Restaurants and Institutions

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earth2table: Welcome to Reality TV
October 13, 2006

Stu Stein

October 13, 2006
When I began writing this blog, I promised you intrigue, great characters, mystery, immaculate plotting, plus wit and warmth. Well, time for the intrigue—with a dash of frustration.

For the past several months, I’ve had what I thought was a firm ground-breaking date from my real-estate agent and the building-developer. As you can guess, that date has come and gone. Not only that, it’s been over two months since the original ground-breaking date. Based on a 9-to-10 month total build-out, my opening would be too late into 2007. What to do?

Step 1: I’ve been on the phone with the real-estate agent for a week trying to get them to track down the developer to give me a firm ground-breaking date, a tentative build-out schedule and a projected completion date. Seven days later and I am still dateless.

Step 2: Begin speaking with other commercial real-estate agencies to track down a comparable site in the same area of town.

I’ve been out all weekend on my motorcycle zipping around the North-Northeast side of Portland looking for locations that fit my needs. I don’t ask for much. I want approximately 2,000 to 2,250 square feet of restaurant-ready or restaurant-convertible space that will allow me to have four total chases (one for the wood burning oven, one for the hot line, one for the make-up air and one for the dishwasher) that must be vented straight up through the building, not out the side of the building. I want the ability to have outdoor seating, an open-kitchen design and an open front-of-the-house floor plan. Just as importantly, I need a space with about the same rent per square foot and tenant improvement dollars attached.

For those who have been following my little drama, the good news is I haven’t signed a lease yet. What would I lose at this point if I abandon my N. Fremont St. & N. Williams Ave. location? Most significantly, about $5,000 to $7,000 in architecture and design fees. Any upside? First, not all the design fees would be wasted. Kelly, my architect, and I would need to redesign the plan to fit into the new space, but we wouldn’t have to start from scratch. Second, the reason for the change is timing. It would be a big win for me if I could find a location that could be built and ready for occupancy by late spring 2007 instead of the end of 2007.

So what to do? As my wife will tell anyone who asks, I am not a patient man when it comes to other peoples’ screw-ups. For now, I am playing both sides of the situation to see what’s going to happen.

And the journey continues.

Cheers!

Stu

Posted by Stu Stein on October 13, 2006 | Comments (0)