Okay, so now that I've started, let me tell you what's up:
I've had all sorts of fanciful ideas with Aaron these days. I want to have an intimate dining experience from my home that I do not have. It will have a front porch and/or garden. There will be one long table out front to seat up to 6 people (8 if I absolutely must) and two small tables inside seating a couple or a single each. There will be an ass explosion of ambiance and I will do all of the cooking. Now, I think I need to have only two available dinners (to cut down on food waste) and I can switch out the menu once a week or something. I'll be open only 6 hours in two intervals: from 2 pm to 5 pm and from 7 pm to 10 pm. Maybe just from 6 pm to 10 pm. I don't know yet. That's not the point, the point is that I will only feed up to 16 people a night. Okay, I may need to hire two additional people. Well, I have Aaron and he's in on it. So, just one person. But the meal will be $40 to $50 per person and it will include an aperitif, small fresh appetizer, the main dish which will be simple yet hearty and delicious, and an after dinner drink and small dessert.
Now, I'm a planner and everything but how does the zoning for this work? I guess it will have to be zoned commercial / mixed-use and not residential b/c I will be serving = service industry. ?. What's up with this? I have no clue. I think I'll just tell the cops that the people eating at my house are family members. I'll have 100 cousins or something and they'll all be rich and have pitty on me so that's the reason they're leaving money on the table.
Other than that, I want to be a writer and a dancer and a gardener. And I will, later in life, open a shop with my good friend Lilly serving coffee and little yummies such as cheesecake muffins and banana bread pudding pots, with the small side cigar shop and smoking room (how's the zoning for this one too?), the local art on display and for sale, and the used book displays featuring local writers and poets which will act as a small funky library and book store. There will be trinkets with class and whimsy as well that you can buy. All of this stuff will not have price tags. It will just be part of the background and if someone wants to buy it, there will be an approximate pricing list book or they can just ask. I'll work out bargains.
What else? Well, Aaron is the love of my life and I'm sure I'll have plenty to say about that in future blogs. As you all should have gathered by now, I'm happier than ever. This is exactly what I wanted, actually, so much more amazing that I had imagined it could be. He and I have been doing photography and antique / thrift shopping on the weekends among other things like sitting in the mountains overlooking the city and drinking beer and telling stories at night, watching too many Gilmore Girls episodes, chasing each other like retards (I use that word in the best sense possible) around the house and pretend slapping and acting like old grandmas, and other nonsense things that most likely only we would understand or enjoy.
I've had all sorts of fanciful ideas with Aaron these days. I want to have an intimate dining experience from my home that I do not have. It will have a front porch and/or garden. There will be one long table out front to seat up to 6 people (8 if I absolutely must) and two small tables inside seating a couple or a single each. There will be an ass explosion of ambiance and I will do all of the cooking. Now, I think I need to have only two available dinners (to cut down on food waste) and I can switch out the menu once a week or something. I'll be open only 6 hours in two intervals: from 2 pm to 5 pm and from 7 pm to 10 pm. Maybe just from 6 pm to 10 pm. I don't know yet. That's not the point, the point is that I will only feed up to 16 people a night. Okay, I may need to hire two additional people. Well, I have Aaron and he's in on it. So, just one person. But the meal will be $40 to $50 per person and it will include an aperitif, small fresh appetizer, the main dish which will be simple yet hearty and delicious, and an after dinner drink and small dessert.
Now, I'm a planner and everything but how does the zoning for this work? I guess it will have to be zoned commercial / mixed-use and not residential b/c I will be serving = service industry. ?. What's up with this? I have no clue. I think I'll just tell the cops that the people eating at my house are family members. I'll have 100 cousins or something and they'll all be rich and have pitty on me so that's the reason they're leaving money on the table.
Other than that, I want to be a writer and a dancer and a gardener. And I will, later in life, open a shop with my good friend Lilly serving coffee and little yummies such as cheesecake muffins and banana bread pudding pots, with the small side cigar shop and smoking room (how's the zoning for this one too?), the local art on display and for sale, and the used book displays featuring local writers and poets which will act as a small funky library and book store. There will be trinkets with class and whimsy as well that you can buy. All of this stuff will not have price tags. It will just be part of the background and if someone wants to buy it, there will be an approximate pricing list book or they can just ask. I'll work out bargains.
What else? Well, Aaron is the love of my life and I'm sure I'll have plenty to say about that in future blogs. As you all should have gathered by now, I'm happier than ever. This is exactly what I wanted, actually, so much more amazing that I had imagined it could be. He and I have been doing photography and antique / thrift shopping on the weekends among other things like sitting in the mountains overlooking the city and drinking beer and telling stories at night, watching too many Gilmore Girls episodes, chasing each other like retards (I use that word in the best sense possible) around the house and pretend slapping and acting like old grandmas, and other nonsense things that most likely only we would understand or enjoy.
3 comments:
I love, love, LOVE YOU!!!
Yes, zoning IS an issue, and the moment you start selling food - especially in a restaurant, you have to have equipment and facilities that meet state/county/city health requirements, OSHA, and Americans with Disabilities Act codes.
Now, if you go totally under the radar and ask for donations and people kind of agree on what your meal is worth, then perhaps you can get away with it for a time. This is more possible if you don't actually make a profit. Which, of course, you would not...would you? Don't say "yes." If you say "yes" you are screwed.
Ok, move here and we'll do it together.
i love your blog page. you really do seem so much happier. it is wonderful. i love your ideas, but rachel is right, you have to be zoned right and do codes. be a bed and breakfast without the bed. ha ha. oh, and without the breakfast. it is dinner and go. he he.
SO COOL! love your ideas/dreams and share many myself. of course your sisters are right about legal issues with your restaurant idea, but there is a growing movement (mostly in biggish coastal cities like NY and SF, but hey, you could bring it to AZ!) of underground, unofficial, speak-easy type restaurants. they tend to be word of mouth and rather guarded (hence speak-easy) and also tend to move around, making it more difficult for the man to track them down and end the fun. if you're really committed you could read up on that. and then delete my comment ;)
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