It doesn’t look like much, but this is the beginning of something great!

The pergola is up! (A pergola is an open, free-standing structure designed to provide shade or cover from the elements.) I have a few minor adjustments that I have to make to it before I can roll out the shade cloth, but with the help of my dad and our friendly neighbors, we got it up in 3 days! It’s a beautiful design that my dad and I came up with together (mostly Dad with some input from me), and the farmers and shoppers are going to love it.

Ah… the shade!

This is Florida, so the elements are harsh, and the sun does as much damage as possible to people and anything else standing beneath its light. We want to keep all the cooking inside, so we shaded up the outside a bit. I went to a farmers market last fall, and I was dripping with sweat after only an hour of exposure. Imagine what the summer will be like here in Florida!

7 spots for farmers… that should get us started.

Aside from that, orders are in for electrical and water service, and we are well on our way to having an operational building. We’ve gotten our restaurant equipment and half of our retail fixtures in, and now we only lack a few items. Though it’s costly to do things professionally, it makes sense to do it right the first time and recover later. The success of the business depends on the first few months’ operations, so I want it to be done the right way! I hope you are as excited as we are!