fredk
New member
Hello everyone, newbie here looking for some advice.
I looked at a place last night, it''s a 3200 sqft \"house\" that has been a restaurant for the past 30 years. It''s on 3 acres of property that backs up to a river. It was built in the 1920''s. The owners want to retire. WaWa was interested, but the city said no gas stations so close to the river. Since the place is a restaurant, we would save a ton of money on things like tables, chairs, kitchen, bar, rest rooms, etc. I would want to update the building with new floors, ceiling, windows, etc. The price is very affortable, and the taxes aren''t bad. The mortgage and taxes would be cheaper than a 1500 sqft spot in a strip center in town.
Here is what I''m worried about. It''s on a state road that joins two towns. But it is sort of in the middle of nowhere, although very scenic, the road runs along a river and mountains. It is 5 miles from the first town (13,000 people), and 3 miles from the next town (33,000 people). The traffic count is 13,000/day, and it is on the morning commute side of the road, which is nice. Speed limit is 45mph. Building is highly visible, right on the road.
I originally wanted to be in the town of 33,000 people (traffic count 22,0000). I wanted my place to be part of this community. I guess I''m worried that 3 miles out of town will be too far.
Other than specialty coffee, I wanted to offer pasteries (Greek being our specialty, baked on premises), gelato, ice cream, milk shakes, etc. Didn''t really want to get too much into serving lunch or dinner foods. I want it to be more of a place to go for coffee, dessert, and conversation, and to cater to the morning commute of course.
The proximity to town is really the only downside that I can see. It seems to have so much more to offer than a spot half the size in a strip center.
I don''t know. What do you folks think about being in the outskirts like this? Thank you.
I looked at a place last night, it''s a 3200 sqft \"house\" that has been a restaurant for the past 30 years. It''s on 3 acres of property that backs up to a river. It was built in the 1920''s. The owners want to retire. WaWa was interested, but the city said no gas stations so close to the river. Since the place is a restaurant, we would save a ton of money on things like tables, chairs, kitchen, bar, rest rooms, etc. I would want to update the building with new floors, ceiling, windows, etc. The price is very affortable, and the taxes aren''t bad. The mortgage and taxes would be cheaper than a 1500 sqft spot in a strip center in town.
Here is what I''m worried about. It''s on a state road that joins two towns. But it is sort of in the middle of nowhere, although very scenic, the road runs along a river and mountains. It is 5 miles from the first town (13,000 people), and 3 miles from the next town (33,000 people). The traffic count is 13,000/day, and it is on the morning commute side of the road, which is nice. Speed limit is 45mph. Building is highly visible, right on the road.
I originally wanted to be in the town of 33,000 people (traffic count 22,0000). I wanted my place to be part of this community. I guess I''m worried that 3 miles out of town will be too far.
Other than specialty coffee, I wanted to offer pasteries (Greek being our specialty, baked on premises), gelato, ice cream, milk shakes, etc. Didn''t really want to get too much into serving lunch or dinner foods. I want it to be more of a place to go for coffee, dessert, and conversation, and to cater to the morning commute of course.
The proximity to town is really the only downside that I can see. It seems to have so much more to offer than a spot half the size in a strip center.
I don''t know. What do you folks think about being in the outskirts like this? Thank you.
