Week 3 Project Update: Kitchen Remodel

It's an aggressive timeline, and the laborers are working their tails off to have the new kitchen up and running by Monday. Sometimes it seems like there are just as many workers here as there are tools. Their hard efforts aren't going unnoticed, as the layout of the new kitchen design comes to life more and more each day.

We were hoping to be able to reopen the doors to the Country Restaurant on Saturday, but that proved too difficult and would call for too many shortcuts. Anything worth doing is worth doing right, especially with a project of this magnitude! We are only a couple days behind schedule, so the Country Restaurant will be back in full operation on Monday, January 25th.

To date, all of the framing and drywall has been completed and the cooler and freezer is being installed. That thing seems like it is three times the size of the old one. Another much-needed upgrade is the new resinous flooring, which was installed over the weekend. This is a thick, durable painted-on product with a sand grain, which keeps the floors from being so slick or slippery. Yippee for safety!

The next phase of the project consists of erecting a new 22,000 square foot Country Store, boasting expanded retail space and a 1200 square foot cooking and workshop classroom. Despite the construction, the current Country Store will remain open all year. We anticipate opening the new Country Store in July 2010. The final phase will include expanding the Country Restaurant by 180 seats, doubling our current seating capacity, which will bring the expansion project to its conclusion in September 2010.

We will be posting a blog every Wednesday to update you on all the exciting changes taking place on the farm. Make sure to check back or sign up to receive our postings via email. We also invite you to check our expansion photo albums on our facebook page! As always, we would love to hear your comments and questions about our project.