Inspections Completed

We received our final inspection today from Georgia's Department of Agriculture at 8:00 AM today. Then I promptly went to Canton to finalize and pick up the business licence for Jakes.


Mark this task as complete! We are officially ready to open for business. I will get our produce scales from Jake this week to have them inspected, then decide on our actually opening. Quick look at the calendar and coordinate a few agenda items should help here.....



I'll post our opening date and projected hours hopefully this week!

Jake's Produce Vegetables

Squash, tomatoes, green peppers, onions and brussell sprouts to name a few.

Update on Jake's Opening

Well, today is May 21 and we are not open...

We did pass both the building and fire inspections yesterday. I then learned we also needed a Dept of Agriculture inspection...We were able to contact the office and make arrangements for the Ag inspection on Tuesday, May 26. In my mind I am not prepared for this inspection, so cross your fingers.

Additional updates are we added spotlights to the outdoor signage and replaced all the exterior bulbs. Most of the Bac-Yard Oasis pottery pots were removed from the building, a refrigerator is now in place and display stands/table are in place.

The vegetable garden is looking good....and I have posted a few pictures for you to view.

We are on track....just delayed....keep in touch with our progress.

Sign is Up!

We finally put up the "Jake's Opening Soon" sign yesterday. I wanted to put our targeted opening date of 5/21 but that remains unconfirmed. We still need our building inspection and to complete the outdoor lighting and displays....

I also purchased a new cash register yesterday from Staples. It is a basic electronic register from Sharp for $99.99 with a $50 mail-in rebate.....couldn't beat the price. Rick and I set it up last night and tested out the process. All was good with the exception of not knowing how to use the check and credit keys in lieu of the cash key so we could properly reconcile our sales reports at the end of each day. I will call Sharp's customer service today and ask them.

In the meantime, we are still looking for someone to paint our sign....if you know of anyone please contact me.

Atlanta's State Farmers Market

This weekend has been busy...starting on Friday with a visit to the Farmers Market in Forest Park GA (aka Atlanta's State Farmers Market). The farmers market is open year-round, but the Georgia Grown farmers do not arrive until late April or Early May. Normally, their first crop to arrive from South Georgia are Vidalia onions....and yes, they have arrived!

On this visit, I met Wendall Kight and his wife from B&B Farms in Uvalda, GA (located 18 miles south of Vidali, GA in Tombs Co.) They were over-flowing with Vidalia onions and soon will have cabbage and squash available. Farmers in neighboring stalls will have tomatoes, cantalopes, watermelons, bush and string beans and peaches available beginning in 2-3 weeks and lasting throughout the 2009 season.

Looks like Jake's will be opening in a few weeks with the help of our South Georgia farmers. We anticipate crops from North Georgia not becoming available until early July. We still have a few loose ends to tie before the opening....but obtaining Georgia locally grown crops has been the biggest goal.