Internal Carnival Barker
I realized today with some surprise that it will be November in just a week. Having two stores has really thrown my internal carnival barker of just how much we have to do at PJP because we are doing so much more, but with relatively less stress. Normally by this point, we are already exhausted but it is literally amazing what adding in extra ovens, extra staff, and extra customers can do for your day-to-day life just a few weeks before Thanksgiving.
So here is what else is going on:
Just 19 days are left to pre-order for Thanksgiving. This is the first year we haven’t relied on my spidey sense to close orders when it felt right, primarily because my need to please everyone clouds my rationale. Rather, we set the order close date of November 12th at 5 pm.
Because we’ve gotten more efficient and finish our baking schedules with time to spare most days, we’ve been working on bagging our dry mixes for Thanksgiving. A double batch of pumpkin - the sugar and spices anyway - makes 2.5 pies when later mixed with the pumpkin, eggs, and evaporated milk. So we are working ahead by drying mixing enough for 350 double batches. This is 100 times better than asking yourself if you put in two teaspoons of cinnamon on the day before Thanksgiving after making your 100th nine-inch pumpkin pie.
Our beer collaboration with Logboat Brewing - the Peggy Jean’s Pecan Pie Porter - is back in stores across Missouri this week. Remember a few weeks ago when someone stole a four pack from West? Buying it is so much easier, but I feel like they aren’t reading here regularly.
I spent the better part of the day working on trademark applications, which is likely only interesting if you are me. Trademarking Peggy Jean’s Pies is the gateway drug to all trademarking all things we do that I feel particularly territorial over.
And finally, all Halloween merchandise is marked down 30% through next Monday. And then we will probably cave to retail peer pressure and decorate for Christmas. I’m generally not the person organized enough or inspired enough to have two Christmas trees in my house, so the irony of having two stores and two Christmas trees for my work life isn’t lost on me. Thankfully I have an Ellery and Ellery has neverending patience for stringing holiday lights and discussing if we should have a theme for our trees or not. Everyone should have an Ellery.