All work and no play, makes us a dull family !

Today we just went to open the restaurant and organised a few items, and then left it in the capable hands of the staff. But before leaving we decided to have lunch and Christoffer prepared us  all a Philly Cheese steak with fries. Always wanted to know what the fuss was about, but I must say verry tasty and filling.

 And then guess where we went to spend the afternoon?????   Of course Sea World.

Here the first thing we did was to get Sven on the Manta, as he was too small to ride it last time

 And after that the Kraken ride!!!!

 Beautiful rock garden that looks like a corral reef with all the small fish positioned in it.

 Then finally to finish off the evening before returning to the restaurant we took in the new Shamu show. After rthe unfortunate death of a trainer in 2010 they had to remake the show where the trainers are no longer in the water with the killer whales. All I can say Shamu still "Rocks"

Friday night and Pig on the Pond.

Today we made a turn at "Pig on the Pond" a charity fair / festival on the shores of lake Minneola.

We just took a leisurely stroll along the shoreline and took in the activities. Although there was not much going on in the afternoon, I believe that this is a popular event every year. Here are some pictures of the activities and the surroundings. Note as how white the sand is even at the lakes, no wonder the Americans always refer to going to the beach, even if it is just at a lake.

Mobile ATM, "bomber safe?"

Pros and cons of owning your own Restaurant

After action satisfaction!   One of the advantages of your own restaurant. After a busy / hectic day nothing better than a cold draught. We are still coping with all the repercussions of taking over a restaurant that was basically ruined by previous owners, but on the upside we are busy turning it around. We are learning at the speed of light.
Another busy evening that we did not expect, can't wait to get our own menu and name change in place. Then we will get busy.

Our first week completed

Now we have nearly completed a full week cycle to get a feel for the restaurant business. I am a qualified food server already.
We have had to buy a screen, to seperate us a little from the customers in our little office, whilst doing all the paperwork and planning as well as official documentation.

We are also getting accustomed to working from 10 o'clock in the morning until 10 o'clock at night, however this should simmer down when everything is in place.

We are eating well as one of the advantages of owning your own restaurant is, is having quality food prepared for you for free.

Michi was also subscribed for his learners course at the DMV today so it will not be long until he is in the drivers seat.

Well all busy so blog messages are short.

Saturday Nights.

Today is our first Saturday of business and already we were hit with a onetime order of 24 large Pizza's, but there is an interesting story around this order. The Universe works in mysterious ways. As Amelia and I were doing some emergency ingredient shopping at a bulk supply store, we were talking about certain ingredients when we heard a voice. "Praat julle Afrikaans?". We then established that Mike was originally from Nelspruit and moved to the States. So after a while we exchanged numbers and he told us he would order some Pizza next time he is around. Lo and behold this morning he placed the massive order catching us totally off guard but we made it work and it worked out great. He is in charge of providing the Clubhouse and students with food, so  we hope we have a cool standing order soon.

Otherwise we are coping, but we have a lot on our plate, but slowly all the puzzle pieces are falling   into place.

Tomorrow we are closed, but we have to get the kitchen cleaned and also do a proper stock take to have less crisis management. Also we need to look at some new equipment to get our processes more efficient.

3rd day of operations

Hell. Today was a Friday and it was a learning curve for us all, business was good. According to the team we had more people in than they had in a long time. But along with this, new owners, new cook etc. we had our hiccups. Fortunately all the dine ins were happy and satisfied, but the deliveries were a disaster, but this is where we are now starting to put in actions for improvement.
Our kids were great and everybody chipped in like a family restaurant goes, Michelle was serving, preparing salads etc. The boys were washing dishes and cleaning. We got a lot of compliments on our kids and their behavior which obviously makes us super proud.

All tired now. Its 12h30 and we have to go at it tomorrow morning again. Thats life, but we at least made about $1200 today.

No pictures today (no time). Just watch this space!!!!