Wednesday, January 18, 2006

The Table report #003

Nothing major...I finally inquired of the storefront rental downtown from The Bread Man. It's definitely a "no-go".

He said rent was $800 (probably trying to scare me off, but who knows). He also wants a retail shop there. And since he has an obvious stake in the downtown scene, I suppose he can control the shape of things to come in that area.

I knew The Table would be a long shot at getting in that location since it's pretty much considered th hoity-toity arts district of the fair mother city. And, as much as I hate to write this, the other shop owners in that area probably couldn't stand to have the poor hanging around daily. But I had planned to combat that in a dignified way.

Anyway, I went to plan B. I checked out a locale that Agent C had notified me of a few months ago. Again, as much as I hate writing this, that particular neighborhood probably wouldn't notice the poor hanging around this storefront. In fact, they'd welcome it.

The storefront with the "for rent" sign was way too small for The Table's needs. But next door (and presumably "for rent" by the same owner) is...get this...A CLOSED DOWN RESTAURANT. Complete with kitchen and everything (or from what I could tell looking in the window). I got home and called the phone number on the sign. Nothing. After 10 rings something resembling an answering machine beeped with no recorded voice. So I left a message. I look forward to hearing from the landlord.

My dad was with me on this mission. He mentioned some red tape stuff I hadn't thought of. Like zoning, etc. Since The Table will be a church (one that happens to feed people from a cafe), I do not know how to go about finding zoning rules, restrictions, and regulations for churches. Please comment below if you have suggestions.

And, of course, I still don't know as of this time how physically the rent would be paid or food supplied. I do know the CEO will send the provision. But I feel this rental hunt is the first step in knowing "how much a month" to pray for.

I can't imagine that this would cost thousands of dollars...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow...that's cool you found another place possibly.

have you looked at the voxtropolis blogs much? seems like a large number of bloggers there are starting out new ministries and a lot of cafe's opening. may find some answers there. you can sign up for your own blog too...it is still beta...but you can help work out the kinks if you see any.

just click on my name to get there...or go to http://www.voxtropolis.com/signup

Before Girl said...

I would say to go to the Town Hall of whatever city this particular store/restaurant is located and find out the zoning from there. Possibly also, go to other churches in the area and find out how they got permission to be what they are and what the city needs to know about it.

Anonymous said...

agent b
that's the one i was talking about the restaurant. go to city hall and ask to read the city ordinance concerning churches and restaurants. i am so excited! this area is perfect. i can see it busy! yea CEO
agent c

Anonymous said...

The CEO will provide the food and the funds needed for The Table. He loves to feed His children. The right place will open up at just the right time. He will do things to confound the wise. Remember to speak to the mountain...or city hall.