How's It Going?
Well, I wish there was something to talk about besides our adjustment to two store ownership, but IT IS LITERALLY ALL WE CAN DISCUSS. I wonder if we will be this obnoxious when we have three stores? Probably.
Now that we are about 10 days in, here are the most common questions we’ve received about our new addition:
How’s It Going? Bwahahahahahahhahaha. I guess the answer depends on my mood when you ask. But, objectively by any standard, it is going very well.
How much bigger is the new store? It’s actually the exact same size as PJP Nifong, it just feels larger because of the open ceilings.
Can I find all the same things there as the Nifong store? Yes! It works as a total dupe of the Nifong location.
Do you have an office there? I didn’t notice it when I stopped in? We do, it’s just in the way back. That’s really only been my one regret in the design process. We were hoping to optimize storage options in the new space and that pushed the office to the very back. And even worse, it is next to the bathroom.
Didn’t you look at the architect plans? Yep, many times. The moral of this second location story is that I need an architect like Mike Brady to build me an actual example of the space out of thick poster board, complete with tiny cars in the parking spaces.
How long does it take to order food for two stores? 912 hours, give or take.
How long does it take to schedule staff for two stores? 1,012 hours, give or take.
Does the staff and do you all have a preference of locations? I would say most. members of Team PJP don’t seem to care what store they are at, although a few have preference based on where they live. Jason, Jeanne, the kids, and I all don’t care because we are back and forth all day anyway.
What’s the biggest difference between the stores so far? We definitely sell more baby pies at West than at Nifong, probably because we have so many new customers at West. On Saturday, 93% of transactions at West were by customers who had never visited PJP before.
Do you still want multiple stores in multiple cities? Last week, I would have said no. That’s like asking someone who just had a baby if they plan to have more babies. But I’m progressing past the stress of opening week, so I’m here for the idea. Though, can you imagine if we had a store in St. Louis? How would I make five trips a day back and forth? Gah.
