I CRIED A TEAR!

Today, two weeks since my last blog, and a bit over 3 weeks since I bought the building, I am ready to open! All I have left to do is to get the health inspector in here Monday or Tuesday, and I think I am ready for him! Everything was a bit expensive. I probably overspent a LOT! But when it is all done, the place looks AMAZING! I looked at it today, after we finished screwing in the last piece of drywall and the last screw into the potato cutter for the home-cooked fries, and I started tearing up. My life long dream of opening my own restaurant is finally come to fruition. I am finally realizing my own dream. It was a long road, working for other people, and frustrated by the lack of money from doing so, or from not having the freedom from being my own boss. Now I am looking at this place, sitting on my wireless in the restaurant, and looking out the big plate glass windows at the traffic, people passing by and waving and honking their horns at their anticipation of my opening. And all the equipment in here is shiny and new. Everything is stocked, everything is set up! And nothing more needs to be done. It is finished. Pictures on the wall of Mykonos, Athens, and the Aegean Sea, from the Gyros company, and other photos of Chicago Hot Dogs, Chili, and the Soups I will be selling, and above the clock, three family photos. Mom (since without her help I could never have financed this project), Dad who passed away in '99 and my youngest brother, who passed away in 2000. The place exudes confidence. I, on the other hand am a nervous wreck! I had to let go of 2 of my already hired employees for integrity and attendance issues. That was sad. I hated having to say "You're fired," but it had to be done. I had a bad feeling about stuff, and I just couldn't open up with negative thoughts so quickly. The other 5 people I have will do well here.

Tomorrow I am going to go and put in some wall studs at the house, for the dry storage area, and that area is also looking pretty darn good. Three weeks, about $80,000 all total, including the building, equipment, labor and initial bills, and in just days, I will be saying hello to my first customer.

If I died in my sleep tonight, I would die a happy man.

COUNTDOWN

I have been non-stop working in the restaurant this past week. I start my day at 8am. And work until like, 11:00pm? Then I get home in time for a quick shower, and sleep. It is exhausting, but the progress is really coming far! Yesterday we completed all the plumbing, gas lines, and electrical work we needed to do barring one outlet that we need to drill through a brick wall to put in. But today we have so much more cleaning. I have a couple people coming in to help out.

I haven't been discouraged by anything thus far. But I am running out of money so fast. I was a bit concerned last night when I was reviewing the bills. And my brother called last night on his way home, saying I looked discouraged. I just told him I was anxious. I am quite nervous about all the equipment fitting in the space I have for it. But more than that, I am nervous about the money. I am also QUITE nervous about the whole menu and staffing expectations I have. I mean, do I have too much on my menu for such a small place? Do I have enough people to work so that we aren't providing crap service? What am I supposed to be doing here that I am missing? I pray that the health inspector will pass me without major issues. That would really be nice.

Countdown T minus 30 days.