I Said Yes

Setting Up the Future

Michael and I took our time at the Bistro. We were not in a hurry…well I think he was in a hurry so he could get naked again…and we really had no place we had to be. We had decided to pop into the Dive Bar and say howdy/surprise Fran…and if we got hungry later, we thought about popping down to Bill’s Tavern for a steak or something. I was feeling relatively good about Michael’s having shared with me…albeit a bit late and out of order…but I was glad he did it. I don’t think the things I said back to him sunk in…at least not yet…I think he was so impressed with himself and the fact that we handled his end of the chat well…like adults…I think he kind of skimmed over the things I said but, for the most part at the time, I was ok with that. Things got put out on the table and neither one of us could claim ignorance regarding what the other thought so, all in all, I was ok with where things stood at the time.

We did go wander Main Street…saw Fran and then Hank down at Bill’s. We made it an early night since we both had to travel the next day. We took some dessert back to the room and had some wine…we stripped to our underwear and ate sweet stuff…drank some wine…cuddled while we watched TV…and then had a fairly long, passionate and intense (vanilla) love-making session. We wore each other out and both of us dozed off with the plan being, first one up got the other up and we would go to breakfast. Michael woke up first…and proceeded to wake me up in his very special way…perfect way to start a morning for me. We showered together and I “paid him back” …soaping him up…playing with his body… and, with a couple of my fingers up inside him, manipulating and jacking his dick, he blew all over the shower wall. We dressed, kissed, packed, loaded the cars, and went to grab some breakfast at the Bistro next door.

This was always the worst part for us…the goodbye thing. We really were not sure when we would see each other again…or who was going to make the trip. Michael had a big wine show in about a month so he would be over in Seattle for the better part of a week, so worst-case scenario, we would see each other then. I had thought I might be able to make a trip over to Walla in the next couple of weeks, but I wasn’t sure. We were rolling into serious busy season at the restaurant and, for the next month, would be experimenting with live music on our patio and, to top that off, it was prime Wedding reception and rehearsal dinner season. It was a bit saddening to not be able to be sure when we would see each other but, for the most part, it was what it was…not a whole lot we could do at that point.

We agreed to chat, as always, at least a couple of times a day. Michael was rolling into his bottling season and the tasting room would be crazy so, the time of day we could talk, just depended on who was doing what and when…but I knew at some point, each and every morning and evening, I would hear from the big lug.

The trip, for both of us in our separate directions, was uneventful. I rolled back into Seattle early in the evening and popped into the restaurant to thank Corey and Rob for covering…and especially for taking the extra day. I invited them to Zig Zag for cocktails, on me of course, and they both said they would meet me there. It was, in some respects, good to be “home” and hanging out with the guys. Murray and the guys grilled me about the weekend…about what we did (other than sex) and why I stayed the extra day. I gave them the reader’s digest version…the battle…the making up…Karaoke…and all 3 of them listened intently. I think they were all focused on the marriage and kid part of the conversation and each expressed curiosity about what I was going to do. I was non-committal, but I did let them know I would be talking with our ownership that week about the possibility of restructuring how we do things…I offered my appreciation to them for the loyalty and the work they did (and to Murray for his friendship), and told my two guys, that no matter what happens with the structure, I was asking the owners for raises for the guys and more responsibility…it was time they both got rewarded with some cash and recognition…that was the part that got them excited! Murray made a comment about the working relationship between the three of us (Corey, Rob & I) and pointed out how lucky we were to work for a family, or company, that put so much value in its employees…we all agreed!

The next few weeks sailed by…wedding season…patio season…outdoor concert season and the basic tourist trade kept all of us hopping and on our toes. Monday flowed into Tuesday that flowed into Friday all of a sudden. Weekends were taken with large catering gigs and small rehearsal dinners with a few receptions mixed in. Before I knew it 2 ½ weeks had passed and, soon, it would be time for Michael to come over to Seattle on his sales trip. The days had flown by and Corey, Rob and I had all been working 60-70-hour weeks. I had a few days before Michael was due in town so I sat down and worked out a schedule, for Corey and I, that would allow me to have a couple of days with Michael and would give Corey 3 days in a row off. Michael and I wouldn’t really have enough time to do anything out of town, but I planned to take him to a couple of local wineries that he had not yet visited. Though his wines were prevalent on my wine list, there were others, operated or owned by friends I had made in the wine industry, and they were happy to host him…his reputation, as a leading and up-and-coming winemaker, preceded him in the Seattle area.

The day before Michael was to arrive, I had the opportunity to sit down with my ownership group. The group, comprised of a mother (Colleen), her husband Ken, and Colleen’s daughter, Kerri. I could not have asked for a better situation. Colleen had hired me away from Elliott’s with the idea that, ultimately, I would oversee the operation of her three restaurants, with a fourth to come in the near future. Colleen had been an owner for over 25 years, and she was looking to move into semi-retirement and get out of the hands-on operations. Kerri oversaw all the financial activities of the company and, for the most part, was not interested in handling the daily operations of the actual restaurants. Colleen’s husband, Ken, was the fixer…he would putz around taking care of the handy-man duties, shopping equipment, working of physical upgrades for the three restaurants etc.…He was perfectly content working his own schedule and staying out of the spotlight. Ken recently retired as the lead engineer for the Boeing company and was looking forward to slowing down and a very aggressive retirement-style travel schedule with Colleen.

As I have said before, I was lucky to have fallen into this situation and I was blessed with good, supportive owners and a fantastic crew.

I sat down with Colleen and Kerri with the idea that I was going to pitch a new plan that would include promoting Corey and utilizing Rob in a more hands-on, front of the house role. When asked what my role would be or how it would look, I explained that it was a good time for me to reduce my time on the actual floor at the Issaquah location and move into a corporate role. I saw myself working with each of the location managers in upgrading the private dining, event and catering operations to stabilize and increase revenue in each location. The three restaurants were all in very different neighborhoods and each was unique to its location and customer-base. The location I operated was the largest and had the largest revenue base but there were substantial gains that could be made in the other two locations. I saw my role as guiding all three locations, increasing the visibility of the company’s operation in the city and working towards expansion. Colleen’s desire was to open a fourth and final location east of the city…in the tourist-rich area in the Snoqualmie mountains… (Ironically, she had been scouting locations halfway between Seattle and Walla Walla). Colleen was especially interested in the Walla Walla area, also, due to the explosion of the wine and restaurant culture in that part of the state…I quietly agreed that it would be a prime spot but cautioned about the distance from the home base in Seattle, Colleen knew about my budding relationship with Michael however, she had not shared that with Kerri and I was content to leave it that way. If felt like Colleen was making it easier for me to be in that relationship with Michael…go figure…she was, after-all, a mom first and she adored Michael and his family…and, of course, his wine!

Both Colleen and Kerri expressed some minor concerns about making any dramatic changes to the organizational structure but, then, both commented that it was something they had wanted to do for a couple of years. We talked at length about responsibilities…about who would take over the Issaquah location (Corey) and what the expectations of me would be. In the end, Colleen and Kerri both thought the proposed structural outline was good, the personnel moves I suggested were good and the timeline for expansion looked reasonable. Colleen, because of her long history as a major player in Washington’s restaurant industry, would begin the process of scouting locations towards the east. Kerri would begin working on a funding package for that expansion…in addition to working on the HR end of salary and benefit packages for the personnel moves…and I would put pen to paper to outline and announce the personnel changes and begin training with Corey (and Rob) to get them ready. Rob would be taking on a more active role on the culinary side with the eventual plan of making him the corporate, or company chef. The meeting concluded with Colleen’s comment…

“There is no time like the present…let’s do this!”

Now, all I had to do was formulate, in my head, a plan for me…and Michael. A plan that would make sense and set us on the road to our future……