The New Place: We're In, And Making Progress

Yes! We're in! A year after we looked around 1 Station Rd, and six months after we got the keys, at the start of July we finally moved everything down the hill (gulp) and in through the front door. Taking a week off from delivering (for the first time ever), we got things where we wanted them, and mail order boxes started going out again from the 13th.

The End Of The Beginning

And now we're in the final part of what I think of as Phase 1. In a week the painting outside will be finished, including a beautiful hand-painted sign on the gable end by the very talented Mark Hill. The building is in the process of moving from a slightly washed-out peach to a beautiful blue which is getting lots of positive comments.

Some remedial work on the roof will soon all be done and the scaffolding will be down. Inside, plastering around the new sash windows (upstairs) will have been done, so that painting can happen and the floors can be sanded. Another built-in counter has been added to the packing room. With all that, the essential things we needed to do to make the building 'work' and to smarten up the exterior will all be complete.

Phase 2!

Then we get on to the shop. This space - at the front of the building - needs refrigeration work, a counter and some shelves building, and (outside) a nice new awning to keep the window shaded. Add a sink and a till and we'll be there. That opens the way for the next stage of The Cheese Shed story: a real shop where real people can walk in and buy what is very definitely real cheese. When will it be open? I'm not sure yet, but this year.

Timescale Update

We're going to postpone opening until the New Year. Although the shopfitting should be finished in the next month or so, this is would put us uncomfortably close to Christmas in terms of opening. So we're going to get all the Christmas work behind us and open the shop in the calmer waters of January.