When I build a restaurant I build alone. Yaaaaa, with nobody else. Blog #23

Hello everyone. Hope you are well on this wintry evening. I am blogging to you tonight in better spirits than last week.  So last week after the posting I went to work Wed. and all the furniture came in. Thursday, Louise came in and we started setting up the Resto. I was in the back with Paul and Jacques sorting out where to put my dishwasher. When I came out of the back there was a Resto in front of my eyes!! Dan was there too, putting finishing touches on the bar. By 17:00 everyone was gone and the dining room had taken shape. I was working away in the kitchen till late in the evening. I took a break for some dinner and came back and sat in my dining room. I B.B.M.’d Jake and Mitch and joked how I was in this beautiful Resto and was the only one there. They missed the joke and wanted to know where I was. Yes, I have to admit, the first meal in LBM was Pizza and Diet Coke.

Speaking of Jake, let’s chat about him for a sec shall we?  Jake is my friend and helps me out with things.  We are not in business together. We are very good friends and he does chat about me because he’s happy for his friend and he helps me deal with the public since my social skills aren’t the greatest. A General Manager I use to work for once said of me. “Glenn will never be the Prime Minister, but he’s a good guy”  

Sat and Sun I attempted for the first time to put up tile and do some grouting. I think I did a pretty good job. You can be the judge when you come in. everyone can see the tiles on the bar. And the ladies can check out more tile work in the ladies washroom.

The hood problem has been solved.  It was a long battle but I signed the paper work and K.R.B. started the work today.  Hopefully I’ll get this thing installed before the N.Y. and then get my inspections done early January. Then it will be business licence and liquor licence and then we’re open. Not a minute too soon either. I was really hoping to get some of the Christmas crowd, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Remember way back I told you about Anna? She was helping me get that grant. Well today I fully applied for it. Hopefully I’ll hear back before the New Year whether I’m to get it or not.  So what’s up for the rest of the week? I’ll be reupholstering the bar stools. I asked Michelle’s sister, Annie, from Homestead Stitches to cut the vinyl and I will upholster the bar stools. This help isn’t for free though…. She wants a poutine in return!  (ha ha ha).  I will also be making appointments for the Fire inspector, Building Inspector and Health Inspector to come in the N.Y. to sign off. I have a small function on Fri., a private chef dinner for two, in their home for an anniversary. Then next week is Christmas week already. My mother made me promise I’d be home for Christmas. Since I’m usually working and probably will be in the future, I’ll take this opportunity go home and spend Christmas with my family for only the 3^rd or 4^th time since I left home at 19.  But I’ll be back to do some work in the Resto and hire up some staff and then spend (for the 4^th year in a row) N.Y.’s Eve with Jake and Michelle. This has become a custom. I hope it continues into the future.  Although they may have to come to L.B.M. starting next year.

Stay warm my friends,

Le Commis Glenn

What Brian Boitano would do if he were here right now . Blog #22

Hello everyone. Hope you are all doing well. I’m a bit frustrated today. Jake says I shouldn’t write if I’ve had a bad day. But, at the beginning of these blogs, I did say it was the trials as well as the tribulations of building a restaurant. So let’s get started. This past week was a little slow. Jacques finished up on Tues and I got started on the floors. It took a few coats but I finally got there. The Bar was not done last week, supposed to be completed tomorrow.  I took the weekend off to do a function and let me tell ya it was amazing. One of the best I’ve ever done. They were very happy and so was I for a change (ha ha ha).

Yesterday I started painting the kitchen with the help of my good friend Eric. It is completely empty so to put the first two coats on is easy. I’ll wait till the hood is up and running and then I’ll put the final coat on.

This brings me to the hood. I royally got kicked in the teeth today but in true George Chuvalo style, I was NOT knocked off my feet!  But man, did it leave me in a daze. It is going to cost me 2.16 times more than I had originally planned on and budgeted for.  So why am I telling you all this? Three reasons. 1) This Blog is like a personal diary and it is good to keep records for next time. 2) There maybe someone reading this that may want to know what it takes to open a restaurant and need to know the surprises. 3) and the most controversial of them all. People need to know that building a Resto is hugely expensive. So when someone asks for a three course meal for $15 inclusive and I say no they need to understand why we can’t do that.

So on the bright side, all my furniture came in today. And if the bar gets completed tomorrow, the front of the house will be all done by Fri. I have the Hood in the building. But not the fan (it’s coming the 20^th).  I need the fan before the HVAC guy can install. So that gives me a couple of weeks to figure out how I’m going to pay for this thing. 

This is not a discouraged blog.  Again, I feel the need to tell you all the good and the bad things. I will figure this out and work on getting LBM up and running. Although, it won’t be till January. It will open and when it does, it will blow your socks off.

Have a good couple of days. We’ll blog at you soon.

Le Commis Glenn