We're pleased to announce...

While you were all away on vacation we have been busy busy.

I was beginning to think this day would never come. We have finally found and signed for our retail location!

After the first disappointment we had, with the store that the owner gave to someone else, we wasted another five weeks negotiating with the owners of another store, only to realise that we were never going to come to any agreement with them. If you had told me a year ago, when we first moved here, that I wouldn't have my shop open by now, I wouldn't have believed you.

I really felt like giving up after that. Could it really be so hard just to find a location to open the store? That was at the end of July. We took a couple of days off for a break and to try and think again about our options.

The following week we left the kids with our family and set off in the sweltering heat of August to start looking again. The last one we looked at seemed to be perfect for our needs and we signed the contract. To say I was relieved is an understatement.


I'll try to answer some of the questions I think you'll want answers to.

Where is it?

Unfortunately the shop is NOT in the old town of Nafplio. This is something that has been a disappointment to us. The planning laws in the old town make it extremely difficult to find a suitable location where the law allows a kitchen and not just a sales outlet. We decided, after much thought, that we can't wait for something suitable and within our budget to become available.

As I mentioned last time, we had tried to get a small shop very close to the old town but it wasn't to be. We expanded our search to some other streets we hadn't thought of before and that's when we found the perfect spot. Right at the base of Palamídi castle! This is the view when you look up from the front door:


Where exactly?

The exact address is: 13, 25 Martíou St (it's pronounced “Eikostís Pémptis Martíou”, and it means “25th of March”; we're on number 13 on this street). For those of you who know the area at all, 25 Martíou is the street which takes you to the Palamídi (if you drive & avoid the 1000 steps). It's also the road to the beautiful Karathóna beach. Most locals know the street and visitors pass by to go sightseeing or swimming. Even the little Nafplio tour train comes by; now all we have to do is convince them to make a stop :P

View Larger Map

We still haven't ruled out the thought of having somewhere in the old town as a second location in the future but for now our focus is on renovating and making cupcakes as soon as possible!

Is there a lot of work to do?


The shop is in fair condition but the last business was a souvlaki shop so, of course, there's going to be plenty of work to transform it. We need to divide off the rooms, build a kitchen and a bathroom and decorate. My Parents in Law have offered their time and expertise and apart from that I'm enlisting volunteers :P

What is the next step?

We have been waiting to get some of the paperwork out of the way before letting you all know. We have our pre-approval by the Town Hall and we just finished off the paperwork at the tax office. I am now a private enterprise :-)

So, when will you be opening doors?

A good question. We have a date we're aiming for but I have already learned that setting dates for things usually ends up with those dates flying by and me being depressed! When we know, you'll know!

We'll be blogging the shop transformation along the way. So get your dust sheets and paintbrushes out and stay tuned!

Liz Cupcakes

Give-away & Chocolate-dipped strawberries

It's been a busy week. We have been all over Napflio and we've looked at a lot of shops which are for rent. We found out some new information at the various authorities and it seems that one of our choices might, after all, be suitable. We're waiting for written confirmation. I'm not getting excited though. We've been here before and got nowhere.

So right now we are keeping our options open. We've looked at properties which are at the edge of the old town and also at properties which are nowhere near the old town.


Another thought is that of opening somewhere in the new town and then to think about opening a second location in the old town, which will only sell cupcakes made at the first location and thus not have a kitchen area.


Like I said, we're considering all options.

Enough about that! I went down to CookShop to find something cute for this month's give-away.

I found lots of cute things. I found an absolutely gorgeous silicone cake mould in the shape of a sandcastle. Unfortunately I didn't get it. If I had bought it, I would have been unable to give it away! It was that cute!

I found these lovely stencils for decorating desserts. I got a flower design...


... and a football design. This one might come in handy, since the World Cup is coming up soon! Greeks are a football-loving nation!



To enter the give-away leave a comment telling me When do you find yourself eating sweets? Do you like to eat dessert when you've gone for coffee with friends, after a meal, watching TV, if someone brings some over, or all of the above? Closing time is midnight (GMT +2) Friday, May 28. One comment per person please!

While you are thinking about that, have one of these lovely chocolate-dipped strawberries.





Liz Cupcakes

Lavender cupcakes & the way things work here

So last week I was all excited. I thought that I would have some thrilling news about finally securing our location for the store this week. We had three hot possibilities in the old town of Nafplio and were thinking over the advantages & disadvantages of each one. Before that, we had to make a trip to the Town Planning authorities to check out the licensing laws for the specific buildings, since we know that not all buildings can receive a permit in the old town. It turns out that none of our possibilities were suitable. It also seems highly unlikely that we will be able to find something appropriate within the old town anytime this century.

A law was passed in 1989. It was obviously supposed to protect the old town's character, but it is quite likely that it is now smothering the economy, too. The law states that, to open some sort of food establishment, you have to find a building to buy or rent which back in 1989 held the same sort of permit that you want to get. For example, if you want to open a taverna you have to find a building that was a licensed taverna in 1989; if you want to open a café with a food preparation area you have to find an available place which was a café with a food preparation area in 1989. One of our possibilities has always been some sort of food establishment but, apparently, it was operating without a license all those years...

The kind people at both the Mayor's office and the Town Planning authority have been very helpful, trying to find some sort of way we could do things right, such as changing the nature of the shop, getting a patisserie license instead of a café and so on. But each one of their suggestions brings with it its own set of drawbacks.

We feel a bit sad and frustrated about it all. We have something exciting and innovative to offer the town. We're not asking to open a rowdy night club. It's a shame that the law was written in such a way that they can not consider applications based on their merits instead of just having to refuse anyone trying to do something positive.


C'est la vie. So now we are back to searching. We're now looking for somewhere as close as possible to the old town but that does not fall under the fateful law of 1989! We can't sit around and wait for some building that falls into the category we need to become available. Of course, it doesn't mean that we won't find a way to open something or other in the old town! But for now that will have to wait.

Let's talk about cupcakes. These are one of my latest experiments. They look beautiful but I can't really say they were a success.


We have lavender in the garden now and I thought 'why not?'


Τhe lavender was a bit too overwhelming. If I try them again, then I'll definitely have to try to give them a more subtle taste.

This post is a bit depressing but it is pretty, don't you think?


Liz Cupcakes

Leftovers

It's already March. I thought I'd better show you a few of the other things I baked and cooked in December and January before they go out of date!

First up, here are some cupcakes. Lots of them.







I also made this orange marmalade. We were given quite a supply of organic oranges and since the recipe I used calls for boiling the whole orange, I thought that organic oranges were the way to go.



Now, fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, when I was given lemons this time. I decided I should try my hand at some limoncello. I've got that brewing. It takes time though, so I'll keep you updated on that if it turns out well. I think it will go extremely well in some buttercream.

We've been doing more running around this week and looking at possible locations for the shop. It has been very enlightening.

I wish there was more interesting things to say but that's all for now.

Liz

Starting a business...

I thought I'd better do a little update about how things are coming along. Starting a business is a time-consuming and frustrating thing. It's not like I didn't know this when we began; some days, however, you do wonder if you are ever going to manage to get things going.

For example, to qualify for A you need to have B and in order to get B you have to have A. You see where I am going with this.

As well as gathering even more information about everything from recipes to suppliers, we are sorting through all the requirements needed with regard to health, hygiene, planning authorities, tax authorities etc etc. It's a long and arduous process.

We have more firm ideas about where in the town we would like our location to be, but we will have to see if there is anything available where we want when we are ready to start renting.

I sometimes feel it looks as though we aren't doing anything but, behind the scenes, there is a lot going on. I really hope that soon I will be updating with information about signed leases and renovation and shopping for equipment! At least I have some idea of where to get it all now!

When I get tired, I go and bake or make jam or generally do things in the kitchen.

This week my parents are making a short visit, so I expect I'll be making an apple pie somewhere along the way! I'm also attending another food industry Expo on Friday. The more information I can gather the better.

Have you ever been out and thought "Oh look, there's a new shop, when did that open?" I think that we are going to be one of them!

Liz