Open a BBQ restaurant, they said. It will be fun, they said

dadsr4 said:

Couldn't help but think of your situation when I read this.
"Alligator can greet Michigan restaurant patrons "
PORT HURON, Mich. (AP) -- A 4-foot long alligator named Wally will be allowed to greet patrons of a Michigan restaurant.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-12-17-14-39-49

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Hah! There was actually a restaurant here in town that used to have a live alligator on display. Don't think he's still around though.

Smokeat said:

This is exactly how I feel. Good people always seem to get the raw deal.

Your customers seem ready for some Prized Pig. They won't care about these struggles, and you will be too tired to care. Catering orders and a brand newly opened resto, don't spread yourself too thin, first impressions and all.

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Yeah, people are more than ready. It's honestly shocking how many people are coming in and calling every day even when we aren't open. At this rate I could be doing 100+ customers 7 days a week.

And I'm even getting reservations for booking private events all the way out to March and the people haven't even tried the food yet. :shock:

FatCoyote said:

Just a thought, but what about opening as mail order or the like while you work this out. Good luck and hold tight for the ride is just beginning.

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Funny you mention that. I've actually had a handful of requests for shipping food to other parts of the country. But that's not something I want to get in to.

Hoppy said:

Just out of Curiosity are there any other BBQ Joints near by that have ties to the county?????

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Nope. There is only one other BBQ place in the county other than me, and calling them BBQ is a bit of a misnomer. They more or less just have a few big grills in the parking lot, call it bbq, and are only open about 6 months of the year.

Maskirovka said:

I didn't see this thread until today, and I read all 45 pages (so far) from beginning to end. It was like reading a suspense novel. You sir, are certifiably INSANE and have my profound respect for it! I'm a good home chef, and get frequent comments that I should go into business, but I will not be flattered into that living hell.

From what I've read here, if any restaurant has hope of success, yours does. You went into this smart, with obvious business acumen, and without any delusions of grandeur. I'm on pins and needles to finally read that you are up and running. Good luck, and thank you for posting all of this. It is a very educational read.

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I am insane. It all seemed like such a good idea at the time, but in hindsight, I had no idea what I was getting into even with all of my planning. But that's why I'm sharing it all here, because things don't always go as planned and there are many here who have the same dream, so if others can learn from my experiences, good and bad, then that's great.

But anyway, in other news, I met with the health department again today and they literally gave us the 99.9% ready to open sign, so the only thing we need is to find somebody who can pull that mechanical permit, which I pray happens tomorrow. I've got a few people looking into it, friends of friends and such, and my original contractor is trying to get somebody from the area he works with to come do it.

So, I'm hoping tomorrow somebody calls with good news and I can close the book on this. The good news is that everybody is trying to help. The township supervisor, the inspectors, commissioners, etc. They said they will do anything they can to help, will come out on a weekend if needed, etc. It's just they can't make an exception and skirt the law with the permit and mechanical inspection since it's all part of state regulations and crap.

Fingers crossed on tomorrow being a good day. I need it. And my employees need to get back to work and make some money, especially this time of year. If anything, that makes me the most upset. I hired these people and told them they would be working, getting 30+ hours, etc. And now they are sitting on their hands waiting for all of my problems to be resolved when they were probably counting on the money. But I'm just going to make sure I can do something to help them out later this week, whether it's gift cards, a little extra cash, or giving them a bunch of food for their holiday meals. I can get by without a paycheck for a few months, they can't.