"I'm actually at the county health department in Kearney Mesa right now," I told Eric over the phone. "And, your sure that we'll be able to open the shop in April?"
"Yes, I'm about 95% positive you guys will be selling grilled cheese in there by early April," Eric said. "We're only a few days behind schedule, but it really comes down to passing the inspections."
"How many are there?" I asked.
"Three total, but we've already passed electrical, so that's good," he said.
So, with a wave of confidence I went into the county health building & closed out our Temporary Food Facility permit. It was hard to believe that we'd been operating under the TFF for six years, but it was time to move on to bigger & better things.
We could have bit the bullet & just renewed the permit for $702, but instead I would use that money to pay for our opening inventory at the shop. There was a lot of things for Kate & I to figure out in the next couple of weeks (putting together a menu board, figuring out how to use our new kitchen equipment, etc) but continuing to worry about weather & which markets were profitable was no longer one of them.
"I'd also like to pay for the first year of our FPP (Food Permanent Processing) permit," I told the clerk after I cancelled our old TFF.
"When did you open your brick & mortar store?" she asked.
"Oh we haven't yet. We plan to open Tuesday, April 3rd," I said proudly.
"Well, you can't apply for that until you have officially done business at the new location," she said. "Once you open, just call us at this number or send an email to us & we'll mail out your first permit invoice. Then, you'll have 30 days to pay it."
Opening Day. There was a lot hinging on that specific date. Kate & I couldn't do much about the date until we got all of the approvals from the last two inspections. We just hoped that Eric & his crew had done a good job & that the city wouldn't give us any problems.
