Page 82
I don’t know what he means by that. But for some reason it makes me feel better.
Chapter Twenty-One
Mitch
The next morning, Bear turns up dead on nine. He’s a real gentle giant—six-four, huge shoulders, great big scruffy beard, and kind eyes. He’s also a typical Kiwi guy, always in shorts. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in trousers.
“Hey, you!” Vix smiles from where she’s in the middle of sorting out a pile of books.
“Looks like you’re getting there,” Bear says, gesturing at the boxes.
“About halfway, I reckon.”
I shake his hand. “Morning, thanks for coming.”
“Mitch said you’re thinking of doing some renovations in the shop,” he says to Vix, “and that you’re putting together a business plan for the bank, so I’ll try and get a quote back to you ASAP.”
“That would be great, thank you. I know you’re super busy.”
He waves a hand. “I’ve been doing some research,” he says, “and I spoke to a friend at the council. There’s good news and bad news.”
“Go on,” Vix says.
Bear walks over to the archways. “Good news is it’s obvious these are the original openings. Someone’s framed them in with timber and gib at some point. Structurally, reopening them shouldn’t be a big deal.”
“And the bad news?”
“It’s commercial property.” Bear fingers his beard. “As soon as you’re altering the means of escape between businesses, the council will want to know about it. You’ll almost certainly need building consent, and because it’s an old building, they may want a fire engineer to sign off on things as well.”
I frown. “Even though the doors used to be there?”
“Yeah. Restoring something original helps your case, but it doesn’t exempt you from the current Building Code. Different rules now than there were in the seventies.”
I sigh, but Bear says, “Don’t panic. This sort of thing’s our bread-and-butter. We’ll talk to an architect or draughtsperson and lodge the consent ASAP, and once it’s approved it’s only a couple of days’ work to open them up.”
“So how long would the whole process take?” Vix asks.
“I’ll get an experienced draught person to draw the plans and lodge them with the council. Make sure the application’s really thorough. Actually, I might meet with a council building official beforehand and show them your photo to prove this is a restoration rather than a brand-new structural alteration. If I can lodge it before the end of the week, it’ll take about twenty working days to process the application as it’s the Christmas period. Then, providing all goes well, another week to make the alterations.”
“So we’re talking after Christmas,” Mitch says, “if you were to start the process now.”
“Yeah, but it’d be perfect for a grand opening sometime in the New Year.” Bear smiles at Vix. “Does that sound okay?”
She nods, her eyes bright. “It feels like it’s all coming together. It’s the fifty-fifth anniversary of the shop on the twenty-third of January.”
“You could have a grand reopening,” I say. “It would be perfect timing.”
“We’ll aim for that,” Bear says.
Vix hesitates. “I wonder if we should wait until the loan’s gone through.”
“Why doesn’t Bear get started on the paperwork?” I suggest. “I’ll take the cost of the consent application out of Grandad’s money. Then, even if you decide not to buy in the end for whatever reason, the consent would be a great selling point for the new owners.”
She likes that idea, so we continue walking with Bear around the shop and discuss replacing some of the skirting board and replastering one area that’s been damaged over the years. Tentatively, Vix suggests replacing the front desk with a longer, curving table in the right-hand corner, and Bear promises to add that to his quote.
It turns out there aren’t many major structural changes to make. He can loan us a floor sander to get the old varnish off the floorboards, and he recommends some hardwearing varnish to reapply, as well as a discount on any paint we want.
“And what’s this about a book café?” he teases.
