...and a Happy New Year!

We made it through Christmas and now we're headed into the new year. We hope it's a good one. For us, 2007 should be about happily working in a restaurant again, with all the ups and downs that it brings. The next month will be very, very busy and we plan to start being very, very busy next week. We are sticking to our plan of opening mid-February...although at times that seems dreamy. And, big news, we've come up with a name...we'll reveal it later, once we are sure it is "The One", but we think it is. Besides, we've got to have a real name when it comes time to do the liquor license thing, that is part of the requirement. Not a whole lot to report otherwise...we went to D.C. last week and visited a Restaurant Supply Company where we actually purchased our silverware, but that only served to remind us that we weren't ready to purchase much else. I mean, let's get a bank account first, okay guys? So, I'm gonna post a couple pictures of the building as it has evolved in recent weeks and try to have more concrete news after the first of the year.

The above picture is the pond behind the Mill, happy as usual with geese.

We counted 17 guys putting in this cement pad in the front of the building.

Where's where?

This is another one of those "hold-ups" we've been experiencing - the wrong sized grease trap is delivered and installed, only to be vetoed by the Building Inspector and required to be removed and replaced...

We've gotten a lot of comments on the recent paint job.

And while this shot is a little blue, the repainted Rose Bud flour sign is simply awesome. These guys did a great job.

Although our end of the building is still looking a little, shall we say, unfinished?

Should'a, Could'a, Would'a

Never a truer word(s) spoken, eh? All things being perfect, we should be really gearing up right now, trying to be ready ready ready?!?! for our opening week of business. As it is, we are getting ready ready ready...for our opening week...in February some time...we hope. Oh well, it's just as well, we haven't even decided on a real name yet. And I guess it's true, once we actually are open, we'll be there for a good long while (with any amount of luck) so what's a few more weeks, right? Still, we are chomping at the bit (trying to get out the gate) and it can be frustrating. We have found ourselves in the interesting position of talking with a couple of fellow restaurateurs about their projects, and we've been enjoying that quite a lot. Sort of living their excitement and dreams without spending the money or suffering the stress...that'll be our real life soon enough...maybe...

Some new pictures follow.

This is certainly a sign we like. Would that we see that come true!

Mid November things were looking like this.

Coming around the corner at the end of High Street, here's what RKM looks like today.

Check out the loading dock today!

This is the "deck" side. Insulation is our friend!

Three views of the parking lot side of the building: November 14th, November 26th, and today, December 1st. Slow progress.

The next few weeks we'll be doing some "base-touching" - trying to connect with people we've been talking to for the past several months about cabinetry, equipment, whatever, and hope they are still willing to participate. Plumbing will also become an issue soon, if we are lucky, and then, once the roof goes up on the kitchen, we can start really going at it - prediction date for that: late December. Meanwhile, there's always the Winter Holiday Season to enjoy freely! Back at you later!

Let the Holidaze Begin!

It's been a beautiful Saturday afternoon here in Kent County Maryland. I took a quiet bike ride around the neighborhood earlier, and except for a pesky little headwind, it was a perfect day for it. And of course the countryside couldn't be lovlier. All those places we traveled to and through last year, some were pretty nice, but none were as all-around nice environmentally as right here on the Eastern Shore, KC in particular. I mean, Madison was terrific, but what winters! The Pacific Northwest has a lot, a lot to offer, including weeks and weeks or rain. The desert is, well, the desert. And maybe we have the humid summers, but certainly not like the Gulf Coast, which has us beat on music and maybe even seafood, but not on weather. And so it goes, no place seems to measure up to those standards set here in Kennedyville and environs. Which brings me to the obvious next phrase - "There's no place like Home" - which is timely in a seasonal sense too...

Last night Kevin and I did an Easton run. Once in a while we like to take a drive down there and check out the restaurant scene. And there is one, small and not too wild and crazy, but walkable and pretty happening on a Friday night in November (luckily the massive Waterfowl Weekend was last week...). We started at Legal Spirits, but only after finding our favorite Classic Easton Bar closed for renovations - I am speaking of the historic Tidewater Inn, which is currently undergoing a rumored 21 million dollar renovation. What we wonder is, what did they do with that incredible bar they had in their lounge? Our first stop for food was the relatively new and suddenly hot Scossa. An Italian menu, soothing yet hip dining room, comfy bar stools at a massive marble bar, and the best Polenta Kevin has ever had. What more could a person want? From there we ventured over to tried and true Mason's, which has a nice bar positioned between the gourmet store, the dessert case and the cafe tables in front. A little strange place to have the bar maybe, but pleasant enough, and a lively spot last night. Once again Kevin scored with the best plate - tuna tartar with a delicous ginger sauce and some crunchy fish eggs scattered about. It was really good. We ended the evening at a place everyone told us about - Chez Lafitte - for coffee and dessert. It's billed as a "French Caberet" and is open for food and drinks til 2AM! LIve music on the weekends, a seriously dog-friendly decor, with a bunch of little tables and a kitchen hidden behind the piano. Not like anything in our neck of the woods.

One last thing - hope you enjoy that new Weather Banner over by the Links - Jay the Nephew performs the necessaries to get us our weather report direct from his roof in K'ville, and we appreciate it!

Cement Block can be Beautiful

Hard to believe, but things are really starting to look better at 860 High Street.

Getting this new construction done - the loading dock is shown here - paves the way for a roof and then plumbing, electric, and then on to finishing the interior so we can get cracking!

So yes, cement block is beautiful. Here is a sneak peek into the "kitchen".

There sure is a lot of it back there...

Hopefully this week I'll be able to get some more interesting pictures. Until then, there's a lot happening within the Restaurant Scene in Kent County - places closing and opening at a clip-clop rate. And RK&B will probably be the last at the gate...