Culinary Quest

I had a crew of 3 today. One guy put up insulation in the ceiling under the apartment area. The other two continued on the roof reinforcement. Ran out of nails at 2:30. I've got to go to Home Depot tomorrow.
I used a rented jack hammer to remove the cement in the area where we are going to put a ramp for ADA compliance. It took about 4 hours to take out the old concrete. Now I have to buy 26 bags or more of concrete to make the ramp. Rusty says that the cement should be 4" thick. 26 bags... 26 bags...
Plumbers came at 12:00 to replace a bit of cast iron pipe that was leaking. They also took care of a few other issues.
A representative of the town's public works departmetn stopped by to see when we might be finished with the sidewalk out front so they can pour cement.
Hot, hot, hot. It was over 95 today. Probably hotter working under the tin roof.

Last week the crew decided that they would like to work Saturdays. That was fine with me because we are finally getting to the point where we need to get a lot done in a relatively short time. The plumber is coming on Monday. Hopefully, we can start enclosing the ceiling after they replace the drain pipes for the upstairs toilet and sink.
I picked up two hand sinks at Harwill. They are knee operated sinks so the user doesn't have to touch the on-off valves to activate the water. I also purchased a 10 burner vulcan gas range with two ovens. The seller will hold onto it for a month so I don't have to put it into Miami Rice's barn.
Rusty came by and gave me additional advice on reinforcing the ceiling of the kitchen so that it will support 2,000 pounds of ventilation/fire control equipment.
I've also started to get quotes for signage. I prefer the hand carved look. I think that the signs are going to run around $2,500 for all 3.

The trucks (at least 4) and the work crew (at least 7) arrived at 8:30 last night. They started digging at 8:31. They finished at 5:30 this morning. Digging, pounding, rumbling, spreading, ripping, engines running ...
I hope that it was worth the noise.

Well, at least there was for a while...
The town's water department arrived this morning to cut a path across Main Street for our water access. Tonight they're going to shut down the road and run a new water line from the main to the shut off valve on my sidewalk. They've also torn up a good portion of the sidewalk in front of my place so they can install a new water shut off valve and meter in the sidewalk.














The noise and vibrations of the jackhammers started at 7:00 this morning and ended around noon.

The asbestos abatement people came in today to remove about 40 square feet of asbestos floor tiles that need to be removed before we dig up the the concrete floor for the handicap access ramp.


The crew continued to reinforce the ceiling downstairs. We should have the reinforcements done by next Tuesday.

Tomorrow... asbestos removal of about 32 square feet of old tiles from the future entrance ramp inside the restaurant. Cost... about $650. The downstairs will be off limits for about 3 days. We'll be working in the apartment for the next 3 days.

Special thanks to Rusty Ellis for his advice about a few structural concerns. We're putting his suggestions into place. Pictures to follow.

Went to a sign store today. Estimate cost is about $2,500 for 3 signs. Hopefully we can incorporate the logo that Marcus designed into the sign design.

Purchased a 10 burner Vulcan range with two ovens today. Also bought 2 knee operated hand sinks. One for the bar one for the kitchen.

The wife and I looked at chairs. $97 a piece. We're waiting a few days to decide whether to purchase or not.

Tomorrow... submit ABC application and the Virginia Department of Health review application.

Many of my fans have been wondering where my logo came from. My wife and I took a couple of stained glass classes a couple of years ago and my second piece is shown below.
I found images of a dragon harp on the web and designed a stained glass project based on that image. (Our instructor made us draw our own designs.)

Personal issue # 1. My mother was admitted to the hospital on Monday after having chest discomfort. Yesterday the doctor told her that she suffered a mild heart attack. It took her four days from when the symptoms started before she decided to go to the doctor.
Personal issue # 2. Just not feeling up to par. I think that my allergies are acting up so my head is getting congested.
Utility issue # 1. Electricity. The town told Dominion Power that the town doesn't have any objections to the work that is needed to bring sufficient power to my restaurant BUT the plan needs to be cleared with VDOT (Virginia Department of Transportation) since the poles are located on their right of way.
Utility issue # 2. Water. Yesterday I found out that the town charges additional fees to restaurants to hook up new water connections. In my case they want to charge an additional $16,500 in fees on top of the $7,000 access fee. I met with the town water and sewer committee this morning to see if I can get some relief from the fees. They will let me know what their anwer is this afternoon.

UPDATE
The town has agreed to waive the access fees but requires payment of the seating fees since those fees are charged uniformly to all restaurants. On the bright side, they only count traditional table seating and not bar seating so I can reduce the $16,500 to about $13,000. I need to find out about the transformer before I pay the town water fees.

Here is my logo, courtesy of Marcus (a friend of Nate).

Even though I'm right on Main Street, just a couple fo doors away from the county court house, county jail, fire department and such, I don't have sufficient electricity coming to my building. The electric company needs to install a new utility pole with a transformer just outside of my building. They need to get the town's approval to put in a new pole. The town is going trying to renovate the downtown area, they want to move all above ground wires underground. I'm not sure if the town is going to give the power company permission or not. If I can't get this resolved quickly, I'm going to suspend all renovations.

So far, I've got the demolition permit and the building permit. Now I have to get a new permit to replace the railing on the balcony. I still need to get permits for the electrical, plumbing, HVAC and gas work. Later I'll need permits from the Health Department, the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control and more.

We've reinforced the ceiling based on the recommendation of the architect. This is going to be the kitchen area.

Yes, I'm searching for subcontractors. I had one lined up who was licensed for electricity, plumbing, HVAC and gas. At the time it came to sign the contract he demanded that payment be made out to him personally and not his firm. Even though he owns the firm I refused because all documentation provided to me was through his firm... insurance certificate, license and the name on the contract. He walked away so I'm looking again. Hopefully I can find someone fast.

Last night the town council approved my request for a parking exemption for the restaurant. The community seems to be excited about the restaurant. Next step... finalize construction permits.

Here is an old picture of my building (2nd from left). The building to the left (far left) now houses a furniture store and the the building to the right houses (2nd from right) a real estate agent's office. At one point my building was a bowling alley and the real estate agent's office housed a meat market (a butcher shop, not a meeting place).

Tomorrow evening the town council will decide whether to give me a parking exemption or not. If I'm successful, then Thursday morning I'll head out to the building inspectors' office to try to get my permit.
Wednesday morning I'm scheduled to meet with the local Alcoholic Beverage Control agent. We'll discuss what I need to do in order to get fully licensed to sell beer, wine and more.
My work crew has been busy reinforcing the exterior walls and roof supports.
The dining room space keeps shrinking. The last time I talked with the building inspector he told me that I need a 5 foot landing at the base of the inside ramp to be ADA compliant. He said that might be able to appeal the landing so that it is only 3 feet, but I've decided that those 2 extra feet really won't make much of a difference.
More after the town council meeting.