I am, of course, entirely grateful to be a Library User, since their hi-speed wireless makes this whole photo posting thing a LOT faster...if I were at home I'd be paying bills, doing the dishes, waxing the kitchen floor while the pics were downloading. (who am I kidding - I've never in my life waxed a kitchen floor...) The downside to that is you have to look at a lot of time-lapse pictures. And there are more, but I'll spare you.
Next on the scene will be the return of the kitchen floor guys and then Warfel will begin sanding and staining the DR floor, just in time for the arrival of the tables and chairs. After that the equipment starts to roll in and after that...I am scared to think of it. We have to get the balance of our smallwares order together soon, that is most likely the next chore. And there are probably several things we are forgetting to do...
I have been enjoying doing this Blog, if only for the "journal" aspect of it. Knowing it is in the public domain keeps me from making it too personal, but of course it is out there for all interested parties to read. And that's fine. I look at it as a bit of pre-publicity for the restaurant, some free advertising as it were. We are in business after all to be busy and we won't be busy if people don't know we exist. However, some people might be thinking we are giving away trade secrets or something, that we shouldn't be letting our "competitors" know what we are doing. Well, guess what? We firmly believe that competition is a very good thing. It is our experience that an area with plenty of dining options draws people who are looking for plenty of dining options. Many of our so-called "competitors" are professionals who are also our friends. The place we are trying (trying very hard, against all odds) to open has been planned to fit in with the other businesses and offer another choice, as opposed to doing the same thing and drawing the same crowd. We aren't going to be able to offer private dining - we'd send you to the KVI for that. We won't have Family Night - the Granary offers that. Our bar will close at 9 or 10 - you will continue to go to Andy's or O'Connors for a late night cocktail. Sunday dining will not be available at Brooks Tavern, but that's another reason to go to the Crossfire. And so on. No restaurant can be all things to all customers; and who would want to be? We hope to develop a local clientele but we don't expect that they won't go to any other restaurant in the area! That would be ridiculous. And of course there's my dream - The Blue Dome Hospitality Group. Will I get members to join if I think that competition is a bad thing? I don't think so. We welcome the chance to talk with our fellow Hospitality Industry members, to show them what we're up to and maybe pick each other brains a bit in the process, learn some new tricks. Who wouldn't want to make their business better for their customers? Perhaps not everyone agrees with this philosophy, but hopefully most of the local businesses we will be joining ranks with in a few short weeks do agree, and we will all work together to bring the dining public to Kent County to EAT. The competition is not each other, it's Easton, it's St.Michaels, it's Dover and Annapolis, it's anywhere else that people travel to to spend those scarce dining dollars. Keep 'em home, that's what I say!
So, I'll climb down from my pulpit now. We'll be back with more exciting photos later in the week, so stay tuned! And one of these days, one of these spring days I hope, this year of building the Brooks Tavern will be over and I'll start a new Blog that might end up being all about why we thought we Want(ed) to Open a Restaurant to begin with!
Next on the scene will be the return of the kitchen floor guys and then Warfel will begin sanding and staining the DR floor, just in time for the arrival of the tables and chairs. After that the equipment starts to roll in and after that...I am scared to think of it. We have to get the balance of our smallwares order together soon, that is most likely the next chore. And there are probably several things we are forgetting to do...
I have been enjoying doing this Blog, if only for the "journal" aspect of it. Knowing it is in the public domain keeps me from making it too personal, but of course it is out there for all interested parties to read. And that's fine. I look at it as a bit of pre-publicity for the restaurant, some free advertising as it were. We are in business after all to be busy and we won't be busy if people don't know we exist. However, some people might be thinking we are giving away trade secrets or something, that we shouldn't be letting our "competitors" know what we are doing. Well, guess what? We firmly believe that competition is a very good thing. It is our experience that an area with plenty of dining options draws people who are looking for plenty of dining options. Many of our so-called "competitors" are professionals who are also our friends. The place we are trying (trying very hard, against all odds) to open has been planned to fit in with the other businesses and offer another choice, as opposed to doing the same thing and drawing the same crowd. We aren't going to be able to offer private dining - we'd send you to the KVI for that. We won't have Family Night - the Granary offers that. Our bar will close at 9 or 10 - you will continue to go to Andy's or O'Connors for a late night cocktail. Sunday dining will not be available at Brooks Tavern, but that's another reason to go to the Crossfire. And so on. No restaurant can be all things to all customers; and who would want to be? We hope to develop a local clientele but we don't expect that they won't go to any other restaurant in the area! That would be ridiculous. And of course there's my dream - The Blue Dome Hospitality Group. Will I get members to join if I think that competition is a bad thing? I don't think so. We welcome the chance to talk with our fellow Hospitality Industry members, to show them what we're up to and maybe pick each other brains a bit in the process, learn some new tricks. Who wouldn't want to make their business better for their customers? Perhaps not everyone agrees with this philosophy, but hopefully most of the local businesses we will be joining ranks with in a few short weeks do agree, and we will all work together to bring the dining public to Kent County to EAT. The competition is not each other, it's Easton, it's St.Michaels, it's Dover and Annapolis, it's anywhere else that people travel to to spend those scarce dining dollars. Keep 'em home, that's what I say!
So, I'll climb down from my pulpit now. We'll be back with more exciting photos later in the week, so stay tuned! And one of these days, one of these spring days I hope, this year of building the Brooks Tavern will be over and I'll start a new Blog that might end up being all about why we thought we Want(ed) to Open a Restaurant to begin with!
