Good day to all!

The sale of the Dine-ah is progressing along nicely. It is the first time in my life, that I have ever sold anything, other than a house in 1986. I was living in Palermo and going through a divorce and my ex-wife and myself listed the house and it sold in one day. Full offer I must add, and we closed in thirty days. I was kind of thinking this may happen at the Dine-ah once I had an offer so soon. Obviously, the sale price of the Dine-ah is significantly greater than the sale price of my home, back some 28 years ago and things are much different in the commercial arena. With that said, Lisa, Ashley and I have a new target date of May 12th, the day after Mother's Day. This will be my last Mother's Day in the full service restaurant business and as we get closer, I'm looking at many more things I will be doing for the last time, which is an indication the date is getting closer. I attended the Town of China planning board meeting and public hearing this past Tuesday night on the proposed changes that Lisa and Ashley have planned. The entire dining room and kitchen are remaining the same and 50 seats will be added, to create a new lounge in a portion of the building that is currently used for storage. There will be a separate entrance from the rear of the building for the lounge clientele. There will also be a fenced in outside seating area to be utilized in the summer months. This is something that has been missing from the Dine-ah and is needed for it's long term sustainability. The China planning board passed the proposal as presented on a unanimous  4-0 vote.  

The entire staff is staying and the menu is remaining the same. There may be some minor tweaking down the road. Lisa and Ashley realize due to the past success of the Dine-ah, little needs to be changed.  

Speaking of things for the last time, last night Jon James hosted my last Trivia night at the Dine-ah as the owner. It was our last Trivia night of the season and we had a packed house. The questions were as difficult as ever and even though I wasn't totally paying attention to the questions, I only knew two correct answers. I'm just figuring out why I haven't had many offers to join teams throughout the year! LOL!  

Jon is a real entertainer and even though he comes up with the questions, does the research and actually asks the questions on Trivia night, it is his showmanship, as he walks through the dining room, that draws people to him. Yes, people come for the food and drink, but from the bottom of my heart, I actually believe Jon is the big draw. If you know this man, you have to love him. I've never heard him say a bad word about anybody and he's one of the easiest going guys I know. Jon is a personal friend and even though our Trivia nights may be over, I'm sure there's a road trip in the near future, either to Rollie's Restaurant in Belfast or the Stress Free Moose Pub & Cafe in Greenville. I've been to both places with Jon and from the minute you walk through the door, you can instantly tell the staff knows Jon and he is always welcomed back with a big smile. He just has that way about him, fun guy to be around and I am very proud to say that we have become great friends throughout the years because of the Dine-ah.

I met Jon while creating ads to be played on 92 Moose and B98.5. Jon has a state of the art recording studio, where he does professional voice over work for his other business (voiceguy.net) and also commercials to be run on the radio station. Much of the content you hear on the morning Moose show with Jon, Renee and Mac, is developed right downstairs in his China home. I've spent several hours in his "man cave" as Jon calls it, working on ads. In fact, Jon did the voice over for a fairly large advertising piece we did for my other company, G & E Roofing of Augusta. Jon is one talented man!         

                   Norm & Jon having a serious discussion during last Trivia night 4/21/14  

                                    (Do you want fries or onion rings with that burger?)

                                        Thanks to Becky Hapgood for taking this photo 

                               Full house for Trivia...whoops, I see two open seats!

                            Token given to all participants on last Trivia night 

           Newlyweds Wayne and Sue Higgins, who met at the Dine-ah on their first date.

They are now happily married and are very appreciative that we were here for them.  

These two are true sports who were both widowed and now find themselves very happy again.

This is a recent picture (last week) and I just had to include it, with Sue's permission, I think she's  the boss! Matter of fact, I'm pretty sure! What a great couple.All of us at the Dine-ah are very  happy for you both.   

If you are making your Mother's Day plans early, please consider joining us at the China Dine-ah . We will be open at 7 am and seating right up 'til 6 pm. Hope to see you there! If all goes as planned, Mother's Day May 11th will be my last day as the owner. I plan on being there on Mother's Day from open to close and will be assisting the servers and kitchen staff in any way that is needed. I may be bussing tables or delivering food, but either way, I will have a chance to say hi to all of you that I see.   

God Bless,

Norm