mike_campbell's blog

That's right, patio. If one is on Argyle St., one needs to have a patio, so we went to great lengths to make sure The Carleton's would be very, very nice. It is. It's cedar, don't you know. And there are nice comfy chairs and some lovely plants that we're hoping the late night denizens of the street won't decide to just uproot and strew about the place...

I've been in the Music Business pretty much forever and I've prided myself on the fact that I've always been able to hold my own; keep my act together; pretty much handle myself in any situation, regardless of how sleep deprived or just plain addled I might have felt and I was young then! I thought the resaurant/bar business would be a breeze compared to that. 

Funny, this bar/restaurant business... Days and nights blur into one long, neverending stretch of experience that doesn't seem to lend itself to breaks that allow for any serious reflection. I'm not used to that! Having said that, there have been a significant number of blips that do merit noting:

Well, we've finally decided that there's enough correct information on the site to "let those lizards loose" and get it "live," as they say in TechWorld.

When I decided to open a bar/restaurant, I had no idea I was going to be practically living in the place. Good thing I like it!We're running around like freaks, trying to finish off all the little details you probably won't even notice: getting the patio built, lighting the sign, trying to find plants that won't die and desperately trying to find time to make some decent playlists for your listening pleasure. Lots and lots and lots still to do.

Seems like a complete blur but we've now been open for a couple of weeks and I'm happy to say, it's going to be as fabulous a place as I'd hoped it would be.

The food is great and the rooms are beautiful. We've still got a lot of tweaking to do but most of the work has been done and it's definitely ready to be populated by customers. Actually, the customers seem to be coming already!

Bar construction is moving ahead at a scary pace. I'm learning terms I never thought I'd live to learn, like HVAC, hood extraction, specific area venting, etc. and they are seeping into my head whether I like it or not... And just when I think the coast is clear, I'm saddled with sickness. I think it's a recurrence of my annual bout of bronchitis but it's got me basically bedridden and that's not fun, especially since we're pretty much on the home-stretch in the completion of The Carleton.

Mark April 7th, 2008 on the calendar; it's the day we got our liquor license for The Carleton. In a completely anticlimactic hearing at the Utility Review Board (your guess is as good as mine as to why this is the body that approves these sorts of things - are we a utility?), we were granted our license - pending the issuing of all the necessary public safety permits - and will be able to serve our customers properly upon opening.

At least that's what my parents keep telling me. The journey to take The Carleton from just another half-baked idea to a physical reality has been long and fraught with strangeness but it is finally coming to an end so, basically, this is to let you know that we can actually see the light at the end of the metaphorical tunnel. The real light - truth to tell - is coming from the hole in the roof where the new air conditioning unit will be going this week!