Greetings from my epsom salt bathtub in Wilmington NC. Its been a crazy crazy few days. Finally had my hard open December 26th (there was something peaceful being in the restaurant Christmas afternoon loading butts ans brisket with no soul in sight). Opening day was moderate sucess, nothing too crazy but a nice steady flow. Next day, sold out. Granted, I dont have par levels down but i wasnt expecting this much of a turnout. Things have been amping up, lunch had been really great and steady from 1115 on. Dinners have been hit and miss but Im happy with the flow of customers. Everyday sales have grown by at least 10%. The deli mext door is closed for vacation so im hoping my lunch rush isnt just people showing up for the deli only to "settle" for BBQ next door. Talking with some customers I dont feel that is the case though. Im drained physically and mentally no question, but it feels like its paying off fast. 5 straight 15 hour plus days is exhausting though. So far the customers seem to be LOVING the food and have had several repeat customers already. Only 1 complaint so far and Im almost 100% certain shes just testimng our system for free food. Coming from being a GM of a regional QSR chain I can usually sense genuine complaints from horse manure. Oh well, it was handled delicately and she seems happy for the time being. Everyone else is so thrilled and thats more rewarding then anything else. I had a guy drive from across the river today (solid 25 minutes even at night) just because he heard we had great BBQ. Im hoping this is the start of something great, not just people being bored (covid) or a quick boost for being the new place in towm for BBQ.