The Ice Cream Cottage Story - Part Four

Part Three here

So there we were, meeting with the owner of the ice cream shack that we had previously planned on buying one day.  Phil and I were anxious because we had to tell her that the potential deal was now off the table as we decided to buy a shop in our own town. She had been so nice to us and open about her business that we didn't want to let her down.  She began by nervously talking to us about the negative events that had happened in her life, which we had been completely unaware of, and now we were feeling even worse that we were about to let her down even more!  Then she said that because of everything going on, she needed to keep the ice cream shack open to help her family out financially.  She felt so bad that she had led us to believe we could buy the shack but now had to pull out.  We sympathized with her about what she was going through and then excitedly told her not to feel bad at all because we were getting our own place.  She was so relieved!  We were so relieved!  We had both been dragging our feet to talk to each other because we didn't want to be the bearers of bad news, and in turn it worked out perfectly for all of us.  She has become such a mentor and friend through this whole process, and we have been able to help her out as well.   God is good, all the time.  All the time, God is good.

Okay so at this point we had an agreement with the ice cream wholesaler, a signed lease, loaned money in the bank, and we had told family and friends and informed the other shop owners that we thought it might affect negatively (but it didn't, yay!) and everyone was on board.  I posted our first social media post:

The developer saw the post and called the local radio station who reached out to Phil and wrote an article about The Cottage and talked about it on the radio.   The local newspaper heard about it from that source and Phil and I did an interview with them over the phone. I wrote up and sent the newspaper journalist the history of our family's ice cream business and he put together a big article that really got the word out.  In his article, he mentioned that we would open for Mother's Day weekend (we had said we really hoped to be open but no promises) so now we were in a big rush with a six week deadline. 

 

My oldest brother happened to be building a house a couple of towns over and agreed to let us use his framers for a week to get our building renovation started quickly.  Going even a step further, he pulled the commercial building license for us because he's a contractor and we are most definitely not.  So he pulled the building permit, Phil bought supplies, and my 82 year old dad volunteered to be the General Contractor (his former job) because Phil and I still had to show up at our *actual* jobs and couldn't be onsite.  The work started on April 6, 2023.

They worked fast, and Phil and my dad were so great at scheduling electricians and plumbers and getting equipment delivered fast.  Our biggest expense of the whole project was buying two dipping cabinets for about $8000 each.  The company that we bought them from didn't deliver, so we had to set up delivery with another company who would only deliver them to the shop but not take them off the truck because of their weight and size.  We had to ask quite a few friends (one with a bobcat) to help us get those off the delivery truck and into the shop, and that was only the beginning of the dipping cabinet saga *cue ominous music*.  

The building was in rough shape, dirty with gross equipment.  We scrubbed what we wanted to salvage, painted walls, had the floor cleaned and waxed, installed new windows and doors, resided the front of the shop, installed lights and redid plumbing.  We found equipment second-hand when possible, and had some family members and friends willing to help us, for which we were extremely grateful.

The shop had a two bay sink, but the Board of Health requires a three bay sink (one to wash, one to rinse and one to sanitize) so we bought a sink from someone from Facebook marketplace and had it installed by the plumber.  The plumber configured the pipe in a way that took up a lot of room in the shop, so we had him redo it, which he was not happy about.  The electrician had his work cut out for him too, as installing outlets in an old building is never fun.  My dad not only oversaw the whole renovation, but also worked on his own finishing touches to The Cottage, like building a cupula to light up at night, making uniquely shaped shelves in front of the windows, and installing a fan to blow out the waffle cone scent to customers waiting in line.  

My mom kept busy researching recipes, shopping for things we would need, and making her famous Maggie's hot fudge for us to use.  How lucky we are to have their guidance and help, and I think this shop is bringing them joy too.  Much like a grandchild comes with all the good parts of parenting and none of the bad, they get to enjoy the shop's success without having to work there everyday.  Though they do tend to visit daily, to water flowers or get a treat or just see how long the line of customers is :) 

Things were moving along fast, and it looked like we might hit our Mother's Day goal, when the Building Inspector showed up one day to inform us that we had never pulled a building permit.  Um, excuse me?   My brother pulled it for us.  Nope, he looked in his computer again, there was nothing pulled for this address.  But we had already done all of the building work, what now?  Have you ever felt pure dread flow through your body like ice?  Yeah that's how I felt hearing those words, only a few weeks from opening day...

Part Five here