Little Earthquakes

The past few weeks have been INSANE, and I'm just on the cusp of what I consider the two months that all my friends and colleagues will hate me for two months while I lose my mind getting things ready to open the shop.

The frustrating part of where I'm at right now involves a lot of hurry-up-and-wait behavior as I give what information I have to the powers that be and then wait on a steady diet of fingernails until I hear back from them. In reality, it's only a matter of hours, an afternoon or so that I have to spend waiting to hear back from anyone, and for this I am eternally grateful. But at the same time, this time I have that is out of my control is insanely unnerving, and provides way too much time for me to ruminate on the great risk I'm taking with this venture. Naturally the demons creep in and I wonder what on earth am I doing? Is there any way I can really make this work? Somehow I kept these doubts at bay for the year or so building up to this point, and now they are riding passenger seat to me through this part of the wild ride.

Despite my current ridiculous inner turmoil, things are moving forward and every day that passes unveils a tad more excitement for the whole thing. Right now I'm setting up accounts with distributors, making opening inventory lists, shopping around for equipment, generally keeping myself busy. In the meantime, I'm also entertaining more than a few requests for informal interviews from various press forums - I'm starting to feel like a cheeselebrity! I can only hope and assume that the level of excitement I'm getting from local press peeps is indicative of the growing enthusiasm that seems to be spreading in my neighborhood. Vive la fromage!

Slowly but surely

Not a whole lot to report as 2009 comes to a close, but I feel an update is in order nevertheless. First off, I've gotten many an email asking about an opening date. This is pretty difficult to pin down at the moment, as anyone starting a new business will know, but I'm shooting for mid-late Februrary or possibly the beginning of March. I'm doing everything in my power to make it happen as quickly as possible, but with so much of the work out of my mongering hands, there is a lot of thumb-sitting to be done. Ouch!

The past two weeks have been full of meeting with my architect, the building's architect, fretting, incessantly wiping sweaty palms, more meetings, you get the idea. This week I've been torpedoed back into junior high as I stare at the phone waiting for that special call from a certain boy, except that instead of the geeky loner who's more interested in comic books than girls, it's my autocad drafter I'm pining for.

Soon enough I'll have final plans in hand and will be ready to make possibly the most important walk of my life down to the DPD for a simple bit of ink blottered onto dried pulp that is the green light I need to make real things happen. From there, I'm sure there will be more similarly exciting yarns to spin, but until then dear cheese loving readers, have yourselves a wonderful holiday season and I'll see you in 2010!

1531 Melrose Ave.

It is official, The Calf & Kid has a home!! Thanks to all of the amazing support of friends, family, my investors, and so many more to helped me make this happen. Special thanks to the awesome folks at The Capitol Hill Blog for their continued support and free press.

As many of you know, this has been a long time coming, 2 years to be exact. I often marvel at my neighboring neighborhood entrepreneurs who seemingly erect new businesses in a matter of minutes. I hope that they also went through some of the agonizing knuckle-biting that I have in this process, because it is no easy feat. My nose is now affixed to the proverbial grindstone now, so updates may be short and sweet, but no doubt chock full of all the glamorous events that budding cheesemongers are known for, like ordering business checks and signing up for state certified food handling courses. Ah, I can taste my celebrity cheese status already...

Home, sweet home!

I've been neglecting this blog, I admit, out of nothing but pure fear. Yes, dear readers, I was, for a while, absolutely terrified of securing the amazing space I've been coveting at the new Melrose Project. I have been similarly scared when attempting to secure the other half dozen spaces I've blogged about - but isn't that half the fun?
Let's just say, The Calf & Kid is about to have a new home!

While papers are being printed and signatures awaiting fresh ink, this space is mine, and I cannot even begin to express how insanely happy I am to be a part of this new space.

Anyone who's been reading (and if you haven't, then slog through the last few posts), knows the awesome location of the shop, and I don't need to repeat my love of my new neighbors-to-be, Sitka and Spruce, Terra Plata, Sonic Boom, not to mention a local butcher, florist, and more.

I am beyond plussed at this moment, knowing I will share this coveted marketplace with so many amazing Seattle small business owners. For now I am off for one last weekend away before commencing the nose-to-the-grindstone that will be opening.
In the meantime keep your eyes peeled for Calf & Kid opening festivities!

Thumb-sitting

The past month has involved a lot of sitting around waiting, and it looks like November will provide much of the same. I'm not very good at biding time, but I'm confident that in the vein of "good things come to those who wait", I'm quietly twitterpated about the new space I'm looking to secure in The Melrose Project.

This new development has already gotten a lot of press, and while I don't want to get too ahead of myself, it's pretty much a sure thing that The Calf & Kid will be laying roots in this amazing space. Not only will it be home to my hands-down favorite Seattle restaurant of all time, Sitka and Spruce, but I will also be sharing common market space with a butcher - oh how I have longed for a good local butcher! - a small florist, and others. I'm simply plussed.

In the meantime I'm working on a dozen little things that can be done ahead of time, and reflecting on how long it's taken me to get here, from playing with the idea of a cheese shop over 2 years ago to now, it seems like an awfully long time. I have to admit I was very self-conscious about the fact that my projections for an opening date repeatedly moved back, and back, and then back some more. It seems like all around me small businesses crop up in no time at all, but in my case every corner I turned seemed to add on months of time suckage. But then again, that is just my pace in this endeavor. I refuse to rush anything so important as this, and that has resulted in favorable outcomes that I never could have forseen more than a few times. I'm not saying that anyone else looking into opening a cheese shop, or any small business for that matter, should consider my experience that standard - the process is surely different for everyone. While I don't consider myself a spiritual person in any sense, I can't help but think of Ralph Emerson's quote about the Zen philosophy of the journey:

"The voyage of the best ship is the zigzag line of a hundred tacks. See the line from a sufficient distance, and it straightens itself to the average tendency."

Maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better for making so many sideways steps towards my ultimate goal; maybe I'm actually working in a way that will help me achieve sustainability as a businesswoman. Maybe the fact that the closest I get to meditation is scribbling on a bar napkin after several beers. Whatever it is, it feels right, I'm constantly getting reassurance from my fellow Seattlites that I'm doing the right thing, and for now that's enough to keep me going.

Ooh La La!

Seattlites, friends, cheeselovers! Start practicing your best/worst French accent and join C&K and Poco Wine Room this Sunday for a very special cheese and wine pairing celebrating the best that fall has to offer: les produits de Francias!

The Calf & Kid and Poco Wine Room present: La Campagne, a celebration of the French countryside.

We promise some delightful surprises in store for this tasting event, including pours from some of the best bottles of Burgundy, concoctions avec fromage from the Poco Wine Room kitchen, and of course, the most delectable cheese this side of the Pacific.

Vive la fromage!

Pitbull

The past few weeks have been very trying, and after hours of wringing my hands and pulling hair, alas the bank is just not going to give me a loan. I must say, through this process of starting up a small business, I never in my wildest dreams thought that securing a minimal amount of financing from the bank would be such an ulcerating experience. Certainly all banks are cutting way back on their small business lending these days, and of those they are still granting, startup's are at the bottom of the totem pole. But I still thought that upon bringing in more than 75% of my total startup expenses, having excellent credit and a kickass business plan, would put me in good stead to acquire the piddly amount left over to cover my proposed budget. In my case, it all came down to collateral, namely not owning property.

However, this time is seriously nigh for me to make this happen no matter what. Where there's a will there's a way, right? My amazing and supportive husband has often brought me out of financial woe by encouraging me to summon my inner Pitbull, and so with the tenacity of a dog that doesn't take no for an answer, I'm gearing up for plan B.

I always knew it was a good thing to create my budget and financial forecasts for the most expensive space I could find, and leave more than enough cash on hand for padding. So with the generous help of my investors and new members of The Calf & Kid, I am moving forward full steam ahead. Luckily there are multiple commercial spaces in Seattle that are small, modest, and still centrally located in Capitol Hill. I'll be looking at one of them tomorrow, may the cheese gods be with me.