Becoming a Tea Room - Plumbing Passed!

You may be asking yourself - where has Fancy That been the last month?  Well, getting the Prep Room ready in our path to becoming a Tea Room.  You may recall, we are now licensed Common Victuallers.  Today we passed and have approved plumbing that is required to plate the food and wash, rinse and sanitize the vintage china.  Even if you don't like the looks of plumbing, you have to admit, it is a work of art - what with all the copper!  (PVC is not allowed in commercial applications in Massachsuetts.)

Thank you to our plumber, Norfolk County Plumbing and Heating.  We highly recommend their work, their attitude, and their willingness to help!  Thank you!

On to the last two inspections.  Now that we have the proper fire extinguishers throughout the Tea Room and all tagged, the proper lighting and emergency lighting, the proper signage in the Prep Room, and a little ramp by one of the thresholds (more on that in a later post), we are near ready for the final inspection by the Building Inspector/Commissioner, and then the final inspection by our Board of Health who will then issue our License to Operate as a Food Service Establishment.

Thank you for following us as we continue on the home stretch of Becoming a Tea Room!  :)  Thanks for stopping by! 

Becoming a Tea Room - sinks and plumbing



We are happy to announce that the Town Selectmen approved our request, and Fancy That is now a "Common Victualler" (i.e., we can now serve food :))!

Next, we tackle the required commercial plumbing!  We are going to need the following sinks:  (1) a three-bay sink for "ware washing" (to wash, rinse and sanitize); (2) a hand-wash sink, to wash our hands before plating food; and
(3) a utility sink for mops, et cetera.  If we were going to prepare food on site, we would also need a prep-sink, but because we are working with a local caterer who will prepare our tea sandwiches, we only need the three sinks I mentioned above.

PVC is not allowed in a commercial setting; copper pipes and cast iron drains must be used.  This means that having the required sinks installed is going to be a much larger expense than we anticipated, but we are hopeful we'll find a way to make it work.  We are still in the process of studying code, working with plumbers, and town officials, but we'll keep you posted on our progress! 

NOTE to those preparing to become a tea room:  when preparing your budget, be sure to plan on a large expense for commercial plumbing.  Talk to commercial plumbers for an estimate in advance so there are no costly surprises.  Also, before buying any equipment, check with your town's board of health to determine what they will require (3-bay sinks must be a certain size, for example)

More soon!  Thanks for stopping by!