The shot wasn't too bad as Nichole looked things over, her cheeks still red with embarrassment at Karen catching her and Moe at a point where both of them were starting to get into some proverbial "heavy petting." On certain levels, Nichole wasn't necessarily ashamed of being with Moe in that way. They weren't that old and they did love each other, but she also wasn't about to be so comfortable with "sex" that she'd take the risk of essentially "doing it" in front of her own child. Especially when they had a lot of work that would need to be done before Moe's Pizza was able to get started, especially if it was to be started quickly.
They would need to bring in some new equipment, namely some pizza ovens that could cook them and cook them thoroughly. In theory they could make do with electric run ovens, but that would depend on the specific make and model of the ovens in question. If they needed to get ovens that used natural gas, they might need to have major renovations done that would take time. The front sign might also need to change. It wouldn't need to be an electric sign for Nichole, but there would still need to be a new sign to announce the new restaurant. There would also be the decisions to where they would get their food from as part of the cooking process. That was all workable, as there was a fairly decent sized rear door, which had probably where the old sandwich shop had gotten its food deliveries, and could work for bringing in the new ovens, but there was still a lot to do and plan out. Add in the cleaning and Nichole and Moe probably had a full day's worth of work to do, even if they weren't in the restaurant all day.
"So... where do you want me to start?" Karen asked after a moment, deciding to put the image of her father fondling her mother out of her mind and looking down to the box of cleaning supplies that she'd been tasked to bring in.
The box had various supplies in it, ranging from dust cloths, window cleaner, and 409. Nichole also noted that Karen also held a small broom that they'd also packed for the job. The box also had some latex gloves, as they would also likely need to clean the restrooms to make sure that nothing had "gone bad" in there, since they didn't fully know as to how long the shop had been closed. In this there was even a lot of cleaning to do, though it wouldn't be too hard and a lot of it would probably be busy work for Karen to do until after three, when she'd likely meet up with Peter again to meet with the last weres she wanted to get information on.
"I'd think for the moment you can get started with getting the dining and the front windows cleaned off, inside and outside, first," Nichole commented, "Make sure there's no dust on the tables, garbage can containers and other areas that could accumulate dust and debris. The last thing will be the floor and sweep up everything. That'd be about all we can do until we know more..."
"Once we can get a start on planning things and get the specific costs arranged... we'll be out to help," Moe added.
Karen nodded and then slowly made her way out back out into the front dining area. That again left Moe and Nichole alone for a moment with their business laptop sitting on a large central counter that had likely been there to assemble the sandwiches in the previous shop. It would do for making the pizzas before putting them in the ovens, but Nichole was already fairly certain that they'd need to be moved so that the ovens could be installed. And with the counter looking pretty solid, that could well mean some major contractor work with regard to the labor needed, but that would be a given. The big thing right now with the planning was to at least make sure that things could be budgeted with regard to the loan that Moe had gotten. From what Nichole had seen, the value was about the same as what they'd gotten in the past with previous business loans, but that didn't necessarily mean that things would be completely the same. Especially if the shop needed more than just two sets of ovens.
While Nichole moved to set the lap top up and open up their quick books folder, Moe moved to check a small door that was toward the back of the kitchen area and was next to the door to the walk in fridge to the door's right and the back door to its left. The door had no lock and it opened to reveal a back sort of supply/maintenance room. It had a circuit breaker along the wall near the door and a master control box for heating and air conditioning. There was a soft glow from it, which indicated that the building DID have power, though they'd already found that out when they were able to turn the lights on in the kitchen. On the far wall there was a janitor's sink and drain and was probably there should they need to mop floors or things like that. The things that were missing were obviously the supplies that would be needed. They might be able to run water, but they'd need things like disinfectant and cleaner for the floors, not to mention mops and a mop bucket. Moe made a mental note to keep some attention on that as they went forward.
"Okay... Moe, I'm ready to start crunching some of these numbers if you are," came Nichole's voice from behind him.
Moe then returned to find that Nichole had the computer on and open to the QuickBooks page. The pair had found it quite helpful in the sense of managing Moe's Pizza and the fact that they'd had to move it so frequently over the past couple of years. That, however, was something different from the direct work needed to manage their restaurant. They had the money that Moe had gotten in the loan from the Wells Fargo bank office in Moon Lake and what had been spent with regard to the initial payment for the building and what they'd be facing going forward. As he got closer, Moe also noticed that there were a couple of internet tabs that were also open.
"Okay, this is what we have available after the initial payment," Nichole said slowly, "the big thing that we need to put together with regard to planning is what we're going to invest in with regard to equipment along with the potential work of installing it."
"And that will vary," Moe said with a slow voice, remembering that much of the old sandwich shop did things electronically.
Karen also nodded, "We'll also need a final decision on who and where we're going to get our supplies from. As... if what we get is to be fresh and ready-made... that will require some costs and if we go with something more processed... we could save on some of the costs taken in by where we get our ingredients from. And if we are to get natural ingredients… the question is then WHERE are they to come from?"
Moe slowly nodded and rubbed his chin. His supplies had been something on his mind since Daniel had made the commentary that maybe the Gambonis had tracked them based on their orders for food. On the surface that made sense, given that many times the Gambonis didn't show up at their home. They'd showed up at Moe's Pizza as part of some intimidation plan, and given that they'd managed to get a tracer signal into Moe's phone, one would think that they'd be able to catch him at home, but they'd always showed up at Moe's Pizza. Which raised the possibility that at least one of his suppliers was in league with the Gambonis. However, at the same time, none of them ever had any known contact with any of the Gambonis or stood to gain financially by working with them, at least as far as Moe knew. In that, maybe the phone tracer had been the reason and they simply went to Moe's Pizza because of some set of "rules" they operated under to make it seem like they were legitimate businessmen rather than organized thugs.
However, even if the Gambonis didn't have influence over his usual providers, their family's flight from the Gambonis had also meant that they often had to ship their supplies farther. This meant higher cost of goods and potentially higher cost per pizza, and Moe knew he had to try and avoid that as that was part of what put the sandwich shop under. Of course, that would take some time to figure out, particularly with all the other work they had to do.
"I'd think it may best to at least get the orders for the ovens we'll need," Moe sighed, "they'll fit in that corner, right?"
Nichole watched as Moe pointed to the northeast corner of the kitchen, and then nodded.
"If we get something of the same size we've used before," Nichole commented, "though if we go electric... there may be some size difference and..."
"If we go with a gas system we may need to remodel the entire building," Moe gave a low sigh, "Might as well at least look into what our potential costs will be."
"The bigger question may be on how quickly you'd want to be able to get things done," Nichole commented back to Moe, "I mean... we've had reasonable success before, and the fact that we have been able to pay off our loans hasn't totally ruined our credit... but the constant moving... that really hasn't allowed for much in the way of time or cushion with regard to our finances. And while Daniel may personally want to do anything to protect us... he still has to follow the law, and that hasn't worked out well for the police units that we've been in contact before. And in this little town... I doubt the big sell offs would work as well with regard to meeting those debts that we'll incur."
"On the surface, I agree," Moe sighed, "but a lot of that will also have its own trade offs. If we go with electric ovens because that would be the cheapest to install right now, that'll also mean we have higher electric bills every month."
"Maybe... but that'd be better than making no money, paying for massive renovations to add in gas lines, installing gas ovens, and then having to leave without ever selling one pizza," Nichole warned.
Moe sighed and nodded. That was something to pay attention to and they would have to have some real success, given their situation. They really didn't have that much in the way of wiggle room and he knew it. Nichole recognized his nod and then turned back to the computer and moved the curser over to one of the tabs. It wasn't too long before she'd turned over to some of the various commercial shopping sites and they began reviewing over what they needed and what could be afforded.
And it proved to be a fairly lengthy search as both Moe and Nichole looked through websites. They eventually did set on a pair of double electric commercial ovens. They may not be what they normally would work with, but from what they could find they did work well and were safe. From there they simply began to move down the laundry list of things needed for the shop. The sandwich shop had seemed to leave a cash register behind, and they'd found it still worked when they came in, which was good, but there was still plenty that they needed. Eventually as they finished the online orders for the equipment, Moe and Nichole checked what they then entered into their QuickBooks account for what was to be budgeted.
"Well... that took up a bit more than expected," Nichole said slowly.
"Most of the "extras" is in the shipping," Moe commented, "particularly with the fact that we've had the shipping marked as urgent."
Nichole nodded, "Which will mean that we'll need to have some contractors come in to at least partially disassemble this main counter here. Especially if we're to re-use it... and that will NEED to be done before the equipment and installers get here on this coming Tuesday."
"But we can afford it, right?" Moe wondered.
"That'll depend on the contractor," Nichole answered, "in some of the look through businesses in the area... the only group that could do some of the work that would be familiar with the area is "Jenkins Construction," but they may not be familiar with the counter, and on their website... it would appear to be something of a family operation. They may have the best possible prices... but they're not going to be able to drop everything to OUR time table. In that... we'll need to look into work with some Seattle company, as all we'll really need them is to safely take apart this counter to allow the ovens to be brought in."
Moe nodded and looked down at the counter. Most of the time in the past, the main counter that he or Nichole had cooked their pizzas on was a large flat wooden counter on top of a metal frame with only the counter's weight doing most of the work. Any nuts or bolts were on the underside of the board, which could then be accessible by getting down to use tools to undo those screws, nuts, or bolts. From there the metal frame could easily be lifted or disassembled. The counter they were left with from the sandwich shop, however, was largely wooden all around with cabinets and drawers. Taking the cabinet apart would take work that neither Nichole nor Moe knew how to do. Preserving it was also important that the tile on the floor actually sat higher than the base of the cabinet, which meant the original cabinet was put in before the floor was finished.
"Hopefully we don't have to replace it entirely," Moe commented slowly, "Some of the drawers might be good for storing boxes and stuff like that."
"If no... we can but the boxes somewhere else," Nichole finished, "though that will also mean at least putting down new tile to fit with the new counter if we need it..."
Moe again sighed and nodded, "and I suppose this will also include changing the sign?"
"Yeah... we don't need an electric sign... but some cutouts fastened out front that read "Moe's Pizza" would do well, and might match a lot of what they have here," Nichole mused, "that would also be something to discuss. But there we'll need to establish what we can budget with regard to the contractor work and what they will do for us."
Moe nodded and then looked down to the screen, "and we can budget that?"
"Assuming we get some favorable pricing, yes," Nichole nodded, "the big thing will probably be with regard to food supplies. Though that would be best to wait on ordering until the ovens are in and we can start getting other things ready."
"Which would be good to spend some time to try and balance out possible alternative suppliers," Moe commented, "keep the Gambonis out."
"I'm not sure that they could have or did get into the suppliers we've used," Nichole commented, "the bigger reason to change suppliers would be more in the cost of shipping them. Most of our old suppliers are in New York and Pennsylvania and much of the rest are in the south. That's a long way to bring food and a hard issue to deal with. There are plenty of sources that are closer to us that we don't pay as much for shipping, and in many ways we can get them to be just as fresh as before."
"You think so?" Moe wondered.
Nichole nodded with a small smile as Moe then hugged her with a small kiss on her cheek.
"In the meantime... we can see to make sure that things are cleaned up and be ready to order the necessarily cleaning supplies for the routine maintenance work," Nichole commented, "and that should be low enough that we could probably put that on credit. A few buckets, bins, garbage bags, neutral cleaner, disinfectant, mops, and so on... shouldn't be too much when compared to the big things."
Moe nodded in agreement.