DEATH OF DREAMS

Since I was a little kid, I have dreamed of doing this. I wanted to have my own little restaurant, something that I could get up in the morning, go to make food, serve people and interact with them, and come home at night with a sense of having made people happy. There was nothing in that dream about making them sick, or making myself sick by going to work every day. But when I signed this lease, I made sure that I would be protected by making sure the language of the lease was such that the Landlord would not be able to stick me with the responsibility of caring for his negligence or building repairs or replacing major systems.

Well, as you may have read over the past few posts, there have been some major hiccups along the lines with the building and the building systems, more currently and more substantially, with moldy rotten wood within the walls. And there is no way that I am sacrificing my name or reputation by allowing him to cut corners in the clean up or restoration of his building at the expense of the health of myself (who would be breathing the mold spores for 14 hours a day) or the health of the public who I would be serving every day!

He has tried to cover up the problem without benefit of building inspectors over the past couple weeks since I signed the lease to correct his building systems, but when he sacrifices the public safety issue, I have to draw the line. I can't take the responsibility for his shoddy workmanship. And it will be my name on the sign, and on the building, regardless of who owns the building, I have to take responsibility for my knowledge of what is going on. And today, I did just that. I took responsibility, and called the city to have the building inspectors come and look at the work he is allowing to be done without benefit of permits, or inspections to make the building up to code.

He has time to remedy the building, if the building inspectors don't just come out and condemn the building all together. But if he does remedy the building to code, I will still hope to hold on to the restaurant. If he would rather get out of the lease at this point, he will be responsible for every penny I have already invested into this place, and he will definitely be held accountable for his misrepresentations and actions to breach this lease.

I cried for the loss of my dream, and my mom and my brothers and sisters my friends all comforted me during this time of loss. Financially, the $7,000 - $15,000 is nothing compared to the dream this guy promised me, and killed. The work I have been putting into making this place a successful venture, and the hopes and dreams now shattered; it's just sad.

I'll find another place. Soon.