the ides of may
well, it's now mid-may
unfortunately, we're really nowhere near there yet.
back in late march/early april, when delays had put us seriously behind, it was necessary for our contractors to go onto other job commitments. like pushing a big snowball down a hill (a little spokane lore for you there), this set us back everywhere -- mechanical permits, fabrication of equipment, everything. to make it worse, our head guy on the job had a long-planned vacation -- in south africa -- and as soon as he got back a little over a week ago he went right into the hospital for emergency surgery.
ken's fine, by the way, though a little immobilized and perhaps rather fond of his percoset. as of yesterday he & i have begun to set the wheels back into motion.
so here's the latest, and i should know more at the end of the day:
- mechanical is complete. this means we have permits in hand for the installation of the hood, pending coordination with our landlord, the pda, for the roof penetration. if you were to come in to look at the restaurant right now, you'd see that the entire back kitchen & dish area walls are painted & the fire retardant wall panels are installed. it's all ready for the hood, the back kitchen stainless wall & then all of the hot, cold & plumbing appliances. amazingly, once we can set that date for penetration the whole thing can be done in a matter of a couple of days, from bringing the stuff up the stairs to plugging it in & turning it on.
- the much-talked-about gas line is ready. the market made it past all of the red tape the city could deal & have gotten everything prepared for us -- it's now just pending the installation of the hood & final connections of our plumbing lines.
- the liquor license is in hand. after lost applications in the mail & a good deal of miscommunication, we've achieved the right to "dispense" liquor (i love that word).
- our tile-work has yet to be done. that was to be ken's baby, but he's now unable to do the heavy work so we're farming the job out. we think we've got the guys to do it.
so, once we get our equipment in & connected, there's still a bunch of finish work to be done, lighting installation, stereo hookup, etc. we're looking at some weeks. i wish it weren't so.
on the positive side, we've hired some great people -- i'm looking forward to working with the new team. some new faces, a bunch of familiar ones. the restaurant is looking wonderful -- we actually pulled off a wedding in there last saturday and, although it was lot of work, it came off well. the room's good for a party - tom's a natural at shaking a cocktail.
there you have it. i should know more by the end of the day -- whenever i feel i can give out a new calendar, i will do so. keep thinking good thoughts, watch out for wolfowitz & go get out in the sun.
matt
unfortunately, we're really nowhere near there yet.
back in late march/early april, when delays had put us seriously behind, it was necessary for our contractors to go onto other job commitments. like pushing a big snowball down a hill (a little spokane lore for you there), this set us back everywhere -- mechanical permits, fabrication of equipment, everything. to make it worse, our head guy on the job had a long-planned vacation -- in south africa -- and as soon as he got back a little over a week ago he went right into the hospital for emergency surgery.
ken's fine, by the way, though a little immobilized and perhaps rather fond of his percoset. as of yesterday he & i have begun to set the wheels back into motion.
so here's the latest, and i should know more at the end of the day:
- mechanical is complete. this means we have permits in hand for the installation of the hood, pending coordination with our landlord, the pda, for the roof penetration. if you were to come in to look at the restaurant right now, you'd see that the entire back kitchen & dish area walls are painted & the fire retardant wall panels are installed. it's all ready for the hood, the back kitchen stainless wall & then all of the hot, cold & plumbing appliances. amazingly, once we can set that date for penetration the whole thing can be done in a matter of a couple of days, from bringing the stuff up the stairs to plugging it in & turning it on.
- the much-talked-about gas line is ready. the market made it past all of the red tape the city could deal & have gotten everything prepared for us -- it's now just pending the installation of the hood & final connections of our plumbing lines.
- the liquor license is in hand. after lost applications in the mail & a good deal of miscommunication, we've achieved the right to "dispense" liquor (i love that word).
- our tile-work has yet to be done. that was to be ken's baby, but he's now unable to do the heavy work so we're farming the job out. we think we've got the guys to do it.
so, once we get our equipment in & connected, there's still a bunch of finish work to be done, lighting installation, stereo hookup, etc. we're looking at some weeks. i wish it weren't so.
on the positive side, we've hired some great people -- i'm looking forward to working with the new team. some new faces, a bunch of familiar ones. the restaurant is looking wonderful -- we actually pulled off a wedding in there last saturday and, although it was lot of work, it came off well. the room's good for a party - tom's a natural at shaking a cocktail.
there you have it. i should know more by the end of the day -- whenever i feel i can give out a new calendar, i will do so. keep thinking good thoughts, watch out for wolfowitz & go get out in the sun.
matt
posted by matt at 5:21 AM
6 Comments:
Matt... I'm completely excited about the new place, and I'll be down for lunch as soon as you open. I discovered you a month or so before you closed, so I have a lot of eating to catch up on!
Matt-- Sounds like it's taking sooooo...long. I'll call you later re the WINE!!--Walt
Matt,
I am coming to Seattle from Albuquerque over Memorial Day weekend....any chance you will be open by that Saturday???
Myra
The delay details are better than fiction. Indeed, when all this is done, you really should write a book about your experience like "A Year in Provence" or "Motorcycle Diaries". Perhaps paraphrasing the Jeremy Piven documentary you could called it "Matt Janke's Journey of A Lifetime". I think a film of it could place at Sundance...
Matt.... the place looks fantastic and I'm ready to come back soon. My friend in Switzerland checks the blog and said that she is very excited about the mussels on both the lunch and dinner.. plus other exciting new items. HURRY>>>>>
Don
yo matt...we'll be up in august...that might be your opening considering how things are going...i built a wood fired oven here and we're testing it this weekend...place looks great ...love to all....Bill
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