Our First Inspections

The excitement, the thrill of starting a business.  I’m sitting here in a hot restaurant space waiting for the next two inspectors to show up.  The AC and the swamp still aren’t working correctly but the landlord will be getting those fixed, hopefully today.  The space is a bit ugly and in need of some seriously cleaning.  The sign inspector just came and denied signing off on the Certificate of Occupancy.  She walked out the door and the most incredible feeling ran through me.  It was sort of like the feeling you got the first time you encountered your future spouse.  Now, it wasn’t the inspector that gave me that feeling, it was the reality of my business.  The Tucson Tamale Company is official.  Yes, we incorporated a few months ago, that was a watershed moment, but getting denied for my permit, how blessed is that!  I know this may sound crazy, getting excited over being denied, but it means I’m really doing this.  The vision of what is to be is grabbing me and shaking me with joy.  I guess I should also tell you that the fix is about 30 minutes of painting, so it will not be an issue getting the sign approved.  Still have two more inspections today and then after the lease is signed, just need the health department to sign off.  It truly is a glorious day.  The universe is available for all us to tap into, you just have to peel back the seams in the fabric of the unknown.  Peace out.

Well, the other 2 inspectors have shown up and we got denied on both of those.  But let me tell you, I’m not sure where this ‘aarrgg’ comes when dealing with the city.  I know it can be painful at times to work with bureaucracy, but all the inspectors that have come here have been very good to work with.  The items that need attention are all reasonable and quite frankly necessary to properly run a safe business.  

Still, there’s a lot to get done to open a successful business.  April and I have been doing a lot of ‘little’ things.  They are all IMPORTANT things.  This goes back to our value of the little things.  If you don’t pay attention to them, something will come bite you in the ass or something won’t be right with the business.  I’m glad April has been able to help me this week.  

I turned the ice machine on this morning and it appears to working ok.  It makes a tattle tale beep about every ten minutes so I suspect it’s trying to tell me something.  I’ll have a Refrigerator specialist check it out.  After it made about 50 pounds of ice, I opened the bin and could smell the cool water dripping from the ice hopper.  It took me back to another time when I was running another restaurant in another life.  I stuck my hand in the ice and clawed a few cubes, the chill, the dripping wetness of the cubes was pure joy.  This is the ice that my customers will use.  This is the ice the will keep our cold foods cold.  This is the ice machine that the health inspector will require us to have a scoop nearby.  This handful of ice is my business.  It’s not a moment to forget.  One day when there are 50, 60 Tamale Shoppes and I want to reminisce it will be about that handful of ice, that first ‘thing’ my new venture produced.  By itself, not worth a nickel, but as a part of the business, as MasterCard loves to say, priceless.