Gone Fishin'...

You can't have a restaurant in Wisconsin without a Friday fish fry.  I believe it is a law, or something.  The deli is no different, and it is the busiest night of the week by far.   Tammy had the fish last week, and she claimed it was really good.  Since I don't eat fish, I will have to take her word for it.  We are looking forward to going in tonight to learn how to make the batter and to see how crazy busy it can get there.

A few other items have been crossed off our checklist.  We have begun to receive a steady stream of product catalogues from the various distributors.  We intend to use locally grown and produced items wherever we can, as sustainability and economic development are important issues to both of us. 

We have also completed the articles of incorporation for our LLC.  Due to technicalities with the naming of LLCs, we weren't able to register as either Deli Delicious or Delicious Deli.  So, we went a different route altogether and gave a hat tip to our husky (Oreck) and our German Shepherd (Kita).  We are keeping the name of the restaurant Deli Delicious (for now), but our official business name is Two Dogs LLC. 

These two.

We also have our Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN), so  we can be sure to give Uncle Sam his fair share.  Our restaurant license is getting mailed to the Department of Public Health.  We are setting up an appointment to have our initial health inspection completed.  Finally, we are working out the final details on business insurance.

This is where the start up costs can really begin to add up.  Here is a rough list of our licensing and certification fees so far:  $800 for a restaurant license, $130 for LLC registration, $150 for initial inspection, $180 for Food Managers class and certification. 

These are the costs that are easy to overlook when you are determining what you need in capital to get a business up and running.  Luckily we are taking over an existing establishment with equipment, and inventory.  If we were trying to purchase everything to get started and pay to convert the interior space into a commercial kitchen, the costs would be staggering.  It makes you wonder how anyone manages to finance a brand new restaurant.  Well... anyone whose last name isn't Applebee's or Chili's anyway.