Another Kitchen Update
I get asked all the time if we are just a truck or if we have a restaurant. My answer is always that we are "working on it." I feel like this whole ordeal has been a very bad roller coaster ride! I am ready to get off!
As you know from my previous post, we have been going round and round with Fulton County about their interpretation of the code that would get me a permit (I don't know why they don't want to take my money!). I have also been on a roller coaster of emotion with all the commissary kitchen inspections--when will they come out? Will we pass this time? How could we not pass this time?!
We have also had our ups and downs looking for our own kitchen. We have had our eye on one place in particular for a while now. The owners have been looking to sell the entire shopping center, so we have been waiting on that transaction. We had a little ray of light when the potential new owners said they would accept our offer on the place as soon as they sign on the dotted line to take over the center. We were so excited! But then the transfer of ownership deal fell through. We are back to waiting on the original ownership to decide on our offer again. I really don't understand why it is taking them so long to make a decision! We have been looking into other locations, but so far nothing else has panned out either.
So that leaves us stuck for the time being. We are stuck at a kitchen that is getting us nowhere! We tried to appeal to our kitchen managers for a break on the rent since we are blocked from Fulton due to their health score, making it very difficult to book vending. They shot us down. They acknowledge that damage is being done, monetarily and in brand recognition, but since I have no way to prove a dollar amount they are just going to stick it to me. They know that we have nowhere else to go right now. I know we have no legal standing, I was just hoping for a moral code...but its business, right?
We have booked everything we can in Cobb so far, and always looking for more, but we know that there are more of our niche clientele in the Fulton area. I keep hearing, "If you could only get into Alpharetta!" or "If you could only go down to East Point!" or "Have you tried XYZ area yet?" And the answer is no, because of permitting. We had hoped for, and needed, a stronger season in order to support the business through the lean winter months. Things are looking rough ahead: we are paying for a kitchen that is getting us nowhere, we are barely making expenses let alone putting money back for the winter, we have no kitchen of our own to consider restaurant hours in order to see if that would support us.
We have not given up! I told you we are the praying kind! So we are pressing forward knowing that there is a plan, God's plan. Please join us in prayer, and if you are so moved to support our business we have ways to donate to support our ministry, and a GoFundMe page to support the business in general (they do go hand-in-hand).
