Picture yourself in the year 70 AD. You are the GC (general contractor) of the Roman Colosseum. You have got most of your underground dungeons in. Your walls and structure are up while lions and gladiators are already practicing. You are getting ready to open for the Colosseum's first performance when all of a sudden you see the building inspector. You cringe because the emperor has told you if you don’t get open soon and start making some money he will literally take a limb. And he usually takes your favorite. You greet the inspector and he (they had very few woman inspectors back then) starts looking at the floor. He asks “is this flooring up to code?” Well, you explain how it was carved out of Northern Italian marble and there is nothing finer. “Yes, but is it cleanable?” You again explain that the slaves and animals rarely complain, but the inspector does not think that is funny. You know crying and complaining does no good so you accept the consequences of having to replace all that marble.
So apparently hospital grade vinyl flooring is as expensive if not more than Italian marble, so that is where we are, replacing all the flooring in the FlapJacks waitress station.
Nov 12 - 18
If I could give advice to anyone adopting children, it would be to do your research and adopt children that will grow up to be much shorter than you. Children behave much better when their parents are taller than they are. A little fear is a good thing when it comes to persuading these darling children to follow the right course, such as doing their homework or cleaning their room. My wife and I failed at this minor detail immensely. My daughter is taller than my wife and my son is nine inches taller than me. His arms have a six-inch longer reach than mine, which means he can reach 15 inches more than me. This can become a problem. First of all, it is difficult to scold your child when you look up at them, and it is especially difficult when they hold you up with your legs kicking and hanging you from the chandelier.
Ok, so the permit process has changed since the last time I was involved in building a restaurant. We passed our gas pressure test, however, we were told much to our dismay, that we would not get to connect to gas until we pass our final inspection. At that point, we can apply for a meter from PG&E, but that alone could take up to 2 weeks. I called for a preliminary Health Inspection on Wednesday, and am hoping this gets the different subs to finish so we can get all the other inspections out of the way so we can call for the final. Wish us luck, but if you are praying, remember not to mention my name.
NOV 5 - 11
Let's talk Googie Architecture an area of Mid Century Modern Architecture. This is the design of the fifties, based on futuristic Space Age technology, ie the Jetsons. (Don’t tell the girls, I still want to surprise them with Mrs. Jetson attire.) So our plan all along has been to rebuild Flapjacks as the building it was originally built, a midcentury Googie diner. That is a good part of why this whole rebuilding process has been so involved and taken so long. As far as I know, this is the only building in this area and maybe anywhere that is rebuilt to the original design. If we ever finish, and sometimes I really wonder, this will be a lot of fun. Hopefully, we will still be sane as well. In case we are not, and have crossed the mental health threshold, just imagine it is part of a theatrical choreographed Broadway show.
Oct 29 - Nov 4
Many years ago we use to have this couple that continually came into the Sunrise Country Waffles on their bicycles while they were plastered, and they were always so nice. One day as I was driving home I happened to see them in front of their house both sitting in lounge chairs drinking wine and smiling from ear to ear. They didn’t have a care in the world and I was so jealous. So right there I made myself a promise that one day I would lose all my inhibitions and become that drunk you always read about. That is why I planted a vineyard with the hope that one day I could achieve my dream. Unfortunately, I am one of those people that have to take care of all the problems in the world before I can have a drink, and of course, I never drink and drive. I have tried to go to therapy and I have even snuck into AA meetings hoping to learn the ins and outs of becoming a drunk, but alas I have failed, and with the fire and all my problems, I could really use a drink. Maybe, one day, I will be the guy in the rest home that everybody snickers about.
OK, what I wrote above is a little offensive and I apologize, however, if you had to deal with what I am dealing with you would understand. Two weeks ago when I said we didn’t have much left to do to open FlapJacks we had a gas pressure test. This is where they place a meter on the gas line and measure the pressure for 24 hours to make sure there are no leaks. We had some leaks and it took a couple of weeks to find them all and fix them. The inspector comes in and says he won’t do it. He wanted everything else done first. The contractors had never heard of this and when I called the County they didn’t understand. Later on, we will have an airflow pressure test, this is completely different, which would require everything being finished, and then, of course, we have our Final, which requires everything to be completed. So now we are stuck having to wait for all of our other inspections before we can put the kitchen together. The kitchen is the most difficult and important area and now we will have to do it last. I have employees who’s unemployment ran out back in August and they are struggling, and do you think anybody cares. No, and dealing with the County and the Insurance companies and the Insurance Commissioner have all been a nightmare and so now maybe you can understand my above story.
-Frank