Here Be Dragons

2008-06-24

Have I mentioned that I want to open my own shop? Well, I do and I've been thinking about it for a long time. We have 4 pizza shops, 3 garages, 3 restaurants, 1 Chinese food place, 1 Dance studio, 2 sub shops, 2 package stores, 1 drugstore and a Stop & Shop grocery store. If you travel just a wee bit up a 5 mile road there is another sandwich shop and another package store and a blinds place and doctor's offices. Five miles in another direction gets you another package store, more pizza joints and a super grocery store and another fine restaurant.

We're pretty insulated here. We also have yoga classes, a curves and a martial arts school. Most of these places have been established for 20 or more years. Most of the zoned commercial spots are taken. Most of our needs can be met within 2 miles of our homes. The population has become older and richer and has grown probably three times since I moved here in 83 and we still haven't outgrown the services that are available.

So what kind of store could I open without someone protesting that I was stealing their business and calling on the selectmen to disallow me. What kind of business was needed? What service could I provide that was different and that I liked? I forgot to mention that we already have two consignment shops too. I kind of like old stuff.

Well in my travels with Fred I always had this in the back of my head, looking, always looking at what other store fronts offer that might be different. At the North Carolina Outer Banks they had a wonderful kite shop but it only worked and was profitable because it was near Kitty Hawk and they pre-empted the name and the site. I don't know if I could sell a 1000 dollars a month worth of just kites. So I looked some more.

After almost a year it came to me. We have all these over 55 settlements and the upscale Pine Hills development, not to mention a zillion Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Plantation tourists, but we have no wine & cheese store. One day in the 1000 Islands and it all came together. They had River Rat cheese and in the in season it sells like hotcakes because it is something unique to the area they can bring back to grandma that isn't a T-Shirt.

Right after that we visited a 1000 Island winery and we opened the bottle and my girlfriend and I looked at each other and said, "OMFG this is freakin' DELICIOUS" and we meant it. We drank the whole bottle and couldn't go dancing that night.

I looked around and Massachusetts has all kinds of artisan and homestead cheese makers and we have plenty of wineries too. I want to import all that and sell it. I want to have my own label put on the best stuff for the tourists and brand it with my location, White Horse Beach. I even want to have a shelf of goat soap. Hey, it comes from milk too and the stuff I bought at Mountain Jam was 12 bucks a bar and my skin feels great! It's budder bar. Go google it and buy it. It's wonderful

Anyways a lot of things happened and I might not get the alcohol license and I'm not sure I can survive on just cheese. But I'm going to try for that license and at least give it a shot. I have someone who is already a business owner who can guide me and will rent me the space I need but he can't help until after the 4th of July and I want to get it moving now. What to do what to do? I think I'll go bug him.

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