Liquor License

Getting a liquor license is very precise and time consuming. TABC is great about guiding you through the process. You have to get just the right signatures in just the right order and everything has to be notarized. I took far too long to complete this process. I’m not making any excuses. Yes, it’s hard to run a business, work the counter, do your partner’s job, and work on a liquor license, but I should have made it a higher priority. Oh, and I sold my house, bought a new house, and moved all during the same period.

You may wonder why I was still building the business after all the crap I’ve told you about so far. Well, the liquor license was that one ray of hope that the business would make a complete turn around for the better and all the torture I had endured so far would just melt away. Pierre, Todd, and Kyle all said it would make a difference and I believed them. During this process, I learned that Todd had lied about helping us set up pizza and beer in the locker rooms for the adult league. Once we got the liquor license it became a violation to have liquor on the premises outside of our space. We would have to change the liquor license to cover the entire building and Todd said he would never agree to that.

The liquor license did double our business almost immediately, but it didn’t turn the world around. Sadly, things continued to get worse. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you all about it as the saga continues. One thing I want to say here, I couldn’t have done any of this without Kyle. He is a hard worker and honest person. Even though Kyle no longer speaks to me, I will always be grateful to have worked with him.

Financial Harassment

Like I mentioned earlier, rent was due on the first of the month and our contract gave very specific instructions about mailing the checks to Damon. Not only did we do that, we set up automatic payments from our bank account to ensure the rent would be paid on time every month.

I guess when you have a lot of money, managing the money doesn’t seem very important. I have never worked with any company or organization that was as bad at managing money as the local hockey team. Or maybe it was just harassment. I don’t know, but I sure got tired of proving we had paid our rent.

The first week in May 2015, Todd came to me and said he needed to collect all the rent since we had opened. I was taken aback because we had paid all of the rent, so I asked why. He said I had not paid any rent since we signed the contract and he needed that money. If you remember, I also told you earlier that Todd had told me to pay the rent according to the contract and not give the checks to him. I guess he forgot, and assumed we hadn’t paid because he had not seen the checks. I explained that we had auto-payments to Damon as the contract specified and we had paid all the rent – February was paid when we signed the contract (Todd should have know that as he was there), March was a free month according to the contract, and April and May had been auto-paid. He was glad we paid and went on his way. Seems like he would have a way to know about payments – a report, communication with accounting, or something.

In October or November, they accused us of not paying September rent. In January, corporate accused us of not paying December 2015; and then November 2015. Each time, I sent copies of our bank statement showing the money had been sent in plenty of time and the screen showing the checks had been cashed. Turns out, the missing payments were months before and each time we sent a check accounting would apply it to a previous month making it look like we paid late all the time. If they had just told us the same month a check was late, we could have stopped payment and resent right away. I have no idea what happened to our checks – lost in the mail, lost in Damon’s department, lost in accounting, thrown away to sabotage our business. At this point, we had been accused of not paying our rent 7 months out of the first 11 months in business. Their accounting couldn’t tell us when things had gone awry, so I had to go back through all the payments to find the checks that had not been cashed and replace them. I think it turned out to be July, October, and November. Accounting appreciated my work and repaid us by having a team lunch at our cafe in March 2016. Accounting has the nicest people in the organization.

Around the first week of January 2016, Todd came to me and said we had paid the wrong amount for our January rent. He suggested that if I checked my contract, I would know the rent went up and I should have paid the 2016 amount. I had to remind him the contract stated the rent increase began each FEBRUARY and I had already changed the auto payment to the new amount for next month.

In September 2016, Todd informed me there was another missing rent check and wanted proof of payment February through September. I reminded him we had already provided proof of February payment when we were researching November and December payments. How can you run a business when you’re constantly researching paperwork to prove you pay your rent? So this time, I took my time doing the research. It’s ridiculous that a company as big as a national hockey team can have this much trouble managing money. And why is it they don’t know when things went awry??? Seems to me all they have to do is look for the first month the rent was credited after the late-date. And why don’t they contact you that month so you can take care of it right away??? We were in our busy season and I did my research only when there was spare time, so I took several months to get back to them. Turns out, the March 2016 check had been lost. Meanwhile, Todd asked me to start handing our checks to him instead of following the instructions in the contract. I did, but I got a receipt from the person I handed the check to, as Todd wasn’t always there. I wanted proof we paid on time so no one could accidentally lose the check and say we didn’t pay or hold the check until after the grace period to make it look like we paid late. These people obviously cannot be trusted with money. But we knew that, because these are some of the same people that stole from us.

Hockey Camps

You’d think hockey camps would bring good money to the cafe, but even the camps had limited participation. When the local hockey team held camps in our facility, we had good business from the kids once the parents found we had a good lunch deal – 1/4 pizza, chips or fruit, cookie, and squirt top water bottle for $5.25. However, the coaches from corporate didn’t eat with us at all. These are our landlords in the building for a week and didn’t buy lunch from us even one time – in fact, Tuesday they brought in pizza from an outside restaurant. So Friday afternoon, I went over and had words with them about patronizing their tenants and setting an example for the students to patronize us as well. There was one independent hockey coach, Ryan, who approached us as soon as we opened to let us know he would recommend us in all his hockey camp emails. It was so refreshing to have at least one person who believed in supporting us and appreciated that we were there.

Every summer there was some sort of hockey ministry camp. The first time we met them, they brought us their coolers to be filled with ice. Once filled, we took the coolers out to where the camp counselors were standing. I asked the woman if there was anything we could do to get their business sometime that week. She explained they had already set up all the lunches to be brought in and they told the kids not to bring money so there would be no business for us. Then she asked if we would add water to some of the coolers. We didn’t have a faucet tall enough to get the coolers under to fill, so I suggested they talk to the front desk to see if the building had a faucet or hose to fill the coolers. When the ministry’s lunch came in the next day, she wanted to borrow a large knife. We only had one in our sanitized kitchen so we couldn’t lend it – often people forget to return items and who knows what they did with it when they had it. Having a safe kitchen was our first priority. The third day, she asked for large buffet spoons for their lunch. We didn’t have any of these because we sell pizza; we have no need for buffet serving utensils. That’s when she totally chewed me out for not helping them when they needed it. These people are supposed to be mentoring children with Christianly advise. Some of the counselors would take naps on our couch in the bar. Other times, they would set up their Bible study in front of the cafe. A huge lobby with plenty of space to set up chairs without blocking someone’s business and they set up in front of the cafe, blocking the entire counter. I don’t think these people are qualified to call themselves Christian counselors – I certainly wouldn’t want them influencing my children. I did make some money off the kids, which I think made her even more angry with me. I baked fresh cookies at lunch time each day and fresh popcorn in the afternoon. Those kids who were told not to bring money, suddenly had enough to buy cookies and popcorn. I guess I’m just evil.

Once again this boils down to ‘no outside food or drink’. It’s a must-have rule in an environment like this. Just like retail stores make deals that their competitor can’t be in the same strip center, you have to make deals in favor of your restaurant. You can always compromise outside food on a case by case basis, because no one can eat pizza for lunch 5 days in a row, but at least you have the power to deal. And where was Pierre in all of this? Why didn’t he talk to the ministry people and make a deal for the next year? He’s marketing, he should be taking care of this. And why isn’t he talking to corporate? He used to work with these guys and probably has all their emails. It is unacceptable for corporate to decide not to patronize their tenants.

The Best Thing We Never Did

At the risk of being repetitive, good food was important to me. We added salads, sandwiches, chicken breasts, smoothies, and fresh-baked brownies and cookies. Anything that had to be heated was put through the oven. We had to experiment a little but it was worth it to avoid the fryers.

Opening a restaurant is expensive, so we didn’t buy any equipment until we found we needed it. Which is definitely a good plan as many vendors will supply equipment if you buy their product. Again, I thank our Sysco rep, Mike, for helping us with all of that.

So we never bought a microwave. As we added new menu items, we were able to make them with the equipment we had and just never found a need to purchase a microwave. I liked it better that way, as we had no plans to reheat food and sell it. You’d think that would make our customers happy, too.

To this day, I’m so glad we didn’t have a need for a microwave. You would not believe how many people have the guts to bring their own food and coffee to a restaurant and ask us to warm it up for them. One woman even brought a fried egg in a baggie and wanted us to warm it for her. First of all, we’re in business to make money and how dare they even ask. Second of all, taking outside food into our sanitized kitchen is a major health code violation and how dare they even ask. Third of all, if our microwave rendered their food inedible they would expect us to replace it free of charge. How dare they! People don’t care about any of that so it was great to be able to say we didn’t have a microwave and therefore couldn’t help them. Still, many people got very angry. Go figure.

We also had a lot of people bring in outside food and expect us to supply all the ketchup, plasticware, sugar, creamer, and cups they forgot to grab where they purchased the food. Really? How many restaurants do you go to and ask for a table to eat food you purchased somewhere else? My mistake here was that I seriously underestimated other people’s actions.

Worst Managed Rink in the World

Pierre taught lessons in this building at least once a week, so I trusted him when he said opening the cafe was a good opportunity and this was the best facility in the chain. He also reminded me regularly that Todd was never around and certainly not trustworthy. Like I have said before, I had no idea how bad it could really be.

It’s true Todd wasn’t around much. I was there all day everyday and I hardly ever saw him. On one side, that’s a good thing because he was very disrespectful of me, his tenant. However, there was also a downside to his absence. During the day, he had some women running the show. They may not have smiled a lot, but they were very professional and knew their jobs. Evenings and weekends, the kids took over. They may have looked like adults, late teens and early 20s, but calamity reigned. These guys sat with their backs to the front desk and chatted most of their shift. This band of miscreants wasn’t welcoming or helpful. They didn’t enforce the rules or take care of business – and many of them stole from our cafe.

Max, the ringleader, would call me names and tell parents not to buy from us because I was such a bitch. I don’t think he ever stole from us, but not sure about that. (Your landlord should never campaign against your business.) I brought this to corporate’s attention, but Max was not punished and later he was promoted, and the harassment continued. One night someone vomited in the lobby and there was a trail leading into the bathroom. People had to step over it all evening because the employees didn’t feel like cleaning it up and there was no adult working to teach them to do the right thing. I brought this up with corporate, but it continued to happen. Who wants to buy food when there’s vomit on the floor? And some of the boys stole from us after we closed for the evening.

It’s truly heartbreaking when you give people free leftovers almost everyday and a discount on everything they buy, just to be treated like dirt. My mistake here was not hanging out in the lobby at various times of day and talking to people who were there regularly. At this point I felt trapped in hell. How can your landlord be so dedicated to your failure?

Be a Good Example

From the very beginning, we gave our employees something to eat on every shift. We wanted to make sure they tried everything. Many customers ask about the different menu items and we wanted our employees to be able to describe and recommend our food. That is especially important when you’re cooking food in a non-traditional way. Most people have never had baked French fries so we wanted our employees to honestly say they are good. And they are – especially when you dip them in the nacho cheese.

We also made a rule that our employees could not bring in food from another restaurant. It’s very hard to build a restaurant when people are allowed to bring in outside food, so we couldn’t risk customers seeing our employees eating outside food.

The only person not on board with this plan was, of course, Pierre. We tried to tell him how important it was, but he still brought in food. How can anyone go around telling everyone that they own the cafe and then not eat there??? Sometimes, I wonder why in the heck Pierre ever wanted to do this. He never seemed at all engaged in making the cafe a success.

Baby, Bye Bye Bye

I can’t read minds, so I have no idea what Pierre and Robbie were thinking when we were planning the restaurant. Now, it sure seems like they both thought we would stock the restaurant, hire a bunch of people at $10/hour, and sit back to rake in the dough. So it’s no surprise Robbie decided he wanted out not too long after we had our fight. I was pretty disappointed because I thought sure Robbie was our ace in the hole. He was young and had the energy to really make things happen.

Robbie didn’t say much to me, just that he thought working more hours would make him feel burned out and he didn’t want that. It was Pierre who told me Robbie wanted out. Of course Pierre’s idea was for me to give Robbie his $12,500 back and I would become 2/3 owner of the restaurant. He thought that was fair because I was doing most of the work and would reap more benefits when we started making money. So, I gave Pierre a check and he got Robbie to sign away his partnership in the restaurant for the return of his money. I went along with it because I thought our finances would turn around when we got the liquor license and eventually I would make my money back and more.

That’s when I learned how vengeful Robbie could be. His friend, Dawnell, had already quit. Another friend, Dan, had just started working every other weekend. After Robbie left, Dan didn’t show up for a shift and then said he was quitting because he was only working to help Robbie. We owed Dan about $150 and he wanted to come by and pick it up in cash. I told him he would have to turn in the payroll paperwork so we could take out withholding and report the earnings. Dan never came back. Robbie said some mean things to me because I didn’t pay his friend. I had every intention to pay Dan, I just wanted to do it legally. I don’t know why Dan didn’t want to get a regular paycheck. Before Dan quit, Robbie sent me another friend and her daughter. They didn’t show up for their interview, so I called the Mom. She said Robbie told her not to come because the restaurant was closing. Their family really needed the money and we really needed the help but Robbie made her feel like a traitor if she were to take the job. Really? We didn’t do anything to hurt Robbie and yet he sure wanted to hurt us.

My mistake here was refunding Robbie’s money without question. We had a fight and Robbie quit, Pierre attacked me verbally, Pierre hadn’t put in his seed money, and I was killing myself working all the time. Restaurants fail even in the best of circumstances. With all this crap, we didn’t have a chance.

Our First Fight

I started out working 6am – 10pm everyday, midnight on the weekends. However, as soon as it became apparent the figure skaters weren’t going to support us, I started coming in around 9am or so. I got to go home at 4-5pm some nights when I had someone to work the evening shift. I did all the day-to-day activities including food prep and sales, ordering, stocking, cleaning, hiring, accounting, and working on getting a liquor license. Robbie worked when he felt like it. He still had his full-time job, so he didn’t come in very often. Pierre only worked in the cafe in an emergency. He went to the bank and the store for us when we needed help. Granted, I was the only one pulling a paycheck, but I couldn’t do it all by myself. And my paycheck wasn’t much. It didn’t pay all my bills, just helped me survive until we started making money.

So it’s no surprise we had a big fight after a couple months. I told Pierre and Robbie I didn’t feel they were pulling their weight. Pierre responded by verbally attacking me – saying I was too old and he wasn’t sure I could even do the job, etc. I was shocked considering I had been doing almost everything so far. Pierre did say he expected Robbie to put in at least 20 hours per week to help us get the restaurant going. And once again, Pierre reminded us that his job was marketing.

You’d think between the money (or lack there of) and Pierre’s attack, I would have walked out that day, but I didn’t. I still believed our restaurant had big potential. I drank Pierre’s kool-aid and continued to pursue the dream. Big Mistake!

Kyle Joins the Team

The best thing that Pierre did was introduce us to Kyle. Kyle was the bartender at the Farmers Branch rink. He had a lot of restaurant experience and was a hard worker. We offered him a job, but he turned us down. It would have been a much longer commute to our restaurant and he was still going to college.

Fortunately, Kyle was willing to give us some much needed advice. We opened the restaurant in such a hurry, we didn’t have adequate procedures in place to protect our inventory and our money. Kyle was instrumental in designing our bar setup, recommending food prep procedures, and creating more money handling procedures.

During all this, we lost our first employee. She quit the day we told her about the new money handling procedures. Turns out she was robbing us blind and padding her time card. I was already suspicious and this confirmed my fears. I was really bummed because she was a great worker when she was there. Dawnell was a good friend of Robbie’s and even lived with him and his family for a while. I couldn’t believe he didn’t warn us when he recommended her for the job.

As luck would have it, the Farmers Branch restaurant and bar gave Kyle 2 days notice that they were closing and he didn’t need to come back to work. We scooped him up in a heartbeat and paid him whatever he asked. He was worth every penny, and still is. Even though Kyle no longer speaks to me, I will always think of him fondly. He was my only saving grace for 2 years.

I Am the Stupidest Person On the Planet.

While we’re talking about money, let’s go back to the beginning for a minute. Before we opened, I paid for the Hunt Brothers startup out of my own pocket – over $4,000 for the new oven and supplies. I also paid some City of McKinney fees, $500 to open the checking account, and some other needs itemized on an expense report with receipts.

I told Pierre and Robbie I planned to deduct these expenditures from my $12,500 seed money and deposit the difference into the checking account. Pierre suggested I talk to the CPA before I did that, as the CPA would probably want us to deposit the entire $12,500 and then get reimbursed later. I called the CPA and he said to put in all the seed money. So I did. And I reported his wishes back to Pierre and Robbie.

Robbie deposited his $12,500. Pierre put in NOTHING. Not one penny. Yes, Pierre bought the fancy coffee machine – which was under $5,000. Pierre also supplied the Keurig, but he got that back once the fancy coffee machine was hooked up and working.

So here I was, a few weeks into opening the restaurant. One of my partners has not deposited his seed money and had to be pushed to give us our unverified credit card money. Looking back, I am the stupidest person on the planet for staying. It’s embarrassing to think I still thought we would be successful and make some money. You will see as we continue on with the story, Pierre never did put in his seed money. He always had some excuse when I asked him for it. After about 1 year in business I told Pierre we needed money for payroll – it wasn’t the first time I told him that. He deposited $2,000 into the checking account. Two weeks later, he wrote himself a check for $2,000 and took his money back. I just feel so stupid for trusting him.