Holy Cheezus!

Opening weekend. WOW.

I am still trying to take it all in, and there is so much to tell of the crazed week that preceded the final birth of my cheese baby. I will try to invoke a wee bit of brevity in my re-telling of events, but no promises.

The week leading up to opening was insane, of course, and I expected it to be. In fact, I must say that a year plus of preparing put me in good stance to take the final barrage of hiccups in stride like a Tennessee Walking horse, but there were still some freakish moments that had me panting over my gorgeous new counter like a beached marine mammal.

First off, anyone in Seattle thinking of starting a business that involves food or drink of any kind, know now that everything hinges on plumbing inspections. I don't understand this at all seeing as faulty electrical work can potentially kill you, while shoddy plumbing may result in a short attack on your intestines, but whatever. I will say that they are easy to schedule and if you have a great plumber who knows what they're doing (like I did, thankfully), this won't be a problem. However, final inspections on other ends, like the Health Department, are contingent upon final plumbing inspections, so keep that in your hat. I have to say that contrary to what we all may think, the city of Seattle is actually amazingly helpful, responsive, and understanding. Long story short, I had to schedule all of my final inspections the day before opening, and was sweating bullets that it wouldn't all pan out. At one point I was 40 minutes from sure that I would not be able to get my health inspection passed and would have to postpone opening until the following Tuesday (tomorrow). However, a lot of sweet-talking and a whole lot of awesome city and county officials later, I was jumping up and down like a pre-schooler with signed paper in hand!

Friday opening was, and still is, a bit of a blur. It was busy, busy, then super crazy busy, back down to regular busy, and I ended the day on the strong tail end of a good adrenaline high. I still can't get over the number of people who came in over the weekend saying how they had been following the blog and/or news of C&K with baited breath, how happy they were that I was finally open, and how much they valued the inclusion of my business in their everyday life. I said to my customers and myself, "me too!!!"

The rest of the weekend was more of the same, and I have so much more to embellish upon; my rockstar employees, my neighbor Rain Shadow Meats - CARNIVORES GO THERE NOW! - and so much more. Also many great photos to upload, press links to link in, etc. etc.

I will end this post with a big, giant, fat shout-out to my friends Chris and Emily of the soon to be Ankerhaus Tavern. I've known this awesome couple since I started my own small biz baby, and I cannot wait to see them make their dream come true. They are kickass people, they know their shit, and they are seeking investors.