Time to jump off....?

Hi, Food and drink are basic needs, even when the economy is slow people will always want to eat and drink provided you're reasonably priced. It's a pleasant spot and should do well in the summer but what about the colder months? Can you do takeaways to pick up passing trade like van and truck drivers because that will be year round? Can you do something else in the quieter months, something that can be picked up and put down at short notice? As said the other half could do agency nursing, what could you do? Have you transferable skills? I'm not trying to be negative but my sister and husband moved to France, bought a farmhouse with outbuildings to convert into Gites. They were trying to earn a years money in 4 or 5 months of summer. They now run a building company mostly catering for the ex-pats because British owners and French builders have a strained relationship. So don't get too fixated and consider other options as and when necessary.

Good luck.

Colin

Thanks for all the input so far, I'll respond to some in more depth later. Keep the thoughts, opinions and advice coming.


I did look around the sections to find the most appropriate one to post this, but couldn't see any better than the General Board. Where would it be better off moving it to?

Mustang, Type 3 Squareback

Well, time for big balls and deep breaths. Handed my notice in. This is happening.

Discounts for fellow Retro Riders offered of course!

Well then. Time for an update I think.

Right. Great Ayton. The first premises. Fell down completely through no fault of our own. We had bent over backwards when the landlord decided she wouldn't allow us to change the use of the premises to A3 (hot food cafe/coffee shop). She didn't want her tenant upstairs 'suffering' the nasty coffee and food smells! We rolled with that body blow, and decided we still wanted that location, so we changed plan to open a fine foods artisan deli and gelato shop. Then a week or so later, the landlord notified us that her insurance company wouldn't allow subletting (bear in mind we were going to sublet from the guy who holds the main lease - the florist). The only way we could proceed was if the florist would assign the lease to us and walk away from it. When he came back and advised us that, despite not having any interest in going back into the premises, he wasn't willing to give up the lease it was a bit of a kick in the sprouts. So that was it basically. We had to pull out, and lost a bit of money with the solicitor, and the £385 we paid to the council for the original change of use application.

Not ones to get down when we're kicked, we started looking for alternative premises. We went to look at one in Hartlepool Marina, then another in Whitby, and then saw one advertised quite close by in Saltburn. Fifty seven square metres over two floors, busy location, sea view, blank canvas, and not that much more a month than we were going to pay in Great Ayton. We viewed it, and struck whilst the iron was hot, as there was plenty of interest in it. Deposit was paid to secure it, then lease signed, and we picked up the keys on the 17th November.





It used to be a photography studio. We have a change of use application in with Redcar & Cleveland council, which will be decided by 10th January latest. We can't see an issue with being granted the change of use, but if it is declined, we will fall back on Plan B as we were going to in Great Ayton with a fine foods deli.

A few pics of the premises as we walked into it.





















So, onwards to getting some colour going. Our original idea was to go green, so on with it I started...







So, then came a curveball. I got an email from the landlord at about 10pm to let us know that his company has a policy that all the properties they manage have a grey front. OK, so why wasn't this mentioned at the time of lease signing? An oversight apparently. Don't get me wrong, he's actually a decent guy, but we were a bit narked when we got that email. I fought our corner, saying that grey didn't fit in with our plans etc blah blah. To his credit, he did come back to us, and as it was his oversight, he relented and for us said tat we could proceed with the green.

Good? Well, yes, good, BUT, after receiving the email, we looked at images of grey frontages, only to realise that they probably look smarter, more classy maybe, than the green. So....a complete change of plan, but not without us wording our reply into making sure the landlord is actually grateful to us for doing it LOL

Right. Grey is good. But, it meant a trip to get some grey paint, and two coats (more in places) over all the green I put on the previous day. I felt early in the day that it was a complete waste of the previous days efforts and painting, but, I guess you learn from everything, and we think the grey is much nicer than the green. This is the sort of look we like...



...so the transformation from green to grey commenced...





...and today, Julie and I got some emulsioning done...









...and the exterior is done. The signage and window decals are still to sort...





I'm pulling up the old floors tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Thanks mate, appreciate that.

I expect to see you up this way when we're open. Retro Rides discount available!

If the change of use comes back ok, our plans are quality loose leaf teas, coffees, gelato ice creams, cakes, scones, tarts, paninis, soup, award winning pies and scotch eggs, all from local suppliers, toast, toasted tea cakes, granola pots....etc, etc. No one in Saltburn seems to have a good range of quality loose leaf teas or gelato ice creams, so we hope to get a name for them. As well as serving quality produce, with a smile, and at a good price. Of course.

More progress today. A big tip run done with a ton of old laminate dumped out of the Discovery.

Lifted the old laminate in the ground floor corridor, and beading off...



Smashed the lower plaster curved edges out on the lower floor...













The sills where that awful window shelf were were a bit damaged (hands up, my crowbar was responsible).



So I added some filler and sanded them down, then got some paint on them...







I also had a meeting with the electrician, so all seems good on that side of things. We're not asking anything unreasonable.

Glossing all the skirting boards tomorrow. Hate gloss.

Oh, forgot, the white coloured surface on the lower level floor was a big single piece of upside down lino glued to the plywood under it. Thick lino. And it was heavy. It's now in the car. And my back is in pieces.

Plywood base is being cut up tomorrow and disposed of.

The plan is to lay the flooring on Thursday.