Holiday Benefit Concert with The Uncle Steve Band - This Sat., Dec. 19th - http://ping.fm/XI0aH

Just did 2 great fudge tastings at "Table & Vine" & "Domaney's" in Western MA. Find places that sell our fudge: http://ping.fm/vNkNx

This Saturday night (Dec. 12th), Reaganta will perform at The Mill Fudge Factory. A magical night! http://ping.fm/pueoA

This holiday season, send fresh fudge to those you love! Order by 12/14 for delivery by Christmas. http://ping.fm/de1MZ

Get a Free half lb of fudge when you order by midnight Dec. 1st http://ping.fm/UeA33

Have a good Thanksgiving all! Also, save $$ by pre-ordering fudge by Friday! http://ping.fm/Nqm3H

Tonight, the Jack Pine Holdouts will perform live at The Mill Fudge Factory. Come on down for a great night, invite your friends and family, bring your own beer and wine, and enjoy an excellent show for just $7. Enjoy our tasty light-fare for dinner and our homemade ice cream and fudge for dessert.

Can't be with all your loved ones this Thanksgiving? Send 'em fudge! Order by midnight to guarantee arrival by Thanksgiving! http://ping.fm/LQDqZ

Get 10% off all orders before Thanksgiving! http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/175185/6a86fe32a1/110000582/80928c466f/
Free Shipping too.

Check out our latest "Scoop" Newsletter - http://ping.fm/3tLlM

Tonight, enjoy Paul Conner and Lou Porazzo perform live. They're both amazing in their own right, and together they create magic. Pick up some beer or wine, & come on down for an excellent night for just $7. http://ping.fm/icAZt

Great to be back!

It is so wonderful to have The Mill filled with the sound of great music once more. Joel Cage played last Saturday and he was truly on form. Read a review of Joel's recent work on Randy Richards blog. Randy is from Mountain Spirit Institute and it was he who introduced us to Chimu, the Peruvian band who played at The Mill a while back. He tells me they will be returning to America next year, so look out for a Fall concert.

Why We Need Live Music – Part 1 « Mountain Spirit Institute: Blog

I'm thinking I need to write a talk about the importance of live music, and take it out on the road. It is so important that we keep it alive, and there are so few venues these days where it is considered important enough to listen rather than it be thought of as background music. I can't imagine as an actress, performing in a play as people chat among themselves, I am at a loss as to why it became acceptable to treat musicians that way. I am proud of the Mill audiences and the reception we give musicians, I know they appreciate it.

Unusually , we have two concerts this week. Tonight we have jazz for the first time. An exciting experiment to see if there is enough interest to make it a regular thing, and on Saturday Paul Connor and Lou Porrazzo play.

Another of Noah's great ideas, is our new Music Club. It's a way of thanking people who come very regularly to the concerts, and a way of encouraging more of you to do the same! Details below.

Mill Music Club

Regular at our concerts? Save a $1 on every show and get 10% off an entree at all concerts (as an active member).

Membership is free but you must pre-pay for at least 5 concerts at once (at a discounted price). Membership cards will be available for purchase at every concert.

Come on down to The Mill Fudge Factory & enjoy live Jazz! Neal Martin & Terry Langsford performing 7:30 pm tonight! http://ping.fm/PBQtf

This Sat., Joel Cage will be performing live at The Mill Fudge Factory. Bring your friends and family (or come alone and meet someone new!), grab some beer and wine, and come on down for an excellent night of entertainment for just $7. Children under 10 are free. Enjoy our tasty light-fare for dinner and our homemade ice cream and fudge for dessert. 7:30 - 9:30 pm. http://ping.fm/1J4VN

Check out our latest "Scoop" w/ Oct. concerts and info on our new music club: http://ping.fm/09Jx4

You're invited to our Grand Re-Opening celebration. See today's paper: http://ping.fm/rJSFP

Getting excited as Grand Re-Opening gets closer

Saturday night, Terry who makes our ice cream, David and I were continuing working to get The Mill looking good in anticipation of you all flooding in for our Grand Re-Opening. Saturday September 26th with The Uncle Steve Band. Terry made a fabulous dinner of grilled portabello mushrooms topped with spinach, two cheeses and tomatoes. Like mini pizza's. Delicious. We all agreed it should go on the menu as a special one evening. Brynie, who has worked for us almost from the beginning, and who is Noah's girlfriend, was heading off to Boston to graduate school. We toasted the re-opening of The Mill, and Brynie's new adventure. Later I cleaned up listening to Audrey Drake's CD, Soul to Keep. We have such a high calibur of musicians who play at The Mill. Audrey is phenominal. She is playing at The Mill, October 3rd and you will be able to buy this CD. As I listened to her rendering of 'Another Day'. "Maybe my eyes won't be so blue tomorrow". It made me think. It is another day for us. Something is ending, for Brynie, for us, for The Mill, and something else is beginning. it's called LIFE, and it never ceases to excite me.

Musings while cleaning the Mill

Last week I was in the Mill cleaning and organizing, sprucing the place up for Open Mic on Friday. I was alone and it started to impact me, being there again, just how much this place means to me. We bought the building four years ago. My son Marty and Noah, David and I, did much of the renovation ourselves to save money. It was a real labor of love to restore the old building to it's former glory. The beams across the main room and the panels on the walls are cut from the first forests of New England. It is truly a historic place. Working with Arnold Graton Jnr. was an honor. He is an amazingly talented third generation expert on historic buildings. It was his detective work that confirmed the date and identification of the main room and back of the building to be the 1767 Grist Mill mentioned in the History of Bristol. In that main room, we have had many precious memories. The Uncle Steve band played their first gig together after they formed. Joshua and Melissa had recently re located to NH from the New Orleans area, after literally outrunning Hurricane Katrina with two small children in their car. It was while running the business that Noah develop from a kid fresh out of college to a mature and very capable business man. Our special friendship with Terry, ‘The Ice-Cream Man’ began when he quietly joined us late one night as we were painting the sign for the front of the building. We were trying to get it finished and up for the 4th July which was the next day and it was already ten o’clock. He was still there painting his end of teh sign, long after midnight. Since then we have leaned on Terry’s broad shoulders many times as he told us to, “Take it down a notch,” when we were freaking out about some crisis or other. We celebrated with him last year when he became a Grandfather.

Dawn, our first front shop person gave birth to Symphony,(We named a swirl-in after her!) and managed to keep working with us till later when twin boys came along! Lately we have shared with her and her husband the trauma and frustration as the whole Mica building drama unfolded, their house is on the other side of the Mica building. There have been sad times too. Meghan, who makes our fudge, lost her only sister in a terrible accident on 93 when her car hit a moose. It was in the main room, not our home, that David and I, Noah and Brynie, Marty and his girlfriend, waited till the early hours with a bottle of Champagne to celebrate the birth of our first grandchild almost two years ago. When Noah's mother called and asked, soberly, to be taken off the speaker phone because something had gone terribly wrong, and we learned that our grandchild was born with a Chromosome 4 depletion and we, as a family, would all have very severe challenges in the years to come.

The room has been filled with the best music New England has to offer, from Rocking with Joel Cage, to bluegreass to Gypsy Jazz and Celtic. At open mic on a Friday, we have watched as person after person has developed their performance skills, safe in the knowledge that they are among supportive friends. We have burst into spontaneous music jams, singing and dancing. Noah, David and I have had intense meetings where we thought there was no way we could survive financially, and then we did. Often with the wonderful help of Stewart, our advisor from the NH Small Business Development Center.

It was in this room that very respectable people like, Miss Purple the local school teacher, became a groupie of a band for the first time in her life, and shamelessly follows the Uncle Steve Band to all their gigs :) We have had poetry readings and play readings, we have crashed on a blow up mattress on the stage, when the snow was too deep for us to reach our place in the woods, and dipped in the river to cool off on a hot sticky summer night when cleaning up after an event seemed endless.

Most of all, we have fulfilled our desire to be a part of a community. To walk down the street and be able to say hello to people we know. To have a place where over many years, we can make good things happen. We feel we have hardly started. We have so many ideas and plans for our business, and the community that supports it. Now that we are back, we are so looking forward to enjoying the unfolding of great times, great music, and many, many more happy memories.

Know anyone who needs a job in the Newfound area? The Mill Fudge Factory is hiring! http://ping.fm/Rj7vp

It's official we can get back into The MIll!

Finally, we learned yesterday officially that we have access to our building again. The town engineer inspected the shoring up work that Suldenski has completed on the Mica building, and it is now in no danger of falling down on us. Of course it is easier said than done that we can simply move back in and open for business. There is a LOT that has to be done on many fronts before we can transfer operations back there. I am going to at least clean the place up for open mic next Friday, but we will probably still be operating from the Grill for ice cream only for a while. I'll keep you posted.

This has been a very stressful time for us, and we want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all of you out there who supported us in so many ways. It was, and continues to be your support that keeps us going. Every time we were ready to give up, someone said something or did something that reminded us of why we started this business in the first place, and it was never to make money! :)

Help celebrate our 3rd Bday as a growing family business by ordering online http://tinyurl.com/mgfubf. Get 15% off w/ this code: "3YearSale"

Eight more weeks at least

Since no one is keeping us informed as to the progress of the Mica factory, and since we have actually seen a few professional workers in there in the last few weeks, I asked one of them how it is going. He said it is going well, and that they should have the floors shored up in about eight weeks. I don't know if we will get into our building at that point or not. Meanwhile I have cancelled the September concerts. It's clear that the five weeks given to Suldenski, three weeks ago by the selectmen is not going to be honored. He will use his waiver to buy more time, I am sure. So, maybe October, who knows. I still find it very hard to believe this has happened.

"Coffee" Fudge Naming Contest Results are In

For several months now we've collected suggestions for new names for our coffee fudge. We received nearly 30 great suggestions and many votes. We're grateful for your participation and assistance in naming our new flavor of fudge.

In the end, "Mocha Mill" came in with the most number of votes, however our coffee fudge contains no chocolate as the word, "mocha" implies so we'll have to save that one for when we make a mocha fudge.

The next top suggestion was "Wicked Good Coffee", however since we don't want to use the word "coffee"we've decided on the name "Wicked Good Cappuccino." It's rich, sweet, creamy and sophisticated, yet down to earth & from New Hampshire. The winner of the free pound for her suggestion of "Wicked Good..." is Sarah Fischer from Somerville, MA. Congrats Sarah!

Getting ready for Stratham Fair near Portsmouth, NH. Come visit if you can! http://ping.fm/Pyn6E

New Concord Monitor article

Maddie Hanna has written a follow up article in response to the selectmen's press release. Please read it and leave comments. Very little is going on at the Mica factory, despite the deal struck with the selectmen to begin a five week program of clean up and shore up, and the "Pouring of money into it" to quote the article. There is a little bit of cleanup by two guys, the kid from across the road and the local homeless guy, and occasionally Suldenski himself. Still no sign of a professional crew. I'm so glad the selectmen are keeping a sharp eye on the situation!

( Sorry if the sarcasm offends, I know Oscar Wilde said it was the lowest form of wit, but I just can't resist at this point:))

http://concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090715/NEWS01/907150384

Finally some activity

Lumber has been delivered to the Mica building and Suldenski was there today. Looks like he is going to shore it up and make it 'safe' to work on for his grand renovation. I'm not holding my breath on any of it. If he does, however finish shoring up, we should be able to get back to our building as soon as the fire chief and code officer declare it safe to do so. Below is a list of conditions that Suldenski has to follow in order to proceed with this work......wait a minute? Read number 15! He can waiver any of them if he chooses!!!!! Well done Selectmen! Continue to trust Suldenski implicitly, he certainly earned that trust, right?

The paid professionals of Bristol have to be tearing their collective hair out.

CONDITIONS FOR THE ISSUANCE

OF

LAND USE PERMIT # 09-043

Finalized on June 25^th, 2009

The following items are conditions of approval for the land use permit to shore and brace 8, aka 5, Central Street, Map 114 Lot 123, also known as the Mica Building:

1. Duration of construction under this permit will be five (5) weeks. This permit is to allow the owner to brace and shore the four story building captioned above, only, and specifically does not address reconstruction, bracing or other activity associated with the roof, itself. This permit shall expire after five (5) weeks from date of issuance, unless an extension of such permit is granted by the Town of Bristol. Due to the nature of the project and the danger posed to the public by the building in its current state, an extension shall only be granted upon request by the owner and by showing of exceptional circumstances that warrant such an extension.

2. The owner/contractor is authorized to temporarily tarp the area of the roof collapse to deter weather from entering the building during the permit activities.

3. This permit is subject to Chapter 17 of the ICC International Building Code/2006, Chapter 17, “Structural Tests and Special Inspections” on CASE (Council of American Structural Engineers) forms submitted to the Town of Bristol, by the New Hampshire licensed professional structural engineer of record.

4. Location of the dumpster is to be in the four (4) spaces in front of, and parallel to the building, as approved by the Police Chief and the Highway Superintendent. The dumpster is not to block water shut offs. Reflective tape or equal to be adhered to the dumpster and maintained at all times.

5. There is to be no occupancy of the building, and the building is to be secured against trespass.

6. Portable toilets, a contractor trailer, or a travel trailer that is clearly signed as the construction office for the project is permitted to be sited on municipal property, located easterly from the subject property, in an area approved by the Police Chief and Highway Superintendent. The travel trailer shall not be used for residential purposes at any time.

7. Upon completion of the work under this permit, the professional engineer of record shall certify such completion, as well as, certify that the building is structurally sound and poses no danger to the public, in writing with signature and seal, as provided under Chapter 17 of the ICC IBC/2006.

8. The licensed professional structural engineer of record shall provide an inspection schedule, wherein said engineer will be on site for inspections at a minimum of once per week, with the understanding that daily inspections may be required at particular times, as agreed to by the Town of Bristol and the structural engineer of record and as stated in the CASE forms submitted before the issuance of any permit.

9. Final proposed engineered plans are required to be submitted to the Town of Bristol prior to any brace/shore activities, signed and sealed by the licensed professional engineer of record. Field changes are required to be submitted to the Town of Bristol, signed and sealed by the licensed professional engineer of record, prior to implementation. As-built drawings, signed and sealed by the licensed professional engineer of record, shall be submitted within ten (10) days of completion of that particular work.

10. Inspection reports will be submitted to the Town of Bristol by the professional structural engineer of record, signed and sealed, within ten (10) days of the inspection.

11. The contractor will notify the Police Chief of any activity requiring a detail for traffic control, a minimum of forty-eight (48) hours before the activity is to commence. The owner has agreed to meet with the Police Chief to ascertain the requirements for a traffic detail.

12. In the event that steel or engineered lumber is designed for any part of the building, the professional structural engineer of record will supply to the Town of Bristol the manufacturer’s specifications and his calculations for said structural members.

13. The use of acetylene or other type of “hot” tools will not be utilized in this project.

14. The owner will supply and maintain fire extinguishers, to be of the type, size and location in the building, as determined by the Fire Chief.

15. Given the unpredictability of the repair project and the necessity for deviations which may occur, notwithstanding the foregoing conditions, for good cause shown, the applicant may request waiver of any condition which will be considered by the permit issuing authority.

Part of the Community at the Naturally Newfound Fair

We scooped up lots of, "Newfound's Natural Homemade Ice Cream" to many happy people at the Naturally Newfound fair in Hebron last Saturday. We just about sold all the ice cream we brought with us, joking at the end to customers, "Would you like coffee, coffee, or coffee?"People didn't seem to mind though. Maybe next time we'll bring 3 coolers!

The Newfound Lake Region Association organized the fair along with some local co-sponsors. The crowds came out to celebrate the "Newfound way of life" despite a little rain. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, and we hope our ice cream and fudge added to their enjoyment.

It was really cool to notice how much more "known" we were this year compared to Naturally Newfound '08 and '07. Before, we were the newbies, with locals asking where we were located and what we're up to. This time, probably 90% of people knew about our fudge and ice cream. Many asked about our situation with the mica building. It was great to feel like we're truly an integral part of the Newfound community now. The people who didn't know about us were often new to the community and just discovering what's here! We're honored to be part of such a wonderful community of people.

We look forward to being at the Newfound Chamber of Commerce event, "Taste of Newfound" and hope to see you there.

Dangerous, irresponsible crazy development!

Terry was in the Square today and talked to a kid of about twenty, who has been hired by Suldenski to start clearing the floors of the Mica building! He was in there for three hours this afternoon on his own, with no hard hat! Not only that, but he 'borrowed' our wheelbarrow to get the job done! This is a building that the Fire Chief, the code officer and two structural engineers have said is so unsafe that we had to be evacuated, and Suldenski sends in a kid to clean it up.

If this is the way he is going to proceed, and I can't say it's a surprise, someone is going to get hurt. Please call and write to the selectmen, particularly Bruce Van Derven, since he seems to be the selectman who is most involved with Suldenski, or better still go to the meeting tomorrow night and demand answers as to how they are going to oversee this project so that no one is killed

Something moving at last

Suldenski and Bruce Van Derven were spotted outside of the Mica building the other day, and a dump truck was delivered. We had heard that the selectmen were negotiating with Suldenski, remember his rights are infinitely more important that ours, or the down town area of Bristol! :) It looks like work is about to start to shore up the building from the inside. If that is what is happening, we should be able to move back into our building as soon as the Mica building is made safe. Then it will be interesting to watch how the situation develops. Will Suldenski stop there, or will he renovate the whole building? Where is he getting the money for this, since he owes the town of Franklin $26,000 in back taxes? Is he going to shore it up and leave it as an unsightly blight on the Square while he makes useless appeals to NH Superior court? The selectmen clearly believe in him. They think he will honor the negotiations, and continue with the renovation. If indeed it turns out he had money all along, then why could he not have met his responsibilities before it nearly put us out of business? I'll keep you posted

Need a last minute Father's Day gift? Send an online gift certificate by email for fresh New England fudge! http://ping.fm/wEX26

Front page news!

Check out this great article which is on the front page of the Concord Monitor today. 

http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090606/FRONTPAGE/906060339

It is well written, captures the situation perfectly, and in my opinion shows up the selectmen and Suldenski very well indeed! :)

After four months of nothing happening and Suldenski's rights being put way in front of ours by the selectmen, even when the court deemed otherwise, we have been forced to retain a lawyer. It is not something we wanted to do. We would have preferred to be on the same side as our town government. If they had even once agreed to sit down with us face to face to listen to us, and to ask us intelligent questions about our situation, and what would best help our business  survive, things could have been very different. The communication with them was abysmal from the day in February when we all stood outside the Mica building and the selectmen refused to meet with us, instead going into a closed meeting. We had to push them then, and ever since, to at least listen to us, and all we have ever received is political platitudes. So now it is in the hands of lawyers, and quite frankly it is a relief. 

So just to be clear, the Selectmen now have the power to demolish the Mica Building, regardless of what Suldeneski said in the article.  Please let the Selectmen know how you feel about their delay, and remember,  since they have to vote in public session, stay in touch with their agenda. Those votes are first discussed in private, and the vote can be over before you noticed in the public arena! 

Great article in the Concord Monitor today, "Empty factory's fate looms over cafe" - http://ping.fm/gIqZS

Getting ready for the Grand Opening of "The Mill Ice Cream & Fudge Express" this weekend: http://ping.fm/aRc6Z

Court hearing, and yes the selectmen want to negotiate with Suldenski

David and Noah were at the court hearing yesterday and David was able to talk to the judge, who said he empathized with our situation. We don't know how long it will take till a verdict comes in, but we can confirm from conversations David and Noah had yesterday that regardless of what the court decides,  the five selectmen do indeed want to negotiate with John Suldenski. We find this unbelievable. A web search in court records leaves one in no doubt what kind of a landlord and property owner John Suldenski is. Why the selectmen would want to negotiate with him, while the building remains a health and safety hazard, (The code officer, the fire chief and two structural engineers confirm this) and why they would refuse to even talk to us now, given that we are about to lose our business because of this, is anyone's guess. The selectmen do have a way out of this. They can use the emergency funds to take the building down. They are playing politics, hoping no one is injured in the meantime! We want a lot more than that from them. We want some vision and big thinking! Imagine the down town with several thriving businesses, run by people who actually pay their taxes. Imagine the down town area without that huge slum building? Imagine a garden where people could sit by the river, or a decent building with a decent landlord who won't rent it out to God knows who,  and not keep up with repairs?

Thank you all for following this blog,  according to Google analytics, we have over 400 hits on this blog, so you may not be commenting much, but you are paying attention. 

Minutes bristol board of selectmen meeting Friday May 8

Right now all I can do is post this. I don't think I have ever been so angry in my life!

4. Mica Building

Selectman Van Derven proposed the following motion:  that no meetings be scheduled with the abutters until a final determination is made regarding the manner of demolition of the Mica Building, by either razing it under 155b or under a mutual agreement with the property owner.  Further, there should be no contact with Jay-Mor Enterprises until a final decision is made regarding the demolition of the Mica Building through either razing under 155B or per agreement with the property owner. 

The Board of Selectmen further direct Town Counsel Adele Fulton to negotiate a settlement mutually agreeable to both parties, allowing the property owner to demolish one or two floors per terms agreeable to parties, (but not limited to demolition of one or two floors), weather tight (roof, siding, window openings), weatherproof (exterior stain or paint), structurally safe and sound per applicable regulations and standards.  Selectman Milbrand seconded this motion, which was passed by a 5 – 0 vote in favor. 

Benefit concert this Saturday and update on Mica builing

Looking forward to the benefit concert on Saturday, noon to 5 pm at The Old Town Hall on Summer street on the other side of the square, hope to see you all there. It should be a blast! Great musicians, great food from Pat's seafood and pizza place in Bristol Square, and our ice cream. We can't thank Lil, and The Uncle Steve Band enough for organizing this. 

The situation with the Mica Factory drags on. The Plymouth court ruled in favor of the town being allowed to demolish the building, but Suldenski has a few more weeks to appeal. If he does, I am not hopeful it won't drag on for a few more months, and I am very concerned that if he is given the right to do the demolition, can we be sure he will use a reputable company, so that it is done safely. I still find it hard to believe that there was no quicker way to get an unsafe building down. I saw kids skateboarding right in front of it yesterday, ignoring the police signs that the road is closed. The Reynolds family, (you all know Dawn, our amazing cafe server) lost their tenant who was also going to buy their building on the other side of the Mica factory. They are in a very difficult situation now, with no way to keep up the mortgage, and the insurance company refusing to keep covering their building. So far the selectmen have agreed to help with our extra rent, not by a long shot, the only extra expense that we are incurring. If it wasn't for the Fudge Factory, we would have gone out of business already.

Anyway, it will be great to party on Saturday, I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to grab my dancing partner and boogie down! 

We're giving 15% off our Belgian Chocolate fudge for Mother's Day. Check out the email we just sent: http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/175185/c18c694759/110000582/ef782adf51/

Wow, just received an order for 10 loaves of our new organic chocolate fudge to: http://ping.fm/qRdo2 in Wolfeboro, NH!

Getting ready to open "The Mill Ice Cream and Fudge Express" tonight and tomorrow 6-9pm, 26 Central Street, Bristol, NH - (603)744-0405

To celebrate Earth Day, we launched our organic chocolate fudge. Check out the email we sent: http://ping.fm/q56lf

Earth Day Organic Fudge Launched! - by Noah

When I gave samples out at the Stonyfield Farm Entrepreneur Institute recently, I had a steady stream of people approaching him to praise the fudge. One person commenting, "It gave me a chocolate experience I haven't had since I was a kid." Since it was our first full batch of organic fudge, I kept asking for any way we could improve it, but nobody came up with anything! They loved it, and we're sure you will too!

I recently finished reading "Stirring It Up" by Gary Hirshberg, the CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farm. There was a section in it that discussed taking a trip to South America to visit the organic banana plantations. On the way, he passed many non-organic farms and noticed children playing in waterways near the fields. His heart sank when he realized these children were playing in poisonous chemicals running off from the non-organic agricultural fields. It made him glad he was using organic ingredients and determined to support more organic agriculture. At the same time, there are stories of blind studies of how much healthier and better tasting organic food truly is.

Inspired by Stonyfield Farm, we set forward to slowly develop more all-natural and organic flavors of fudge.

In honor of Earth Day, if you order this flavor anytime before Mother's Day (May 10th) we'll donate 25% of your purchase to the Newfound Lake Region Association, a local environmental non-profit organization who is helping protect the Newfound region through conservation and preservation of the region's natural, social and economic resources.

For Earth Day and Mother's Day, buying organic fudge is the perfect way to make a positive impact on Mother Earth.

Order Here

Open Mic

Open mic at the Old Town Hall last Saturday, was great! I love that space. It has character and atmosphere, great lighting, and seems a pity it is not used more often. People brought their own food, there is no kitchen, so we can't provide anything, and lots of great musicians turned up. As usual they took a slot each for fifteen minutes, then jammed together for the second part of the evening. That's the bit I love. There is something about a bunch of musicians getting together and jamming. It has amazing energy. They are so obviously enjoying themselves and each other that it is pure joy for the listener.  

David and I were thinking that it would be a great space for a dance. We wondered what you think? A barn dance? Or a dance to the music of , the Uncle Steve Band? Or both. We do have every Saturday night till the Mica building comes down. We could have open mic on the Friday that week, or have it early before the dance. 

Open mic again this Saturday, 7 pm to 10 pm

Please post comments and ideas. Let us know what you think.

Introducing Cabin Fever fudge - get 25% off till Tues

We are excited to announce a new flavor of fudge:

"Cabin Fever" Maple Whiskey Fudge

When we first met Rob from Cabin Fever and discussed our products it seemed like a match made in New England heaven! After a half dozen experiments, we think we have perfected a new flavor of fudge that we are really excited about.

Our New England country fudge infused with New England’s very own Spirit "Cabin Fever," an exceptionally smooth 3 year old barrel aged whiskey. With “maple and oak at the forefront and hints of caramel and butterscotch” it creates an original fudge guaranteed to delight.

You don't need cabin fever as an excuse to enjoy this new flavor!

When Rob gave out samples at stores, he had people coming over to him from the other side of the store saying, "I was told I had to try this fudge."

We're so confident that you will love it that we're offering an incentive to try it by giving you

25% OFF this flavor until Tuesday April 14th.

Don't miss this one time offer. Order Now.

Note: Although this flavor is made with lots of real whiskey, the alcohol all gets cooked away so the fudge is alcohol-free.

Hope you enjoy,

Noah, Linda and David

Concerts canceled but Open mic lives on - Tonight!

In case you don't receive our email updates, please click here to see the email we just sent last night. Also, you can sign up to receive our email "Scoop" in the box down and to the left.

Open Mic Nights
Saturdays 7-10pm
Bristol Old Town Hall
Pot Luck so bring your favorite dish including dessert!

Hope to see you tonight~Noah, Linda and David

Sadly, Reaganta was the first and last concert for now

We had a great concert on Saturday. Reaganta are wonderful, the atmosphere was amazing, and it was  good to see people we have not seen over the winter.  We are so look forward to the Reaganta Christmas concert in our own Mill in mid December.

 It is however with great regret, that we have decided not to continue with the concerts till we get back into our own building. It took a lot for us to come to this. Last week was the week from hell. With David's company laying off so many in his department, his responsibility to make sure that things keep running, means that he will have more than enough on his plate. I had a big health scare on Thursday, for forty eight hours we thought it was just about as serious as it gets. On Friday night I had a CAT scan and long story short, I am fine. But I can't begin to describe what it was like for David and I facing into something like that, on top of everything else. We are exhausted.  Every week of this crisis has brought fresh challenges and it is showing no sign of abating. We still don't  know if the town will keep helping with the rent, or if we can even stay at the Grill for much longer. We don't know when the Mica building is coming down. The town has now gone to court which means another months delay. We can't run a business not knowing where we are going to be from week to week. It was with a very heavy heart that I wrote to the musicians and cancelled the concerts for April, May and June. They are all wonderful and very sympathetic. The Uncle Steve Band are organizing a benefit for The Mill, on Saturday May 9th. Several bands that play regularly at The Mill, will be playing. Watch this space for more details, and thank you all for your support.

Tonight's concert and new development

So looking forward to tonight's concert! As you know it will be at The Masonic Lodge 18 Pleasant St  Bristol at 7.30 pm. Reaganta, have not played at the Mill before. They are  fantastic and will play again for a special Christmas concert in December, lets hope that one will be back in our own place! 

Unfortunately the Masons voted against us using there hall after tonight. We just don't seem to get a break! We are very disappointed and on the road again, looking for a semi permanent place for the Saturday music nights. If anyone has any ideas let me know please. We can, as a last resort, use the Old Town Hall but it does not have a kitchen.  Any church hall with a kitchen would be great. We are looking for a place for Saturday nights only at least through April and May. Our thought for after tonight, is to have open mic 6pm to 7.30pm as a separate event, then break and start the concert at 8pm. 

Selectmen meeting and on to the next round

"The commercial vendor shall be offered the use of the Old Town Hall, at no charge, for hosting community events.  A further condition of payment beyond April 3, 2009, is that the commercial vendor, contact the TTCC to confirm the suitability of the Center's kitchen for fudge production, and if so, present a negotiated amount to the Selectmen for consideration in the decision to continue payments.  The Board of Selectmen direct that the aforementioned with respect to the forgoing payments on behalf of the residents and commercial vendor, be authorized and desire the Town Attorney, Adele Fulton, to communicate the terms of this motion to the recipients of public funds as soon as possible, by phone and in writing, on behalf of the Town of Bristol."

 In the light of the fact that we cannot have members of the public enter The Grill, we have very reluctantly and with great sadness, decided that we cannot open the Ice Cream Cafe until we get back into our own building. Above is an extract from the minutes of the selectmen meeting last Thursday. While it looks like there are some answers to at least part of  our situation, we have a way to go. We talked to TTCC and it is not an appropriate space for our Fudge Factory. They have many people using their space daily, and there is no place  for us to set, mold, pack and ship our fudge. That part of our operation requires a permanent set up which takes up a medium to large size room, next to a commercial kitchen. 

With regard to the Old Town Hall, it is a very generous offer and very tempting to take a place that is free, in order to save our music events. However, these events are not "Community Events" they are commercial. The musicians are given the cover charge and we sell our food. There is no kitchen in the Old Town Hall. If we go there, and it is not being ruled out, we have to work out the limitations of the place, or it will purely be to provide a concert for the community, and to honor the bookings with the musicians so they don't have vacant dates unfilled in their schedules. It will by no means keep us financially afloat.

We are in negotiation with another venue that does have a kitchen. I have also talked with the town code officer to be absolutely clear about what is legal in terms of food preparation and venues. We do not want to be moved again!

All quiet on the western front

A chance to breath today, after an unbelievably intense day yesterday. David is back at his office, not in great spirits, his colleagues will be sorely missed. Let's hope they find good jobs. If anyone needs, absolutely brilliant computer experts let us know, one of them is based in Manchester NH.

The Grill is drying out, thank goodness, and we are really looking forward to the concert on Saturday. See if we can't cheer David up with a dance! We are in negotiation to find a semi permanent concert venue. If it works out, great, if not we will ask for ideas. The musicians have been fantastic about the uncertainty, sending many supportive messages. We will find a place, it would be nice if it was one place we could call home for a while. 

 On a lighter note, in the middle of this crazy mayhem, we have a new puppy. It was arranged in January. That seems like a life time ago. Kayla, our West Highland Terrier, is often baby sat by Meghan, our fudge maker, who has two dogs. We noticed she liked being in a bigger pack. Kayla, that is, not Meghan :) One thing led to another! We sure needed the laughs we have had watching Kayla "train' Sasha not to touch her toys. 

Link to Reaganta music

http://www.reaganta.com/music.html

The Mill Cafe and Friends of The Mill present....

This Saturday April 4th 7.30pm at The Masonic Lodge 18 Pleasant Street Bristol. Cover $5 for the band, $2 for our expenses. THE FRIENDS OF THE MILL will provide food and drinks by donation. Please don't bring beer or wine, the Masonic Lodge don't allow that. This is a night not to be missed. The atmosphere will be very special, great community spirit, fabulous music, maybe even some dancing! See you there!

This in from Regina of Reaganta, "I have faith, linda....our only tech requirements are:   5 chairs, water and a table to sell our cd's.  IF space permits....we can teach and call some ceili dances at the end of the concert.  We'll bring our own sound.

All the best,

Regina

The plot thickens!

So much has happened in a few days, and it has taken up all of our time just dealing with it. Here is the diary.

Thursday:  We attended the selectmen meeting and David read a statement from all three of us. We handed them a very impressive petition of 450 names and many great comments. There should be no doubt in their minds that we have a lot of local support. As is the nature of the meeting, there was no new information, just some words of support from the chairman. We know that most of the selectmen feel supportive on a personal level. We also know that on a town business level, we are just one small part of a very big mess. They will do what they deem right for the town and that will not necessarily be right for The Mill. Our job with your help is to convince them and the town that The Mill is very important to the future of the downtown area, that it brings much needed income to Bristol, employs local people and could employ a lot more in years to come. And it will not exist if the Mica building does not come down very, very  soon. The selectmen, to their credit, had agreed as of Thursday, to pay us another month rent at the Grill. That will take us up to April 19th. The earliest the Mica building could come down is May and the latest is anyone’s guess at this point.

Friday: We got a call from the town manager, the fire chief, and the code officer. The fire chief had checked the file on the Grill and found that there was an agreement made between the previous fire chief and the owner, that a sprinkler system be put in by September 2008. This had not happened and therefore we could not have public gatherings in the building. We had one open mic the Saturday before, which went really well, and we had intended to keep them going and to have our concert series start on April 4th. 

Saturday: David and I raced around Bristol all afternoon looking for a place to have open mic that night. We visited a few places, made a few calls and drew a blank. We returned to the Grill in a very low state of mind. Sara of Blue Sky Whole Foods, was calling around for us too, and she spoke to Joe Denning. He came to the Grill with an hour to spare and took us to the Masonic Hall on Pleasant Street. We were able to have a great open mic. The feeling of community was fabulous. I got more hugs than I have had on one night, Lil Furbish and Ruth brought food,  Steve from Uncle Steve Band sang a song about The Mill written by Melissa, his daughter in law. We laughed, we cried, and we decided to fight on. 

Monday: David went in to work (his day job, the one that actually creates money!) and was told that the company was laying off sixty people. He lost all but one colleague including his boss, who he loves. It is shattering. I just came off the phone with him when Meghan, our fudge maker, called from the Grill to say the apartment above had a burst pipe and we were flooded! Needless to say I did not tell David. Meghan and I dealt with the situation together.

 Monday evening:  I am slightly spooked, praying nothing else goes wrong. We are going ahead with Saturday’s concert. “Reaganta”  the musicians, are absolutely wonderful. It will be a foot stamping night for sure! We will be at the Masonic Lodge, 18 Pleasant Street, just out of the Square next door to the library.  We will have food and drinks, thanks to FRIENDS OF THE MILL, a group that formed to support us and make sure the Mill survives. The cover will be $5 for the band, $2 for us and food will be on a donation basis. The room is very nice, and we will possibly have a little space for dancing. Do not bring beer and wine as it is not allowed in the Masonic Lodge. 

Uncle Steve Band holding benefit

Lil (Steve's wife) and Buzz of The Uncle Steve Band are not going to take the demise of The Mill lying down. Despite Buzz's recent open heart surgery, he threw himself in to help,  SAVE THE MILL.  Lil emailed me this morning to tell me that things are,  "Coming along well.  Buzz secured Joel Cage, Audrey Drake and company( Lou and Paul) and is waiting to hear back from Woody and the Bean Hill band...great!  we are so happy. People are great  this is a good lesson for me as well..to have faith back again in human kindness." Lil

It will be May 9th at the TTCC in Bristol  12-5pm.

Thank you guys, this kind of thing is what is keeping us going!

Update and great article

Hi,

I was about to add a long overdue update to our situation vis -a -vis the Mica building, (apologies, for the delay, very challenging to run a business and fight this fight simultaneously) Anyway, this great article was published today, which says it all. Thanks to brilliant and concise journalism from Bea Lewis of The Citizen of Laconia. Here is the link. 

http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090324/GJNEWS02/703249859/-1/CITIZEN

We are in touch with the Reynold family and the Reiss family. Both Dawn Reynold and Kelly Reiss have been employed by us at different times, so we know them well and are very concerned for their welfare. Dawn was one of the wonderful people who many of the regular customers know we could not have done without in the first summer of opening the  Mill. I will be talking to both  women tomorrow to ask their permission to blog more details about their story as we go along. 

If you haven’t yet signed our petition please add your name. http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/TheMillBristol/  We feel it is still important to keep gathering signatures.  The Selectmen voted to support us till April 19th, a fact that gave us enormous relief.  We wish to express our gratitude to those selectmen who voted to support us, Joseph Denning, Paul Fraser and Rick Halpers. However no one can tell us for sure when the Mica building will be taken down, and there is no assurance from the selectmen that they will support us beyond April 17th. This means, unfortunately that our business continues to be at risk as we cannot afford to pay both a mortgage and rent indefinitely. 

Link fixed

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/TheMillBristol/

Hi,

We fixed the links so here it is. Please read our petition and add your signature. The more signatures we get, the greater the impact,

Linda

Welcome to our blog, our crisis and how you can help:)!

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to our new blog. For now I will be posting and Noah and David will, I am sure, join in at some future time. I just read the book WHAT WOULD GOOGLE DO by Jeff Jarvis. I was very inspired to start a blog and follow his advice to embrace the new way of doing business and create an online community around our Fudge Factory as a sister to our already wonderful Cafe community in Bristol NH. Little did I know how vital this idea was going to become to our business and personal well-being. 

As some of you will know, this is a time when more than ever we need community. To update those of you who are not aware of what has been happening, we are in the middle of a crisis! Our building, The Mill Ice Cream Cafe and Fudge Factory, sits dangerously close to a four story building that is in very bad shape. After years of neglect, in October last year, part of the roof started to cave in. By mid-February the building was inspected by the town's structural engineer and it was considered a very real hazard to our building and the house on the other side. A family and our business were evacuated indefinitely. Right now we have relocated to the empty restaurant next door. We face the prospect of carrying double expenses with no resolution either from the town or the owner of the hazardous building for an indeterminate period of time. Clearly our business, young as it is, and not yet profitable, is in danger of not surviving! With the economy as it is this is very bad timing. 

Noah, David and I are committed to doing everything in our power to keep going. We are looking at ways to trim down our operation. We may stop serving sandwiches during the day and stick to our  ice cream. That would cut down on seasonal staffing levels and save money. We want to keep our open mic and concert nights running for sure, the music is the heart of the cafe side of the operation. We could offer a full menu for those evenings. We are considering offering beer and wine, as everyone knows, that adds considerable to profit without prep time. We have to keep the fudge factory operational as it is has the most potential for profit. We sell fudge all over the country from our online shop at www.TheMillFudgeFactory.com. People fundraise with our fudge, we wholesale it to country stores, and sell it at fairs and markets. We have made great inroads with this part of the business, but it is early days and our sales have not reached a level that could sustain the survival of the business.  THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN.  Several people have asked us if they can help. Their care has kept us going. We ask that you stay in touch via our website and blog. We will be emailing everyone on our list in the coming days with suggestions and we welcome any ideas about any aspect of this that you may have. I will be updating the blog with information as it comes in. 

According to WHAT WOULD GOOGLE DO, "Your best customer is your partner." We already knew that, and we are asking you to partner with us and together we can SAVE THE MILL!

Much love,

Linda