We are now in our 6th month of construction. The building is completely framed with the electrical work almost done. The windows, doors and siding should be complete by the beginning of December. This coming week will be a challenge. We need to put the binder coat of blacktop down before the blacktop plants close for the winter. This will mean loss of at least one to two workdays. And with Veterans Day on Tuesday (a usually great sales day), I do not want to loose much needed revenue. We will probably have to schedule around the blacktopping and make up for it later on in the week or on Saturday, with longer days, possibly into the night if needed.

The past six months have been filled with excitement, anxiety, fear and anticipation. We finally got approved for our new signage, which completes all town permits. We need a DOT inspection of the driveways, which I don’t see any foreseeable issues.

Probably the biggest concern is going through the winter months. We are located in New York, about 45 minutes north of NYC and the weather can be unpredictable at best. You can have 60-degree days in January and 3-foot snow falls in February. This can delay construction and consequently delay our opening.

Other concerns of mind are the details of the project. Every aspect of the project: construction, finance, equipment purchasing, financial forecasting, advertising, marketing, branding and goals are being reviewed and tweaked.

They say experience is the best teacher. If that is so, I have the best instructor in the area.

Stay tuned!