I drove by 815 N. Chase St. yesterday around 10:00 am to see the cars vacating the lot of the mechanic shop. With only about 5 cars left and 2 about to drive away, butterflies started to fill my stomach and I understood that this is becoming really real now.

We have contractors giving us bids this week, and we could even start building as early as February 7, which is only 2 weeks away. 2 weeks away! Crazy. My days are filled with costing recipes, punching numbers into spreadsheets, getting quotes, looking at used equipment, trying out dishes for the menu, examining the virtues of this plate over that one and which fork is best suited for our use. Which pos system is the best for us? Which payroll company should I go with? How do I price items in our market component? Will our display cases put off too much heat? Will this ever work? These are the questions running through my mind minute after minute. It all comes so quickly, and the frenzy is quickly turning into a blur. Before we know it, it will be late spring and we will be putting blueberry bushes in the ground at the corner, arranging tables and chairs, receiving buckets of produce from our farmers and opening our doors to the fresh warm air and our wonderful community. I can’t wait until this is all a reality, but for now I keep wanting to slow everything down so I can see it all more clearly.

I am balancing somewhere between overexcited and overwhelmed most of the time, but I know this will be such a great place, and I welcome it with open arms.