Sunday, March 29, 2009
First Week
The first week being open was great! Thanks to everyone who came out and ate some BBQ (some of you multiple times)! I've received some really good feedback on the food from many people. This is what makes all the hard work worth it. We were open Tuesday through Friday this week and I think I only got about 17 hours of sleep total. I was totally exhausted but am looking forward to doing it all over again next week. We were closed on Saturday this past week but will resume our regular business hours this coming week, which are now Tuesday through Saturday, 11:30 AM - 6 PM. We are still working out a few things so thanks for having patience with us. Again, thanks to everyone for coming out and we look forward to seeing everyone again!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Opening Day
The day is finally here. I am opening to the public today! Hours will be Tuesday - Saturday from 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM. Stop by and say hi (and get some BBQ of course). OK, I'm off to bed now. Got to be up in 4 hours to put the ribs on!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Almost Ready for Action/Location Change
The pit and smoke evac are now installed, the holding cabinet mounted, alarm system installed, and other odds and ends wrapped up. The only real things left to do are to get the smoker door to stop leaking and get the graphics installed.
Both companies handling these two things are really dragging their feet. One of my flaws is that I'm too nice of a guy and sometimes let people take advantage of this. In dealing with the trailer company that built my trailer, I've learned to be more assertive and handle the people that do this to me a little better. The company installing the graphics is dragging their feet a bit, which is annoying because I've already given my deposit to them. It's almost as if they are saying "We've already got some of your money, so now you just have to wait until we get around to it". The guy contracted by Ole Hickory has been trying to fix my smoker door since October. I tried to be understanding of his schedule because back in October I wasn't in any hurry to get it fixed, but told him that I also didn't want my opening to roll around and it still not be fixed. Guess what. I'm ready to open and it's still not fixed. Hopefully with my new found assertiveness I can light a fire under both companies' a$$es in the next few days and get this stuff done!
The only other things I now have left to do are get the electricity hooked up in my name, get the plug installed on the temp pole and get the cord made that goes from the plug on the pole to my trailer. I've been using Beaman electric to do my electrical stuff and they have been a breath of fresh air. Very professional and most of all, when they say they are going to come out and do something, they do it! This is the way business should be conducted.
I passed my Health Department inspection today and got my business license. I am legal and once the things previously mentioned are complete I can finally start selling some BBQ! With all the roadblocks I've ran into along the way I sometimes thought it wasn't going to happen.
Speaking of selling BBQ, the location of my trailer is changing. Once I open I will be set up in the K-Mart parking lot on South Campbell. The electricity was going to cost too much to hook up at the Skate Port parking lot due to having to run it underground from the billboard on the corner. The temp pole is already in place at K-Mart. I just have to get it hooked up in my name. The only drawback to this location is the rent is more than twice the amount than Skate Port was going to be. On the upside, the traffic count is about 10,000 per day higher at K-Mart so hopefully I will make up the rent difference in sales. Look for us either the end of this week or sometime next week to be open!
Both companies handling these two things are really dragging their feet. One of my flaws is that I'm too nice of a guy and sometimes let people take advantage of this. In dealing with the trailer company that built my trailer, I've learned to be more assertive and handle the people that do this to me a little better. The company installing the graphics is dragging their feet a bit, which is annoying because I've already given my deposit to them. It's almost as if they are saying "We've already got some of your money, so now you just have to wait until we get around to it". The guy contracted by Ole Hickory has been trying to fix my smoker door since October. I tried to be understanding of his schedule because back in October I wasn't in any hurry to get it fixed, but told him that I also didn't want my opening to roll around and it still not be fixed. Guess what. I'm ready to open and it's still not fixed. Hopefully with my new found assertiveness I can light a fire under both companies' a$$es in the next few days and get this stuff done!
The only other things I now have left to do are get the electricity hooked up in my name, get the plug installed on the temp pole and get the cord made that goes from the plug on the pole to my trailer. I've been using Beaman electric to do my electrical stuff and they have been a breath of fresh air. Very professional and most of all, when they say they are going to come out and do something, they do it! This is the way business should be conducted.
I passed my Health Department inspection today and got my business license. I am legal and once the things previously mentioned are complete I can finally start selling some BBQ! With all the roadblocks I've ran into along the way I sometimes thought it wasn't going to happen.
Speaking of selling BBQ, the location of my trailer is changing. Once I open I will be set up in the K-Mart parking lot on South Campbell. The electricity was going to cost too much to hook up at the Skate Port parking lot due to having to run it underground from the billboard on the corner. The temp pole is already in place at K-Mart. I just have to get it hooked up in my name. The only drawback to this location is the rent is more than twice the amount than Skate Port was going to be. On the upside, the traffic count is about 10,000 per day higher at K-Mart so hopefully I will make up the rent difference in sales. Look for us either the end of this week or sometime next week to be open!
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