Four Thousand Words Worth

Tom says:
These photos were taken two days ago and already they're dated. That's how quickly things are progressing at Z. That's how quickly things need to be progressing at Z. To the untrained eye it probably looks as though we're nowhere near opening, but as is often the case, appearances are to the contrary. We've got lights. Banquette seating installation. Almost a bar. Obviously we've got a camera. Pretty soon I'll be able to call out, "Action!" And that, friends, is going to be a really really good day.

They Call It 'Restaurant Recycling'

Maureen says:
Z is one of several soon-to-open restaurants featured in the February 13th edition of the Manchester Daily Express. If it's still February 13th when you're reading this and you have Adobe Acrobat installed, click here to see the article in PDF form.

Otherwise squint really, really hard at the screencap of the article below. Tom's got a knack for being either in the throes of a cold or two days without a shave when the press comes to call, but he's still got that je ne sais quois, non? I almost missed the article, though, because they misspelled Tom's surname and that's the word I search for online.

Before Shots

Maureen says:

Happy New Year! Tom spent most of yesterday and today at the restaurant working on the floorplans required to obtain our demolition and construction permits.

Behold: two (poor quality) "Before" photos of the space.

Above: the view from behind the bar. Squint and you'll see the fuzzy glow of the front door EXIT sign near the upper right; the tall rectangles to the left of the door are street-facing windows that Tom covered with brown paper.

Below: the reverse angle; the bar is all the way to the back right. Together, these photos give you a good sense of the 15' wide by 65' long space we have to work with. (I don't have the ceiling height measurement handy, but it's quite high and the ceiling itself is decorative tin).

860 Elm Street is just one part of the building that locals knew as McQuade's Department Store and still refer to as the McQuade's building. If I recall correctly, Tom said that the restaurants stands in what used to be part of men's clothing.

Though I never visited MQuade's, I imagine it similar to the department stores of yore in Lynn and Salem, Massachusetts where my parents shopped as young couple. In my mind's eye: pneumatic tubes carrying cash and coin from the counters to the offices; clerks who knew not only your name, but your budget and preferences; maybe even a lunch counter or a soda fountain, where you could order cherry cokes and egg creams.

But enough with the nostalgia (and that for an era I have no authentic memories of at that). We're not sure if it's Tom's camera or an unsteady hand that gave us the photos above. This weekend, we'll try my camera with me behind the lens.