Trevor nodded. ‘’Course it is. How long do you think you’re going to be?’
‘I’m not sure,’ Harry admitted. ‘Matt’s going to drop in too, maybe take a few measurements, but only if you’ve got time.’
‘I haven’t got another viewing until this afternoon so you can take as much time as you need. I’ve got my laptop with me,’ Trevor added, patting the large satchel slung over his shoulder. ‘So I was thinking I might pop over to The Cosy Coffee Pot and do a bit of work while you look around. Maybe treat myself to one of Issy’s delicious creations.’ He grinned like an excited child at the prospect. ‘That way you’ll be free to chat without mehovering at your shoulder and I can answer any questions you might have afterwards. How does that suit you?’
‘That would be brilliant, cheers, Trevor.’
‘Right, let’s get you inside and the alarm switched off and then I’ll leave you to it.’
By the time Trevor had sorted the alarm out, Liam had arrived with Rick in tow. ‘A proper family gathering, I see,’ Trevor said with a grin as he shook hands with them both. ‘Right, I’ll be over the road when you’re done, Harry.’ With a wave and a cheery smile, he left them to it.
Anticipation stirred in Harry’s gut as he stared at the empty shop. The shelving and counter units had been left in situ, but without all the stock filling them, the shop seemed much bigger than Harry remembered it.
‘So what are you thinking, then?’ Rick prompted.
‘This main area for the kitchen,’ Harry said. The existing fixtures were distracting him so he closed his eyes and tried to picture what he wanted. ‘Six or eight individual workstations, depending on what we can fit in, spaced evenly on either side, and one larger one in the back where I can demonstrate and teach from.’
‘Like they have in theBake Offtent? An oven with work surfaces and storage for equipment?’ Liam asked.
Harry opened his eyes and smiled at the reference. ‘Yeah, that kind of thing. And they’d need a fridge-freezer each as well, and I’d need a couple of industrial ones so I can bulk-order stock. And a pantry space for staples.’
‘We’d better make a list,’ Rick said, pulling his ever-present notebook out of his bag and flipping to a new page.
Liam had wandered over to the large picture windows that were divided by the front entrance door. ‘Depending on your budget, I’d replace this frontage. Make the whole thing glass and set the door off to one side.’
It hadn’t occurred to Harry to make any kind of structural changes to the building. ‘It would certainly make things lighter inside,’ he mused.
His eldest brother nodded. ‘And if you’re open to suggestions I’d say switch the layout around so your workstation is right here in full view of the street. It’d be a great bit of free advertising and also mean none of the people taking your classes are stuck right in public view.’
‘Makes sense. I’m still not sure about changing the windows yet; that’s a big step…’ Harry trailed off as he spotted Matt through the window and he opened the door to let him in. Before he closed it again, Harry took a look up and down the street but there was no sign of his twin. He hadn’t responded to Harry’s text invitation, but he’d still held out hope he’d show up. ‘Ed not with you?’
‘I didn’t know he was coming,’ Matt said, setting a large rucksack on the floor by the door. ‘He was still fast asleep when I left this morning, but that was pretty early as I had to give Dad a hand with an emergency callout. All that rain we’ve had recently has caused Mrs Cowley’s back door to swell and she couldn’t get it open to let Rex out into the garden.’ His cousin pulled his phone out of his pocket. ‘Do you want me to call Ed and remind him?’
‘Nah, leave him to it. He needs all the beauty sleep he can get.’ As he’d hoped, the silly joke was enough to distract his cousin. ‘I’m glad you’re here, anyway, as I need someone with both feet on the ground. We’ve barely started and Liam’s already trying to persuade me to replace the whole of the shop front!’
‘It was just an idea,’ his brother protested, holding his hands up. ‘When Chloe and Anya put together their proposals for the hotel they gave me a whole range of different options. I’m assuming you’ll be speaking to them about designs and colour schemes?’ The two women had recently started their ownbusiness, Penrose Duncan Design, and Liam’s hotel refurb was their first big project.
‘I hadn’t really thought about it,’ Harry admitted. ‘I was just going to paint the walls white and tile the floor in whatever’s up to catering spec and, most importantly, affordable.’
‘What about the lighting?’ Matt asked, pointing with the end of his tape measure up at the old-fashioned strip lights overhead.
‘Umm…’ Harry’s head was starting to spin with the amount of stuff he hadn’t thought about.
‘Chloe and Anya will be able to help with that too. Shall I add it to the list for you to have a chat with them?’ Rick asked.
‘Yeah, I think you’d better. Sorry, guys, I should’ve probably been a bit better prepared for this.’
‘Nonsense,’ Liam said, coming over to place a comforting hand on his back. ‘It’s too much to try and think about all on your own; that’s why we’re here. And don’t feel you have to take on board any of the suggestions we make today. This is your baby and we’re just chucking ideas around as they occur to us, okay?’
Harry nodded, grateful as always for Liam’s sensible head. ‘Shall we have a look around at the rest of the layout?’
‘Why don’t you two do that,’ Rick suggested. ‘And I’ll give Matt a hand to measure up in here.’
The rear of the shop stretched back further than Harry had realised, having been extended at some point in the past. ‘There’s more space here than I thought.’
Liam nodded. ‘Definitely plenty of room for those freezers.’ He pushed open a door to the left. ‘Wow, this stock room is massive, you’ll never fill all these shelves.’
Harry peered in around his brother’s shoulder and laughed. ‘Well, that’s the pantry space sorted.’
