99% Complete!

There's a good reason I haven't posted an update in almost three weeks ... I've been busy with the kitchen and the newsletter.

The counter tops went in as scheduled and it didn't look like I thought it would. The color was great but it was the size and shape that threw me off. It looked like a big, brown t-shirt. It's grown on me since though and I think it looks good against the floors and cabinets. That same day, the cooktop was put in, as well as the sink and faucet.

The appliances were picked up the day after which freed up space in the garage but cluttered up the store. They pretty much stayed where they were in the store until last Monday (11/19) when the hood was installed. Then we came to a standstill and I almost lost it ... the ovens were too big for the cabinets and cabinets were too small for the ovens. I was about ready to start crying like a girl when my trustee designer from Lowes, Nelson King, told us that we had to cut out holes in the cabinets to make the ovens fit. And they did ... by 6:30 that night, both ovens were in place, so was the refrigerator and new lights shining down on my big, brown t-shirt.

The next day, Tuesday, Debbie, Bernice and I cleaned and dusted for at least 8 hours. Keith came by and installed the microwave and taped up some stuff for painting. On Wednesday, the electricians, Brian and Joey came by and finished hooking up the appliances to the new electrical panel. Keith came by and finished trimming the microwave and Debbie, Bernice and I cleaned and dusted some more.

By mid-day on Wednesday, we started bringing in the holiday merchandise and spent most of Wednesday night, some of Thursday and all day Friday and Saturday resetting the store for Christmas. It looks pretty good but needs tweaking. The counter tops are covered with merchandise that we don't have room for but I'm hoping to rearrange the displays before end of week. Our stools were delivered on Friday and blends in with the floors and counters.

Barring no issues, we should have final inspections wrapped up by mid week and be ready for our first cooking class, Open House and wine tasting starting this weekend!

I don't have any recent photos ... the camera has dust on it! I'll take some in the next day or so.

Counter tops in one week!

The counter tops will be installed next Tuesday, November 13th, first thing in the morning. Once they are in place, Mike and Keith will install the appliances and get the final inspections wrapped up.


There hasn't been a lot of significant change in the past week. Most of the holes in the walls have been closed up. Tomorrow Keith will close up the ceiling. The hood still needs to be installed as well as the water heater. These should be taken care of before the counter tops are put in.


After a few days of stressing (what else is new), I finally found the bar stools that I wanted. I looked every where -- locally and on the internet and then looked again some more. I finally narrowed down my search to: a counter height stool (24 inches without a cushion and 26 inches with a cushion) made of wood with a dark stain and a simple back. Once I knew what I was looking for I couldn't find it at a decent price in the time frame that I needed. And then ... it hit me ... Bernice's son-in-law, Blaine, is in the business. He and his family own Brawley Furniture in downtown Mooresville. I spent less than 30 minutes with him last Friday and got everything squared away.


Here's what the counter stool looks like. I think it's much better looking in person! As soon as the hood and counters are in, I'll post more pictures.


AND GUESS WHAT?
I'm working on the schedule for cooking classes and wine tasting through the end of the year! WHOO HOO!

Cabinets are in!

I am so excited! It's finally beginning to take shape.

Mike and Keith picked up the cabinets from our garage this morning and spent most of the afternoon installing them. I was worried that the rain would impact the schedule but it did not. Here are the pictures I promised.

This is what you'll see when you first walk in. The counter is basically a large T shape. At the top of the T, we'll install a cooktop and 30" oven. We'll use the cabinets to store all of our supplies for cooking classes and wine tastings. Check out the box hanging from the ceiling. The hood will be attached to it. You can also see the new and old electrical panels on the far wall (as well as some of the mess).

This is the back wall. The cabinet next to the door will hold a 27" oven and a microwave. The sink will be next to that cabinet, followed by the dishwasher and the fridge.

This is the front view. Most of the cooking will happen behind the top of the T and most of the eating and wathcing will happen along the sides and bottom of the T.

Countertop guy is scheduled to come in to measure between 9 am and 1 pm tomorrow. I should get a better feel for the timeline once I hear back from them.

Stay tuned for more details ... there's more dry walling in our future and the installation of a water heater and a garbage disposal ahead of us!

Things are happening!

It's been exactly one week since construction started and we've made a lot of progress. There are more holes in the wall and wires and pipes coming out of the ceiling and walls. It's a sight for sore eyes!

The larger electrical panel was installed today and power was out for at least 7 hours (sorry Hilary and Rainey). I'm not sure what's going to happen with the older, smaller electrical panel. Does is stay in the wall? Do we sell it on eBay? What?

The first few pieces of the hood is in place too. It has been retrofitted to meet fire department specs so I'm not sure how pretty it's going to look but at this point I don't care about pretty. As soon as it's up, I'll post pictures.

Tomorrow the cabinets will be installed. This will help me finalize the layout of the store and consolidate some of the displays so that we make the most of the space left. I think this will be the turning point ... where we finally start seeing the outline of the kitchen.

On Friday, the counter top people will measure to make sure what we spec'd out at Lowes was accurate and they'll make templates which they take back to the shop and cut the materials. I'm putting in Zodiaq quartz which is made by DuPont who also makes Corian. Zodiaq offers the beauty and longevity of granite but does not require the ongoing maintenance. It should take 2-3 weeks before the counter tops are brought back for installation. Once they're in, Mike and his crew will pop in the appliances and we will be ready to cook!

It's looking like we should be done on 11/16 and I may do the first class during Thanksgiving week. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes as planned!

Caution! Hard Hat Required

Construction is finally underway! The fun started yesterday, October 17th and should continue for the next week or so. It took so long to get the permit, I had to take a picture of it to make sure it was real.

So here's an overview of what's is being done.

The plumber cut into the back wall where the main water and sewer connection is. He has to do his magic (this is not technical plumber jargon) on the pipes so that we can install a water heater and the connections for the sink, refrigerator and garbage disposal. His work has to be inspected before we close the hole up.

While the plumber is working on the back wall, the electrican is working on the side wall and the ceiling. He needs to install a bigger panel so that we have enough circuits for the appliances that we are putting in. This panel will replace the smaller one on the side wall. The hole in the ceiling is for power to the hood and cooktop and for connecting the hood to the sprinkler system.

Almost everything in the store is covered with plastic to protect it from the dust and debris and all of our displays and shelves are crammed together towards the front of the store. We'll stay open during the construction to let people know what's going on but don't expect a whole lotta browsing.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates as construction continues ...

We have a PERMIT!

Yeah! I got a call from Mike (the contractor) today that he picked up the building permit. This means we can start construction. First step is to get the plumber in ... hopefully this will happen in the next few days.

Stay tuned for photos and updates!

The Appliances are Here!

Oops! I did it again. It's been three weeks since my last blog.

We are finally making progress! Whoo hoo!! After the last post, we faced another hurdle. Since April of this year new state rules are in effect for cooking schools which requires the health department to review building permits/plans for cooking schools. After speaking with the local health inspector to understand the new guidelines and tweaking my approach to the classes, we got approval to move forward from the health department. We've also found a way to modify the hood we've selected to meet the fire department's requirements. We're waiting for final approval and the actual building permit.

In the meantime, I had to take delivery of the appliances. They arrived yesterday and are stored in my garage right next to the cabinets and all the merchandise we bought for fall and the holidays. If I don't get the permit soon, I may have to hold a garage sale. We decided on stainless steel Kitchen Aid appliances which I'm very excited about. We'll have two ovens, a cook top, a full size dishwasher, an overhead hood, a microwave and a refrigerator. I feel like I compromised on the refrigerator ... I really wanted side by side with water and ice maker but had to settle for one that has the top and bottom doors because of space issues.

Let's hope my next post is soon and it's good news = permit!

Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back

I was gently reminded last week that the purpose of a blog is to provide timely and frequent updates on the selected topic and that I was failing miserably at being a blogger. So here goes ... if I start boring you please let me know.

I was so excited a couple weeks ago ... we were finally moving forward with the kitchen and then I got the one, two punch. First the cabinet company called to say that the cabinets were here and asked when they could deliver. Here already? How could that be? It was supposed to take at least one week to get to Charlotte and then the delivery company could hold them at their location for two weeks. They are still sitting in storage somewhere and I've been avoiding the delivery company calls like they were the IRS. I'm going to have to take delivery by this Friday and probably store them in my garage.

The second hit was from the building permit department. The fire department wants me to install a self extinguishing hood in case of fire. If I was putting in a commerical kitchen or a restaurant this would make sense but not for a demonstration kitchen. The options are very expensive and nothing so far is feasible with the space we have. At this point, I'm not sure how we're going to solve this. My contractor is diligently looking into alternatives ... I may have to scale back on my initial plans if we can't find a way to make this work.

On a positive note, the appliances have been ordered. There was a scare with that too (all of this happened on the same day!) but it worked out in the end. I need to take delivery of the appliances before end of September or else cancel the order with Kitchen Aid.

Needless to say, I am stressed out. I've been dreaming about this for so long it's gotta happen. Keep your fingers crossed and send good thoughts my way.

Will keep you posted,

Linda

We have a plan!

Finally. The architect's office wrapped up the plan last Friday (August 3rd). It is now being reviewed by the county so that we can get a permit for the renovations. The estimated time for the permit is about 3 weeks ... which takes us to the end of August.

The cabinets are in transit and should arrive in about 1 week. Yes, that poses a slight problem but the delivery company should be able to hold them for about 2 weeks. My next task is to order the appliances which takes about 3 weeks for delivery. If all goes well, the electrician, plumber, drywaller and carpenter should be wrapping up their handiwork before the applicances arrive. If not, it'll be like fittin' 10 lbs of sugar in a 5 lb sack!

My best guess for the kitchen to be ready is mid September ... perfect time to take advantage of the cooler weather, the fall harvest and red wine!

Many thanks to Mike, my contractor, for his patience as I try to apply my technology project management skills to this effort.

In the begininng ...

Welcome to the Gourmet on the Run blog. Check here periodically for updates on the construction of our kitchen which is being built for cooking classes.

I'm very excited about this HUGE step. So here's where we are as of today. The contract has been signed with the contractor and we are waiting for the architect for drawings. I've also placed the order for kitchen cabinets and countertops.

Here's a sample of what the countertops and cabinets will look like:

We have selected KitchenAid appliances and have been working with an awesome team from WhirlPool Corporation, the parent of KitchenAid.

This kitchen has been over two and a half years in the making. Here are some photos that shows our progress:

Check back often for updates and more photos!

Linda