March 2004 Well it's all down hill from here - and I mean that in a good way! As most of you know, Planning and Zoning has cleared the way for us to begin the new construction. So lets jump right into this month's progress report. Progress Report * On Wednesday, 3/10, the brewery floor was formed and poured -12 inch's of new concrete with a 1/4" pitch per foot, tied in to a center floor trough drain(12' x 6") - if you drive by on route 10/202 you can see it from the street! * On Tuesday March 16th the complete brewing system will be delivered and carefully placed inside its new home (thanks to all of you who volunteered to help but the shipper / rigger has all the proper equipment to lift the 3,000 lb. brewhouse). * Our new foundation is staked out and the excavation for the new addition / foundation will begin this weekend (March 13th - 14th) * Weather permitting, we anticipate the new foundation will be poured the week of March 15th. * This then leads us to the actual construction - believe it or not it could start the week of March 22nd - but just in case lets anticipate a few delays and hope to start no later than Monday April 5th. While all of this is going on we will be "multi-tasking". A new furnace and water heater will be added, cold rooms for the serving tanks are being built, mahogany wainscoting will be installed for the entire "pub" area and behind the bar we will install corey tile. We are still striving for a Memorial Day weekend opening - or at least within 30 days of Memorial Day! Events / Media Coverage Our first Beer Festival - The Cambridge House has been invited to participate in the 10th annual Connecticut Brewer's Beer Festival in Naugatuck, CT on Sat. May 22nd. I'm not sure which brews Mr. Schmidt will be showcasing but I fully expect The Cambridge House Brew to be the rave of the event. The event is for charity and all proceeds benefit the Camille Perugini Memorial Trust Fund (which offers scholarships for area high school students). When we get more details on the event we'll post them on the website - stay tuned. The Yankee Brew News (April edition) will have a short feature on The Cambridge House next month. This publication is distributed throughout New England and can be picked up at your favorite brew pub, micro or package store. Also, look for an article on The Cambridge House in one of these "Imprint News" owned papers - West Hartford News, Wethersfield Post, Newington Town Crier, Windsor Journal, Valley News, Rocky Hill Post, Bloomfield Journal or Windsor Locks Journal. I did an interview this morning and we could be in one or all of these papers sometime over the next few weeks. Websites - We are listed on www.beeradvocate.com, www.pubcrawler.com and www.connecticutbeer.com, there could be more - word is spreading! Kitchen News - Our two chefs Mr. James Bryan of West Hartford fame (and who some say put Marco Polo's on the map) along with Mr. Richard Acceturra , original member of Hartford's Black Eyed Sally's, Tumble Brook C.C. and most recently The Savannah will be adding their menu to the website very shortly. They will also add a new section called "Menu Development" which will allow you, our future customers, the opportunity to provide your input towards the actual menu planning. If you see something you like let them know - something missing - let them know. This is your chance to help plan the menu. I know of no other restaurant or brewpub that offers this type of opportunity - let's be trend setters here in Granby CT - Raise the bar baby! Sorry - that "baby" thing always comes out the week before March Madness when I'm getting ready to watch 200 hours of college basketball with ESPN's Dick Vitale. More Kitchen News: - We are aggressively pursuing a deal that will allow us to feature Lost Acres Orchard's famous Apple Pie and their Bourbon Peacon Pie - Rich I expect you to work this out with your mother in law! And if your from Granby I'm sure you remember the great foods of Susan's Cafe (Granby Center), the good news is we found her and have almost convinced her to help round out the dessert menu. Again Rich I count on you here! Look for our soon to be famous "Terminator Chocolate (Stout) Torte. The Women's Club of East Granby will be holding their annual Spring Auction next Saturday March 20th, 6:30 PM at the Suffield VFW hall. There will be both live and silent auctions, complimentary wine tasting, appetizers and a cash bar. Scot Haney of WFSB Channel 3 will be the auction Emcee. Admission is only $5. The Cambridge House has made a donation which includes a private beer tasting, $100 gift certificate and a free one year membership into our mug club. If one of our readers wins this bid at the auction I'll also throw in a free Cambridge House Golf Shirt - Happy Bidding. Beer Facts From the U.S. Department of Agriculture (1866) - Bruce S. you might remember this (only kidding) "A moderate use of beer will aid digestion, quicken the powers of life and give elasticity to the body and mind". Who among us couldn't use a little more elasticity? One final note - everybody here would like to send out a long distance dedication to our furthest friend and newsletter subscriber currently stationed in Camp Slayer, Iraq (it's official, we've gone international) "Stay Safe" - Peace Out Mark L.! That's it for now boys and girls, sorry for the long email but there's been a lot to report on and we need to keep our investors happy (see were not just sitting around squandering your money). Cheers, And remember "If it was easy, everybody would be doing it"! Steve