries. However, there are still seven of them that I want to call and talk to in person tomorrow, just to be safe (Sysco Food Services, Pepsi, NB Power, Aliant Communications, ADT Security, Irving Propane, and our debit/credit group). This is kind of a slack week for the renovations and move, because now that the majority of the painting is done, I have to wait for next Monday before I can start moving equipment. I am going to try to get that schedule planned out in the next few days.
One thing that I've recognized as a major problem in the past couple days is the fact that for some reason, I can't get proper cell phone reception on my Aliant cell phone when I'm in the new restaurant. We're located in downtown Sackville, so for a company that bills itself as having the best cell coverage in New Brunswick, that's a major problem. The cell phone will work fine in some places on the street outside, but other times I have to walk up or down the street to receive a call. That will be pretty annoying after Christmas if I start spending a lot of hours down here (although I do dislike getting constant phone calls, so maybe this is a blessing in disguise). Anyway, I currently have my house phone forwarded to my cell phone when I'm out of the house, so maybe I'll also have to forward my cell to the restaurant line when I'm at work (although I don't know if the phone network can handle that double-forwarding). That's something to look into tomorrow.
One other small but important thing that I did manage to accomplish yesterday was that I wrote letters to about thirty of our most important suppliers to let them know about our change of address for mail and deliveries. However, there are still seven of them that I want to call and talk to in person tomorrow, just to be safe (Sysco Food Services, Pepsi, NB Power, Aliant Communications, ADT Security, Irving Propane, and our debit/credit group). This is kind of a slack week for the renovations and move, because now that the majority of the painting is done, I have to wait for next Monday before I can start moving equipment. I am going to try to get that schedule planned out in the next few days.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Snow Day
It's amazing how much work a person can get done in a day when you start working early in the morning at 4am, and keep working until well past midnight. Unfortunately, most of the work that I got accomplished wasn't at the restaurant. I spent most of yesterday catching up on paperwork for my other job at the university.
I did manage to sneak up to Moncton for an hour in the afternoon though, and picked up a couple of black sofas. And late last night, I got a couple dozen more ceiling tiles painted. By the time I left the restaurant, at 3am, Sackville was experiencing a raging snow storm. We were expected to get 40 centimeters of snow between last night and today. University classes are cancelled today (it was supposed to be the last day of classes for the fall term), so most of the students are probably lying in bed studying right now, or getting ready to go out for drinks this evening.
I did manage to sneak up to Moncton for an hour in the afternoon though, and picked up a couple of black sofas. And late last night, I got a couple dozen more ceiling tiles painted. By the time I left the restaurant, at 3am, Sackville was experiencing a raging snow storm. We were expected to get 40 centimeters of snow between last night and today. University classes are cancelled today (it was supposed to be the last day of classes for the fall term), so most of the students are probably lying in bed studying right now, or getting ready to go out for drinks this evening.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Ceiling Tiles
Sunday was another day without a whole lot getting accomplished. We had another Christmas banquet last night, so I ended up helping out in the kitchen for that. I haven't been cooking much since last Christmas, but that will change when we re-open. I'll be working nearly full-time hours in the kitchen again, to improve quality control and to start working on eventual menu improvements. We don't want to make a lot of changes to the existing menus when we initially re-open in January, because there are too many other things to keep us busy right now, although we will have some minor changes and additions. Essentially though, I'll be working a lot of night-time hours throughout the week starting next month, and I'll basically be acting as the Kitchen Manager. That way, Alison (our overall Restaurant Manager) can focus more on the dining room and make sure that our servers are providing the best possible table service to our customers.
So anyway, last night I got the lights fixed in the emergency exits, and worked on painting of ceiling tiles for a while, and made some revisions to our budget forecast.
So anyway, last night I got the lights fixed in the emergency exits, and worked on painting of ceiling tiles for a while, and made some revisions to our budget forecast.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Christmas Banquet Season
Saturday was a busy day at the old restaurant. We had two large Christmas banquets at dinner-time, back-to-back, so we didn't actually get anything accomplished at the new restaurant.
One of the banquets was for about forty people, which (as you can see) is about the maximum number of people that the old restaurant can hold. The new restaurant will be able to hold about 45-50 people in the lower sections, in a much more comfortable environment, without having tables uncomfortably close to each other. For a banquet, we will probably be able to accommodate as many as 65 people in the lower seating areas. We are going to use the two lower sections as general dining room seating which is always open to the public. The larger of the two sections will be tables only, and the smaller of the two sections will have a couple of couches, coffee tables, and a few regular dining tables, so that it can be used as an informal area for people who are having casual coffee in the afternoon, or drinks before dinner in the evening.
In addition, the new restaurant has a special raised section in the back which can comfortably accommodate 20-25 people or more. This section will not normally be open to the public on a constant basis, but will always be available for large groups (15 or more people) who want to reserve it for special occasions. We'll probably offer permanent happy hour pricing to large groups in this upper area, so I can envision it being used frequently in the evenings by groups wanting to have corporate dinners, or for special family oriented events, and also by groups of students at Mount Allison who want to have residence floor dinners and gatherings like that.
I would also like to try to have a projector and screen available for this special room, both for corporate events that involve presentations, and also so commerce and other faculty groups at the university can schedule meetings in the afternoons for classes or presentations. We will have some heavy theatre drapes on the main side of this section so that it can be turned into a more private area at the discretion of the diners using it. We can even use this section occasionally as a stage for performances of live music, so we can occasionally feature local jazz musicians, or students doing coffee-house or acoustic performance events.
One of the banquets was for about forty people, which (as you can see) is about the maximum number of people that the old restaurant can hold. The new restaurant will be able to hold about 45-50 people in the lower sections, in a much more comfortable environment, without having tables uncomfortably close to each other. For a banquet, we will probably be able to accommodate as many as 65 people in the lower seating areas. We are going to use the two lower sections as general dining room seating which is always open to the public. The larger of the two sections will be tables only, and the smaller of the two sections will have a couple of couches, coffee tables, and a few regular dining tables, so that it can be used as an informal area for people who are having casual coffee in the afternoon, or drinks before dinner in the evening.
In addition, the new restaurant has a special raised section in the back which can comfortably accommodate 20-25 people or more. This section will not normally be open to the public on a constant basis, but will always be available for large groups (15 or more people) who want to reserve it for special occasions. We'll probably offer permanent happy hour pricing to large groups in this upper area, so I can envision it being used frequently in the evenings by groups wanting to have corporate dinners, or for special family oriented events, and also by groups of students at Mount Allison who want to have residence floor dinners and gatherings like that.
I would also like to try to have a projector and screen available for this special room, both for corporate events that involve presentations, and also so commerce and other faculty groups at the university can schedule meetings in the afternoons for classes or presentations. We will have some heavy theatre drapes on the main side of this section so that it can be turned into a more private area at the discretion of the diners using it. We can even use this section occasionally as a stage for performances of live music, so we can occasionally feature local jazz musicians, or students doing coffee-house or acoustic performance events.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Painting Is Almost Finished
We got a lot of work done last night. The top layer of brown is finished and the washrooms are finished - they used to be a very boring sterile white, so we changed the top half to a light green that is a bit friendlier.
All that is really left is the trim at the top of the walls, the ceiling tiles, and repainting some chairs and tables. So actually, there is quite a bit of painting left to be done, but at least it feels like the dining room is almost finished.
All that is really left is the trim at the top of the walls, the ceiling tiles, and repainting some chairs and tables. So actually, there is quite a bit of painting left to be done, but at least it feels like the dining room is almost finished.
Friday, November 30, 2007
The Office Is Painted
The biggest accomplishment yesterday was finishing the painting of the office. It's now a dark brown, in fact, very dark. I'm sure that most managers would prefer the original white color that was on the walls, for being bright and getting work done. However, I prefer the really dark background, with some good lighting of all work surfaces, because I find that it makes it easier for me to focus on what's in front of me, instead of focusing on my surroundings. Besides, the walls will probably lighten up considerably once all the furniture is rearranged and I get some bulletin boards and fixtures installed, so I think it will be a pretty relaxing place to work once I'm finished. Here are the before and after photos:
Melissa Markovich and Tiffany also finished touching the up last few places where the brown trim needed a first coat, and started the first coat of paint in the two washrooms.
While the girls worked on those other sections, I painted another batch of ceiling tiles. The tiles are very time consuming. I can only do about one eighth of the restaurant at a time, because I need to take them down, roll them, and then spread them out on table-tops and drop-sheets to dry. The moisture from the paint gets into the tiles and softens them up considerably, so even though the surface of each tile dries within two or three hours, it takes about ten to twelve hours before they stiffen up enough to maintain their integrity to be reinstalled in the ceiling. So in other words, even if we get all the other painting done this weekend, I'm still going to have to be working on batches of tiles every day next week. The tiles also suck up an amazingly large amount of paint (these are the "hard" ceiling tiles, not the new type with the soft plastic surface layer). In fact, I've wondered whether or not it might be cheaper to replace the existing tiles with the new type, because the new type would use a lot less paint. But then I'd have to buy the new tiles, and the labour involved would be a bit more, so I probably wouldn't be any further ahead in the end. Anyway, despite the headaches, the ceiling is looking a LOT better where it has already been painted. Besides, the brown paint will hide the water stains where there have been minor leaks in the ceiling.
Melissa Markovich and Tiffany also finished touching the up last few places where the brown trim needed a first coat, and started the first coat of paint in the two washrooms.
While the girls worked on those other sections, I painted another batch of ceiling tiles. The tiles are very time consuming. I can only do about one eighth of the restaurant at a time, because I need to take them down, roll them, and then spread them out on table-tops and drop-sheets to dry. The moisture from the paint gets into the tiles and softens them up considerably, so even though the surface of each tile dries within two or three hours, it takes about ten to twelve hours before they stiffen up enough to maintain their integrity to be reinstalled in the ceiling. So in other words, even if we get all the other painting done this weekend, I'm still going to have to be working on batches of tiles every day next week. The tiles also suck up an amazingly large amount of paint (these are the "hard" ceiling tiles, not the new type with the soft plastic surface layer). In fact, I've wondered whether or not it might be cheaper to replace the existing tiles with the new type, because the new type would use a lot less paint. But then I'd have to buy the new tiles, and the labour involved would be a bit more, so I probably wouldn't be any further ahead in the end. Anyway, despite the headaches, the ceiling is looking a LOT better where it has already been painted. Besides, the brown paint will hide the water stains where there have been minor leaks in the ceiling.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wednesday Night's Progress
Pippa managed to remove the old wallpaper from the walls in the washrooms yesterday. We decided that the "toy fish" motif was not quite suitable to the theme of the restaurant. Hopefully we can start painting them this evening.
We completely finished the beige coats last night, except for future touch-ups, and we also got the first coat of paint on the office. As it stands right now, we might be able to finish the majority of the painting by tomorrow night or Saturday, depending on how many helpers show up this evening. The final coat of brown is going to be a very time-intensive coat - there is a lot of trim involved, and since the beige is "done," the final coat on the brown trim has to be done pretty slowly, to minimize touch-up requirements.
That's all that's new for today. Time to start painting again ...
We completely finished the beige coats last night, except for future touch-ups, and we also got the first coat of paint on the office. As it stands right now, we might be able to finish the majority of the painting by tomorrow night or Saturday, depending on how many helpers show up this evening. The final coat of brown is going to be a very time-intensive coat - there is a lot of trim involved, and since the beige is "done," the final coat on the brown trim has to be done pretty slowly, to minimize touch-up requirements.
That's all that's new for today. Time to start painting again ...
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Change of Address
We now have a new mailing address finalized. It is:
The Olive Branch
96 Main Street,
Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada
E4L 4A7
Our old mailbox will remain open until December 31st, but we can start receiving mail at the new address starting effective immediately.
In other news, I also started to set up an advertising contract on the local Eastlink Cable community channel yesterday, which will run for a full year in 2008.
As far as painting goes, we didn't get as much done yesterday as most days. We did finish the final coat of trim for the beige, and did some brown trim too (we started the entryway) but that was about it for the night.
The Olive Branch
96 Main Street,
Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada
E4L 4A7
Our old mailbox will remain open until December 31st, but we can start receiving mail at the new address starting effective immediately.
In other news, I also started to set up an advertising contract on the local Eastlink Cable community channel yesterday, which will run for a full year in 2008.
As far as painting goes, we didn't get as much done yesterday as most days. We did finish the final coat of trim for the beige, and did some brown trim too (we started the entryway) but that was about it for the night.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
First Coat of Brown Paint
Well, the restaurant is finally starting to look like we had envisioned it, after a fairly major painting party last night.
The painting took quite a while, since we've having to be a bit more careful now that we're getting closer to being finished. Also, the wainscotting around the base of the dining room has grooves in it, every couple of inches, so it all has to be done with some careful brushwork.
Other than the painting, I didn't get too much else done yesterday. I did buy a car, but that's about it. It's actually the car I've been driving around for the past several years. The lease apparently ran out in October, so I went over to Amherst Toyota yesterday after to talk to them about my options. I had thought for a while about upgrading to a hybrid, but in the end, it just seemed a lot easier to buy the car that I already have (a Toyota Echo). At least it gets extremely good fuel mileage, and in the four years that I've had it, there has not been a single mechnical problem with it.
The painting took quite a while, since we've having to be a bit more careful now that we're getting closer to being finished. Also, the wainscotting around the base of the dining room has grooves in it, every couple of inches, so it all has to be done with some careful brushwork.
Other than the painting, I didn't get too much else done yesterday. I did buy a car, but that's about it. It's actually the car I've been driving around for the past several years. The lease apparently ran out in October, so I went over to Amherst Toyota yesterday after to talk to them about my options. I had thought for a while about upgrading to a hybrid, but in the end, it just seemed a lot easier to buy the car that I already have (a Toyota Echo). At least it gets extremely good fuel mileage, and in the four years that I've had it, there has not been a single mechnical problem with it.
Monday, November 26, 2007
First Coat of Beige
Last night was a very productive night. We started and finished the first of the two coats of beige (the upper half of the dining room) throughout the entire restaurant. Jeff and Ali were here helping for a little bit, then Tiffany and Zach Ball and I put in a really long evening and got it done.
We also finished painting & touching up the iron railings, did some carpentry in the entry-way, and got rid of about a pickup truck load of garbage. That's about it, but I was pretty happy with getting that much done on a Sunday evening.
We also finished painting & touching up the iron railings, did some carpentry in the entry-way, and got rid of about a pickup truck load of garbage. That's about it, but I was pretty happy with getting that much done on a Sunday evening.
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