It seems like this was The One! The project of a lifetime! Just listen to this music - a location for a restaurant found right in the heart of the city, an investor secured, management experience in hand, and the inner world is harmonious, and luck is in our sails. On a personal note, everything is wonderful - finally owning our own home, with my spouse pregnant with our second child - just live and enjoy!
As a person accustomed to life's adventures, I love being at the center of events. To me, all this stability holds little value. At this moment, I make the decision to immediately organize the company and start building the restaurant. Now, onto the details.

Le Goss. The beginning of a popular pedestrian street in the city center; a building with a 100-year history, in the basement of which there was either a torture chamber, a brothel, or a cultural center - the premises were kindly provided to us by an experienced restaurateur with the words "good, but not needed - please think about it." Good can't be unnecessary and vice versa. Experience shows that when purchasing a location for a restaurant - in this case, a space where we changed its purpose and completely laid out all the utilities - it's very important to thoroughly research everything with architects and designers so they can calculate all the necessary investments (everything you embed into the floors and walls - electricity, water, sewage, ventilation, etc., as well as the cost and timeline for necessary approvals for these modifications).

As always, the first experience of construction from the ground up - eyes are shining, commercial attractiveness of the location, imagination is rapidly conjuring up new incredible scenarios of events, promising success. After calculating everything on the fly and hearing the opinion of the "experienced and old" restaurateur that 1 square meter in restaurant construction would cost $1000, I agreed with the investor on a sum with a margin of 150K and began construction.

Calculate, ladies and gentlemen, calculate very well.

Responsibility towards the investor doesn't only mean meeting expectations, but also not deceiving yourself and following your meticulously planned blueprint. An experienced investor will always say - show me the plan! After approving the project, they'll add 50%, a less experienced one - 30%, and an inexperienced one might just believe you at face value. The next not-so-insignificant point is the flow of money. When the amount is agreed upon, it's important to distribute it correctly, covering your detailed plan like a blanket. Not like I did.
We agreed on the amount, sealed the deal, and waited for the money, without specifying or discussing the timeframe or the method beforehand. Thanks to such preparation, the realistic timeline of one year extended to 2.5 years, and the budget grew by 40%. Time and money were consumed by rent and salaries, as although everyone seemed to be working, in reality, they were sitting on the construction site, waiting for funds that were immediately spent on already completed work, and we were trapped in this endless loop once again. For the investor, we were no longer a priority, and probably by this point, he regretted the decision, but my personal ambitions never ceased. The desire to make this project was constant.

Overall, this was an enormous experience with construction setbacks, problematic contractors, delays of almost twice the original estimate, team assembly, dealings with designers, and strange furniture manufacturers. I'd like to emphasize the latter - these guys managed to deliver sofas that were not the correct size a week before the opening. How about that? All of this, when combined, allows you to understand that a problem is just a task, and looking at it from an angle of impossibility is foolishness.

I'll mention my interactions with the interior designer as a separate paragraph. Design is a separate part of construction, a very delicate and sensitive substance. Without exact deadlines, as the Lord gives inspiration. Always busy, visiting the site is akin to a holiday and the descent of Jesus onto sinful earth, where deadlines are looming, funds are running out, and 10 contractors are awaiting decisions - what to do next, what color to paint? And all this must not only be beautiful but also functional, practical, and resistant to all sorts of influences. Here are a few examples. In the first few months of operation, the lamp shades that hung over the tables and looked very ergonomic were repeatedly hit by guests' heads, leading to varying degrees of injury. I can imagine my wife in that situation and fear that apologies wouldn't be enough. Or, for example, the baseboards lining the perimeter of the entire restaurant - a place that is cleaned three times a day - were made of painted MDF, a material not resistant to water at all. Or the veneered bar counter, technical surfaces, and restroom doors, where wet hands are always a factor - and as a result, the material swelled and blistered. Or the sink faucet in the restroom, with the water stream hitting the edge of the basin and spilling onto the wooden structure while washing hands. All of these are my painful points.

During this period, we were friendly with the interior designer's families. Now, as you understand, we are no longer. This experience was fantastic, and I'll repeat it once more - be attentive with interior designers. Precise timelines and a quality, meticulously crafted project may extend the planning stage, but it'll maintain healthy relationships and add structure to the work.

I hope you've immersed yourself enough in this story and can vividly imagine this scene in front of your eyes, but the real adventures are just beginning :) very soon, you'll be able to read the continuation of my saga with the dream restaurant here. Until then, take care.