With a very confused expression on his face, Dan walked out of the bank shaking his head. He turned to Richard Harrison and said, "That went easy."
"Yeah, I've never seen anything like it," Richard said. They had barely sat down in the chairs when the bank manager was handing Dan a loan agreement. It was like it had already been prepared for them.
Pausing at the curb, Dan hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. He got out his cell phone and dialed Ellen. When she answered, he said, "I just got finished at the bank. Tell your father thank you."
Ellen laughed and said, "That didn't take you long to figure out."
"Tell him I really appreciate it," Dan said.
"Every small business needs a good mentor. Dad's the best," Ellen said. She was pleased that Dan had called so soon after leaving the bank. She had known he was going in at ten and it was only forty minutes after ten.
"Yes, he is," Dan said with a smile.
"I'll see you tonight for the celebration. Go take care of business," Ellen said, "I'll call Daddy and let him know what you said."
"Thanks," Dan said. She hung up after exchanging farewells.
Richard had listened to the exchange and asked, "Who put in the word for you at the bank?"
"Harold Derkins," Dan answered.
"That would do it," Richard said shaking his head. He wondered how a kid like Dan knew someone like Harold Derkins. He said, "I expected to be at the bank for a couple of hours. Twenty minutes is a record."
"You expected to be at the bank for hours? I expected to have to visit a dozen banks," Dan said. He wasn't exactly kidding. He had been afraid that he was going to have to borrow the money from a guy with a bent nose who did business from the back table of a bar.
Richard laughed and said, "I know you were worried, but you shouldn't have been."
"I really want to thank you for coming down here with me," Dan said. He knew that having Richard along helped his chances of getting a loan significantly.
"It is a pleasure working with you," Richard said.
"Can I still call upon you for business advice?" Dan asked.
"Of course, you can. I expect that we'll be talking even more now that your business is started. We'll be handling your expansion before too long," Richard said with a grin. He enjoyed the expression that passed across Dan's face.
Shaking his head, Dan said, "When I think small business, I think of a pizzeria. Why is it that when you think small business, you're thinking of a national chain?"
"Because that is our goal at the Small Business Administration. We want to see small businesses be successful. Sometimes that means getting a national footprint," Richard answered.
"I hope that your faith in me is well placed," Dan said. He thought about all of the other people who believed that he would succeed. It was quite a long list and thinking about it was a little overwhelming at times.
"I'm sure it is," Richard said.
The next few weeks were a whirlwind of activity. For more than a year he had been planning for this time and now was the time to start executing those plans. The first major step was to sign the lease for the pizzeria. His lawyer was happy for the business. The landlord was overjoyed to have a new tenant that he was sure would bring in a lot of traffic.
With the lease in hand and the keys in his pocket, Dan met with an architect to layout the interior of the restaurant. As the architect walked around the store, Dan described his concept for the pizzeria. The architect nodded his head as he tried to develop a picture of what Dan wanted to do. The architect was reminded of an ice cream parlor where people lined up to point out the flavor of ice cream they wanted.
After leaving the meeting with the architect, Dan went to the health department to initiate getting all of the proper permits for the restaurant. The first thing they did was send him down the hall to get the proper permits for running a business. Despite the fact that he was dealing with bureaucracies, it was a remarkably painless process and he walked out with the permits he needed. The health department would issue the last permit once the build out was completed and the certificate of occupancy was granted.
Dan spent the next couple of days at home at his desk. He was busy ordering the furnishings for the restaurant. The build out was going to be the biggest task facing him for the next two months. He talked to George at Chef Master about the equipment for the restaurant and scheduled delivery for the end of January.
Although he was busy, Dan made sure to spend time with his friends. While most of the time with them was spent relaxing and having fun, some of that time was spent on business. Ann helped design the sign for the front of the pizzeria. Sally gave him massages to help relax after his long days of work. Ellen went over his action item list helping to fill in gaps that he had missed. His sister had filled in after school making calls on his behalf.
Dan's cell phone rang and he answered it, "Parker's Perfect Pizza."
"Hello. Are you Dan Parker?"
"Yes," Dan answered not recognizing the voice.
"This is Eric Williams. We met during that tornado."
Remembering who the man was, Dan said, "Sure. I remember. How are you doing?"
"I'm doing fine. I called because I found out that they were starting another CERT team and thought you might be interested in joining it," Eric said.
Recalling the people with the green hardhats, Dan said, "I remember them. They were the people who were doing first aid and helping out."
"That's right," Eric said.
Dan looked at the pile of work on his desk and thought about it. He wanted to make a contribution to the community and this seemed like a perfect chance. The problem was that he was going to be very busy starting the pizzeria. He asked, "What's the commitment?"
"They are having training classes every Wednesday evening for three months starting in January," Eric answered.
Dan decided that he would try it out. If it interfered with starting his business, he would drop out. He asked, "Who do I talk to about joining up?"
Eric gave him a name and a number to call. Dan repeated it to make sure that he had gotten it right. After the exchange, Eric said, "I'll see you after the New Year."
"Sure," Dan said hoping he wasn't making a mistake.
When Tom and Alison returned home for the Christmas holidays, Dan took them to the store. Entering it, he gestured around the empty space and said, "Here's the home of Parker's Perfect Pizza."
"Wow, this is huge," Tom said. It was a whole lot bigger than he had imagined. When he had first raised the idea, his concept had been a little place with two or three tables. This was going to be a real restaurant. He asked, "So where is the root beer tap going to be?"
Dan laughed at the question concerning root beer and pointed to one wall as he said, "The one for customers is going to be over here. The one for you is out back in the alley."
"You better put that one in first," Tom said with a grin.
Alison laughed at the exchange. She asked, "What's it going to look like once you turn it into a real pizzeria?"
Dan moved over to one side and said, "That back room over there is going to be expanded and turned into a kitchen with a storage room. The refrigerators, dough machines, stoves, and dishwasher will be there. Where I am standing is going to be the pizza cooking station. People will be able to pick out the ingredients that they want and watch as I prepare their pizza for them. There will be tables along the walls, but the center of the room is going to be empty. I'm not going to have everyone crowded together."
"Are you going with picnic tables?" Alison asked. She had remembered him talking about having picnic tables for people to sit on rather than sit at.
"I'm going to have some picnic tables. I thought I would also include some patio tables and some kitchen tables. Different kinds of parties require different kinds of tables," Dan answered.
"That's interesting," Tom said. He tried to imagine what it would look like, but was having a difficult time piecing it together.
Dan pointed to the far corner and said, "I'm dedicating the corners to games. That corner over there will be dedicated to Twister. There are going to be spots on the floor and a big spinner mounted on the wall. It will have beanbag chairs and little tables for people to set their plates on."
"I love Twister," Alison said with a grin. Looking over at Dan, she asked, "Did you ever play nude Twister?"
Unable to avoiding overhearing the exchange, Tom groaned and said, "Don't say things like that. I'll never get that image out of my head."
"The whole idea is that Dan is supposed to never be able to get that image out of his mind," Alison said with a laugh.
"You're his girlfriend and he's already got that image in his head. I'm trying to keep images like that out of mine," Tom said shaking his head.
"Oh, you're allowed to have that image in your mind, you're just not allowed to act on it. On the other hand, I expect Dan to act on it," Alison replied.
Putting his hands over his head, Tom said, "You're a cruel woman."
Dan laughed at the exchange and said, "I'll have a Nerf basketball court over there. I'm putting in an air hockey table over there. I still haven't figured out what to do with the last corner."
"How about video games?" Tom asked.
"No. Video games tend to be individual activities. I want group games that you don't have to pay for," Dan said.
"How about water pistols?" Alison asked.
"I thought about that and then realized that it could get out of hand. I don't want to end up having unofficial wet t-shirt parties and chasing away the families," Dan answered.
"I didn't think about that. You could always put in a dance floor," Alison said.
"That's not a bad idea. I'll think about it," Dan said.
"Just leave it empty and let people come up with their own entertainment. Put a box with different kinds of toys in it and let them decide what to do. People are a lot more creative than we give them credit for," Tom said.
"That's a pretty good idea," Alison said nodding her head. There were times when she definitely felt like she was the dumb one in the group.
"Actually, now that you mention it; that does seem like a good idea. None of the corner areas are really going to be all that big. In the worst case, people could sit on the floor cross-legged talking to each other," Dan said.
"What about the decorations?" Alison asked.
"Ann is going to paint the walls. She won't tell me what she's planning, but I'm sure that it is going to be amazing," Dan answered.
"Anything else?"
Dan laughed and said, "My Dad thinks I ought to have a video of a guy cleaning his gun and asking, 'What time did I tell you to get my little girl home?' He says I should play that about fifteen minutes before closing time."
Tom laughed and said, "That'll clear the place out in a hurry."
Alison giggled as she imagined high school kids watching that with wide eyes on a Friday night. She said, "I bet you could find someone who could do a real good Clint Eastwood impersonation for that."
"Make my day," Tom said in a very poor imitation of the actor.
That comment provoked a good ten minute exchange with them doing different impersonations of actors talking to teenage boys. Each threat to a teenage boy about treating their dates right got more ridiculous. As they laughed and joked, Dan thought, 'It isn't even open yet and people are enjoying themselves here.'
Dan spread the plans out on a table and looked over at Mr. Foreman. He said, "Here are the architect's plans."
"Okay, give me a few minutes to look over this," he replied. He smiled as he examined the basic layout of the pizzeria. He could imagine what it would look like when it was finished. It would be a pretty nice space for a restaurant. He then looked at the structural modifications that would have to be made to run the water, electricity, gas, and vents. They were going to be a little more substantial than he had expected.
Dan asked, "What do you think?"
"It looks good. I think you estimated your build out costs just about right. Using just an open space concept like this saved you a lot of money. Not having fixed tables saved you some more money. The kitchen and the pizza station are going to be the most expensive part of the job," Mr. Foreman said looking over the plans.
"I know," Dan said. His original plans to have a single kitchen had changed significantly since developing the final concept for the pizzeria. Washing dishes, making the dough, and cooking some of the ingredients didn't need to be seen by the customer. Watching their pizzas get built was of interest to them. He wasn't sure how it was going to work out trying to be in two places at the same time. Of course, most of the cooking didn't require someone to stand in the kitchen all of the time. He could work in there during the slow times and work in front during the busy times.
"The architect you hired was pretty smart to break the kitchen into two parts like this," Mr. Foreman said tapping the plans with his finger. There was a nice esthetic to the layout of the room. The pizza station would be a nice centerpiece.
"I wasn't sure about it until we laid it out on the floor," Dan said. There were masking tape outlines of all of the areas on the floor. He had also moved his cardboard kitchen in to see how he liked it. He pulled out another stack of papers and said, "Here are the specifications on the counters and kitchen equipment."
Mr. Foreman took them and looked them over. Nodding his head, he said, "I don't see any obvious problems with this. What does the owner of the building think about the structural modifications that have to be made?"
"The architect went over the plans with him. He's signed off on all of the structural changes," Dan said.
"That's good, but I'll still need to talk to him," Mr. Foreman said. Nothing was worse than being in the middle of cutting a hole through a roof only to find the owner of the building screaming that he couldn't do that. He assumed that Dan would probably be facing a pretty significant increase in rent when the lease expired. He said, "I think you've given me everything I need to know."
Dan said, "Assume for the moment that I'm stupid. What are the next steps?"
Mr. Foreman laughed and said, "Knowing that you are anything except stupid, I'll answer your question anyway. I'll work up an estimate on the costs, put together a schedule, decide on the terms of payment, and get the package to you. You'll have to look at it and decide what to do then."
Dan nodded his head and said, "Sounds good to me."
Forty-five minutes after Mr. Foreman left, Dan was pacing the floor for the next contractor to arrive. He glanced at his watch and saw that the man was fifteen minutes late. He could understand being a little late, but he did expect the consideration of a call letting him know when he'd be there.
When he did arrive, he didn't apologize for being late. He grabbed the plans, looked them over, and then announced that he'd work up an estimate. The man was there for less than five minutes. Dan shook his head after the contractor had left and said, "It'll be a cold day in hell before I hire you."
The third contractor, James Vic, acted more like Mr. Foreman. He took his time to make sure that he understood the job. He asked a lot of the same questions. After going over the architect's drawings, the man asked, "Who else have you had out here?"
"I had Peter Foreman and Andy Delany," Dan answered.
"Peter Foreman came out here to bid on this job?" James asked wondering if he had head Dan correctly.
"Yes," Dan answered nodding his head.
Shaking his head, James said, "This is too small of a job to interest him. He doesn't touch anything for less than twenty million. Peter Foreman will not bother to give you an estimate on this job. Andy is okay, but you'll have to watch him. I'd suggest that you get another estimate if you have to show the bank three of them."
"You aren't worried about the competition?" Dan asked.
"Not really. I do good work and I'm dependable. Here's a list of references for you to check on the quality of my work," James said handing Dan a couple sheets of paper that were stapled together.
Dan realized that Andy Delany hadn't provided references. Of course, neither had Mr. Foreman, but that was different. Dan accepted the sheet of paper and said, "I'll check up with them."
"Good. That list identifies every job that I've had over the past five years," James said. He looked back down at the plans and said, "This looks like it will be a nice place when it is finished."
"I'm hoping it will be," Dan said. He looked over the list and noticed that it had a lot more details than just a name and telephone number. It also included the price, the dates the job started and ended as well as a description of the work done. He commented, "This reference list looks good."
"I take a lot of pride in my work," James said hoping that he would get the off season job.
Dan nodded his head. Grinning, he said, "Assume for the moment that I'm stupid. What are the next steps?"
"I'll work up an estimate on the costs, put together a schedule, and get the package to you. You'll have to look at it and decide what to do then," James said. He looked at Dan for a second and then added, "Somehow, I don't think you're stupid."
"I'm looking forward to seeing your estimate," Dan said. He liked the way that James approached the job. He felt a little guilty about wasting the man's time like that. There was no doubt in his mind that he would give the job to Mr. Foreman.
Dan sat at his desk staring at the three estimates trying to decide what to do. One was almost six thousand dollars more than the other two. He set that one aside. The other two were within a hundred dollars of each other. He compared the estimates and found that the differences were just minor amounts on the costs of modifying the structure.
Even though it was eight in the evening, Dan dialed Mr. Foreman's home number. After a couple of rings, his wife answered, "Hello."
Dan said, "Hello. This is Dan Parker. Is Mr. Foreman at home?"
"Hello Dan. Peter has been expecting your call. Hold on a minute," she replied.
Surprised at the friendly tone of voice, Dan couldn't recall ever having met Mr. Foreman. He said, "Thank you."
It was a minute later before Mr. Foreman picked up the phone. He said, "I was expecting your call. Are you pleased with the numbers?"
"I'm very pleased," Dan answered.
"That's good," Mr. Foreman answered.
After a slight hesitation, Dan said, "I do have one small little problem."
"Oh, what?" Mr. Foreman asked suddenly concerned.
"It is just a small one, but I was thinking about it and realized that there was a solution to it that would help both of us," Dan said.
"What is the problem?"
Dan smiled and said, "I think your twin brother bid on the job, too."
"What?"
"Ever hear of someone named James Vic?"
"No," Mr. Foreman answered, "Why?"
"I've got another estimate here that agrees with yours in every detail except for the terms of payment," Dan said. The schedules for the work were identical. He said, "In fact, when he came out to see the job he asked exactly the same questions you did and made the same comments."
"So what are you going to do?" Mr. Foreman asked.
"Well, I was thinking that I should give the job to him. I think that rather than having him deal with me though, you should be the one to deal with him," Dan said.
"Why would I want to do that?" Mr. Foreman asked thinking that he was doing a favor for Dan and he was acting like a jerk all of a sudden.
"To see how he works," Dan answered.
Getting a little frustrated, Mr. Foreman asked, "Are you playing games with me?"
"No. I just figured that he'd make a perfect assistant for you," Dan answered with a smile.
"An assistant?" Mr. Foreman asked surprised by the suggestion. He knew that Dan was aware that he needed an assistant. He asked, "Are you that impressed with him?"
"I'll fax you the list of references he gave me. I've already called every one of them and I was rather impressed," Dan said.
"Really?" Mr. Foreman asked. His initial irritation was turning to interest.
"Yes. I thought that by working with him you'd be able to determine if you could trust him."
Mr. Foreman was quiet for a moment as he considered the idea. He said, "He's liable to act differently if he knows that I'm watching over his shoulder. Give the job to him and deal with him yourself. I'll come in occasionally and check out the work."
Dan said, "Oh, you might want to know one little thing."
"What's that?" Mr. Foreman asked.
"He said that I should get a fourth estimate since he didn't think you'd waste your time on such a little job. He was of the opinion that you didn't touch anything that was less than twenty million," Dan said.
Mr. Foreman laughed and said, "He's right. I only do small jobs like this for friends. He gave you some good advice."
Lazlo Zalezac