50K to the right local government thug woulda taken care of the entire problem.
there’s a guy named Louis...mebbe Tony.. around somewhere...probably could give lessons about how that works.
“I’m not asking for a lot, just enough to wet my beak”
In my area coffee shops are in van conversions or drive-by shacks in dolled-up storage sheds because that’s what is affordable. There are also multiple food-serving van conversions, serving Thai, Mexican, Italian and other styles of food. Working around govt has always required creativity. My area also has a pedicab company, and horse-drawn wagons to transport tourists to our 30+ vineyards. The tourists love all that.
A fire sprinkler system for 6400 SF might cost 20k. The whole issue is if there is sufficient public water on that block. There would have to be a whole lot of issues to hit 150k.
This is a case where basic tenant use of the building changed. Could have put a food truck/ coffee trailer parked in front if there was a desire to stay.
Not a big government regulation guy here, but that city’s building code is not the problem. Old buildings past their expiration dates that are now becoming Historic Buildings is the problem .
Not all cute buildings should become coffeehouses. Serve alcohol and not food.Turn it into a hair salon.
Embroidery shops burn down when the business next door catches on fire.
Landlord trying to change function without expenses
(Actually know a similar circumstance here in small town western Colorado, with a coffee shop in an old drugstore building)
> Government regulations crush small business growth and contributes to the decline of our nation’s economy. <
Two young black guys opened a deli about a mile from where I live. I stopped in soon after it opened. There was a nice menu and many tables, but no chairs.
I asked one of the owners why there weren’t any chairs. After all, who wants to eat standing up? The owner said it was a government regulation. He could only put in chairs if he first installed a handicapped bathroom, something he couldn’t afford. So no chairs.
And also no business. The place closed about six weeks after that.
Oh, and is important to mention that the owners were two black guys? Yes. They tried to do the right thing, open a small business to support their families. And the government destroyed their dreams, for no good reason.
Rock Springs, Wyoming? Fire codes? We have hit rock bottom. Used to be Rock Springs was the wild west or at least close to it.
People who want to open small businesses often have limited experience with safety issues, and are focused on looks, functionality, and making money — all reasonable objectives.
Fire Departments and Building Officials have studied what causes disasters, fires, collapses, injuries, deaths, and destruction. Building codes are what they are because of eons of collected experience, product testing, etc. Context (how close are other structures, what are they made of, what are their uses and occupant densities?) and the fire department’s capabilities have to be considered in an urban setting. The prohibitions these impose are the difference in a safe, first-world existence, and the dangers of the third-world.
In this case, the property owner would like to make more/spend less by throwing caution to the winds, thus putting lives and neighboring properties at higher risk. Freedom within a “civilized society” requires responsibility, plus checks & balances.
Politicians come and go, but entrenched bureaucrats are here forever. It is their job to make up regulations. They don’t have to be good regulations, just more regulations. There should not be such a thing as a 30 year bureaucrat. All regulations should be revisited every ten years or so.
Would be helpful to include the state in the posting. Thanks!
Would this be Rock Springs, Texas?
Population of 12 (slight /s).. (Maybe it has grown since the last time I was there a couple (or 3) decades ago.)
Follow the money trail on cases like this...
Politicians, of all stripes, love those gifts from potential vendors...
Omaha has a regulation that restaurants that are sold have updated kitchens unless kept in the family. Dozens of restaurants have closed because new owners can’t afford the $$ to upgrade.