The Health Department Stamp

Today was a good day. We received approval from our friends at the county health department. They put a nice big stamp saying we can move on to the next square. That means that tomorrow morning I'll shuttle the plans and a stack of reports over to the building department. Given the state of the economy, I'm guessing not a lot of people are applying for building permits so hopefully we'll get through this next step in a couple weeks. Then the fun begins. There will be something very satisfying about seeing the actual construction begin. Right now, we have a bunch of nice ideas on paper. I want to get in there and cut into the floor and pour concrete...fun stuff like that!

Stay tuned for an upcoming post about Farley's history (we're celebrating our 20th anniversary on St. Patrick's Day).

More on NYC

Well, Amy and I survived a two day whirl wind tour of a handful of New York's cafe hotspots. Of the places I visited, I would say that Ninth Street Espresso (10th Street location) was my favorite. Probably biased because an old favorite Farley's barista, AC, works there (pictured to the right). Anyway, they make great drinks and are well designed. Also went to their E. 9th Street location but not as cool b/c AC did not work there.

We also made our way to Mercury Dime which featured a slightly larger menu than the others we visited. The cafes we visited were along the lines of Ritual and Four Barrel, coffee only. Mercury Dime had a few sandwiches and other things which were nice. As mentioned in the earlier post, the barista was very cool as well. We hit a few others as well, but just check out the list on the walking tour for a a good overview of what's brewing in the NYC coffee scene these days. And of course, don't forget to visit Brooklyn for a much more West Coast style experience. Everything moves just a little slower over there.

On a Caffeine Tour

Amy and I are in NYC for "work" and researching coffee houses. A great barista, Cora at Mercury Dime, gave us some good insight on the intense New York coffee scene. It's New York, everything is intense! Anyway, more to follow on our visits in a later post, but for a quick overview of some hot spots, check out this great walking tour.

BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZ,BUZZ

Window Coverings

The windows are covered. Does that mean something is happening? We made posters to display on the windows notifying the world that Farley's East is on the way. Check it out.

Quick update: The plans are still with are friends at the Alameda County Health Department. Hope to hear from them on Monday.