Where and when?

Sotherton Tea Room has been a dream of mine for about 3 decades. I finally got to the point in my life that I can turn that dream into a reality. My husband and I started looking for a location for the tea room in January 2023, and after several hopeful locations fell through, we think we have a place that we can make it happen. Restaurant spaces in Auburn, California are very hard to come by, so we have been searching for retail spaces that can be converted. We had found what we believed to be the perfect spot, but after about a month of planning, just as we were ready to sign a lease, the owner decided they didn't want us to add a kitchen to the space. We now have a spot that we believe will work for us. We have been in talks with the owner about the addition of a kitchen, and we think it's going to work this time! Our hope is to have a grand opening celebration some time in October of 2023, but we don't know how long it will take to get construction permits for our kitchen. We may even open without a kitchen, having the food be catered and served on disposable plates. Of course, this would not be the experience we want to start with, but it would enable us to open in time for the Christmas season...