Down on the Farm.

Spent a beautiful morning at an incredible farm (only 60 miles from the Z&H front door) this morning. Sometimes the planets align and they did this morning. We will be working with this farm, and other nearby growers and producers they have the their network, to bring some of the best produce and other specialty items from the area, state, and region to Z&H and you. We will post more details as we nail down the specifics. We are excited about this, this is the kind of working relationship that we envisioned when we went down this path.

Also, the tiling will be completed on Wednesday, we are told. The tile that is on the walls at this point is better than we imagined.

Beautiful, beautiful wall tile

Sam and I spent this past Sunday priming the walls, eight hours. They look great. Today our trusty tilers arrived and had a dynamic 20 minute debate about how to proceed and then they plunged in. The results look great, we actually have at least two more days of wall tiling, this is going to be a fantastic space. On Tuesday Sam and I head out to a farm to work out terms and delivery timing for some terrific local products and produce. 

Mudding and Taping

Yes, I know, this might be the most boring and/or absurd post to date, but mudding and taping of the drywall is what happened today in the space. Multiple fans working to dry out the walls, it is like a sauna right now. On a significantly more interesting tangent, we began to place our stocking orders today and we had a few surprise items rise to the surface. We will be carrying 'dorset cereals', it was a long search but we believe we have found a delicious line of "cereal cereals" (as Karen maintains). I would tend to agree with the statement on the package that these cereals are a "unadulterated breakfast pleasure". Full disclosure, I have been munching on a box this afternoon and it makes a tasty snack as well. More new product information in the coming days.

when drywall makes a man weep

The drywall hangers were like angry beavers (in a good way) today, and they will finish taping and 'mudding' the walls tomorrow. After our long journey in the darkness of permit limbo we have emerged into the brilliant light of whiplash fast progress. We will install the tile baseboards and wall tile this coming week, and I am shocked to say, I believe we will be painting.

Plum, Plum, Plum, Plum, Plumbing Inspector.......

Weird department of plumbing AM hijinks then, as if by magic, an inspector called my phone at 10AM and told me he would be at the space in an hour. And he was. The inspection took twenty minutes (we have beautiful 'rough-in' plumbing). He signed the permit and life continues. Drywall arrives tomorrow at 9AM. After we hang the drywall it is all "finish" work. Closer and closer.

Wait until you see our deli menu.

The City. Just what you expect.

So the City department of plumbing scheduled an inspection appointment today between 8:30AM and 3PM, (just like the cable company) and -I am shocked, shocked (not really) they did not show, or call to indicate they would not fulfill the appointment they had scheduled. An entire day of waiting for a city inspector (with the door propped open, so they don't even have to knock). No show. Just what you expect from the City. A nice ending to this story, there is a number to call but when you call it after 3PM you get dumped into a voice mail system that tells you that the department voice mail is full. So, another email is sent requesting an inspection visit from a plumbing inspector, and time to wait for an email reply scheduling another inspection visit...hello Mr. Kafka. Time for a cold beverage.

Put a checkmark in the box

We had the rough-in electrical inspection on Friday. No worries. It went well. The inspector was impressed by the quality of the work. Now we have the rough-in plumbing inspection next Tuesday. When that goes as we expect, we can begin closing the walls up next wednesday. Happy days.

nail biting time, but not really

We have our rough-in electrical inspection scheduled on Friday between 8:30-3 (yes, the City is just like the cable company in some ways). Our electrical work is a thing of beauty, and this should be no big deal. We are expecting an email from the city tomorrow about the plumbing rough-in inspection. The only thing more beautiful than our electrical work is our plumbing work. We should really give tours. closer and closer...

Also, watch this space for the first post from our Z&H Dietitian soon. Rebecca Stevens is a food and nutrition expert who has always surprised us with her practical insight into a healthy diet and how food can be a fun and sensible part of all of our lives. I learn something from Rebecca each time I talk with her, which cannot be said for most conversations. We are excited for everyone to meet Rebecca once we are open. We think she is cool, and know you will as well.

Anticipating Inspections

The saga is hopefully winding down, we are now happily official with the city, as our PERMIT is hanging in the front window (a silent cheer has been ongoing since last Thursday at 11:35AM). We are anticipating our first inspections next Monday or Tuesday, at which point we can hang the remaining drywall, close-up the walls and complete the finish work. Then we can get down to the business of what we love.

New York, New Ideas

Two members of our team just returned from the recent NY food show with some interesting finds and confirmation that what we have in our current product mix to open is truly 'best in class'.  We are also always interested in new ideas, so if you have particular favorites, or if there is a hard-to-find item that you love, please share it with us. We plan to groom the product mix continually, so every visit to the MarketCafe will be an opportunity for discovery.