Corona Beard Papa is now OPEN!

For those of you who can't wait until Beard Papa opens in San Diego, I have a good news. There is a new Beard Papa store in Corona in Dos Lagos Mall. It is owned by Angela and John, whom we met when we visited. They are incredible people, especially Angela. She had a grand opening of the store and gave a birth to a new baby all in the same week! Their store is one of the more nicely decorated locations we've visited. The store is right next to Fridays restaurant on the north side of the mall. I suggest you visit it and try it out. We bought a dozen to bring home, but we didn't eat any of it because we're on a diet. I can't wait to go back once our diet is over and eat as many cream puffs as I can.

Have you visited other Beard Papa locations? What did you like and didn't like about it? As we're getting closer to finalize the location selection, we're really focusing on the store design. Your input will help us tremendously. Please leave comments about what you would like to see at Beard Papa San Diego!

Still Hunting....

for the perfect location. It's been much more difficult than we could've imagined. The Del Mar location that we were also considering is out. The broker told us that we were "too high risk"... I think it's because they're unfamiliar with the product. We need to get ourselves a good, aggressive commercial broker who'll push for us.

Either way, we really think the Convoy area is still the best place to start. The one store we really hoped for is still up in the air, though it seems unlikely we'll get it because the property owner wants Kinko's. Who ever heard of Kinko's in a 1800 sf space?!? Most Kinko's are like 3000 sf! There are still a couple other options on Convoy, so we're working on those, too.

This is the next big step for us, finding the right location. Then, the REAL work begins. So, please continue praying for us, and we hope we'll have some good news to share soon!

On the Prowl...

for the best location for our first Beard Papa's store. Our initial feeling was (and still is) the Convoy area since it's a predominantly Asian community with a high density of businesses and Asian restaurants. Our second choice is Carmel Valley, in the Del Mar Highlands shopping plaza. Both locations are in high demand, but fortunately, there's an opening in both areas. There are pros and cons to both... neither is perfect:

CHOICE #1: CONVOY

PROS
- Dense population, mostly Asian
- Within 1/4 mile of 2 Japanese grocery stores and Korean grocery store
- Located at one of the busiest intersections in SD
- Visible from the street
- All glass front
- Lots of parking
- Relatively cheap rent

CONS
- Size is almost double what we need, hence unnecessary rent

CHOICE #2: CARMEL VALLEY

PROS
- Affluent residents
- Located in a shopping plaza near a movie theater & grocery store
- Lots of traffic during the day and on the weekends
- Perfect size, 800 sf
- Immediately visible upon entering the plaza

CONS
- Not as close to the movie theater as we'd like
- Not located near any of the other restaurants in the plaza

We also considered the UTC mall food court, but decided that 1) the rent is waaaaaay too high and 2) there wouldn't be enough traffic. Plus, we were discouraged to hear that a Wetzel's Pretzels couldn't generate enough revenue and ultimately had to close up shop. In talking with friends and other business owners, it seems most people agree that the Convoy area is the best choice for our first store. Even though Carmel Valley is a nicer neighborhood, we have to consider the demographics of our target customer.

We've submitted a request to the brokers representing the 2 locations, and now we're just waiting to hear back from them. It's ultimately the decision of the landlords, and they have to want our business. So, that's our prayer request right now, that we can get one of these spaces.

It's a Race!

Susan and I went to Arcadia for the grand opening of a Beard Papa store. It's on Baldwin Ave., and you should check it out if you live near the area. It was so exciting to see the owners and employees getting ready to open. The people from the Chamber of Commerce of Arcadia came out and cut the tape to open the door. As the lines formed, I couldn't help but to dream what it would be like on our opening day. I think Susan and I would both shed tears of joy. Why? Because we are THAT excited to set up this store. I know that it will be physically and emotionally demanding and draining. But we have this incredible vision for this store in many facets of our lives. I will share them with you as we get closer to the opening day, which we hope is sometime this summer. 07.07.07 has a new meaning for us. It's our target date for our grand opening!

Going back to the Arcadia store, I could tell the guys (Brontosaurus and Penguin--fellow Cal alumns) have shed much tears and sweat to get the place ready. I felt like I knew what they went through after reading their blogs. The smiles on their faces and the line that formed from the moment the store opened showed all their hard work paid off. Sure it will be a marathon, not a sprint. The first day doesn't tell you how the store will do. But it's truly inspiring and exciting to see two young men chase their dreams even if it meant quitting a well-paying job and risking failure. Life is more fun that way. I feel like I have lost that excitement in my life since we opened our learning center five years ago. I'm so ready to dive into this venture at full speed. Sure, we have a lot more to lose than we did five years ago. But we would not have the things we have if we didn't take that plunge five years ago. Whether we become successful or not doesn't matter as much to us right now. What matters more is that we want to see our dream and vision become a reality. The money that may come our way will be nice, but it will merely be a bonus to us. Our true payoff will be that we made that leap of faith and completed a journey that few are willing to take.

By the way, we've learned that there is another person(s) who has applied for a Beard Papa franchise in San Diego. I guess it's really a race now. May the best people win...

This past weekend, we had the opportunity to meet with one of the other California franchisees, who happens to be a friend of our friends/business partners, Peter and Eunice. We learned a lot about the local business particulars and some helpful information regarding the operations of a Beard Papa's store. This meeting has further increased our excitement -- and anxiety -- for this new venture. Though we currently operate our own business which we established about 5 years ago, this is something very different. And it's a lot scarier also because we have so much to potentially lose.

But, we know that it is all in God's hands. No matter what we do, unless this is His will for us, nothing that we desire will come to fruition. But it's amazing how every step of the way thus far has just fallen into place. When we first began exploring this opportunity, Peter & Eunice also mentioned that they knew about Beard Papa's. They also had been seeking potential business ideas, and when we broached the idea of partnering as Beard Papa's franchisees, they were very open to it. And the fact that they also knew one of the franchisees helped us because she was able to secure us a meeting with the California master franchisee, Joe. And then our meeting with Joe also went so well that he said that he would put in a good word for us. And finally, Kate, an attorney friend of ours, has generously been helping us with establishing our corporation and filing all the necessary paperwork. Praise God!

So, now our next step is to secure a location. We're currently looking at the Convoy area for a variety of reasons, but it's difficult because there are very few available locations that meet our criteria. This is our next prayer request -- a site that's very visible from the street and isn't too large. We've found one potential site, but it's about double the size we need and costs a bit more than other available spaces on the street.

Another concern is that there is a 3-week training that we'll both have to attend at some point in the future. We're not yet sure when that'll occur, but we're going to have to figure out how we can both attend without having to shut down our tutoring business during that time.

Sometimes I think we're crazy for doing this. Right now, we have an awesome work schedule. Opening this franchise means that we'll be returning to the crazy schedule that we endured during the early days of our tutoring business, except I think even more hours because this business will be open 7 days a week!! Are we out of our minds?!? Will it be worth it? Well, we certainly hope so!

So dear friends, we ask for your continued prayers as we continue on this road to becoming franchisees!