Archives for 2015

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Every purchase has a story. The story this month has a lot of drama, nail-biting, uncertainty, and fun. It’s too wonderful not to share.

The Pickle Jar Kitchen is co-owned by two couples: Liz and Kevin, Casey and Ben. During the winter, Casey and Ben used the “downtime” from the restaurant business to look for a new home. They were great buyers, always being available immediately to look at new listings, plowing through mountains of snow, and being resilient even when their great offers were rejected.

But the clock was ticking, and after the third offer didn’t fly, they told me they needed to suspend the search until the fall. They sensibly didn’t want to be going through the process of buying a home and moving during the restaurant’s busy season.

The day after Casey told me this, I saw a new listing. As I drove down the driveway and got out of the car, I stood still and all I could think about was this family. Between the yard, the privacy, and the town land just beyond the backyard, I had visions of dinners on the deck, and the boys and their friends running and romping through the acres of woods and trails just behind the house. When I went inside, the house had charm, character, and space. I couldn’t wait to tell them about it. I bagged the rest of MLS tour, drove right over to the restaurant, and after apologizing for possibly changing the plan, urged them to drive by this magical place as soon as possible.

They did. Their reaction was the same as mine. We negotiated an offer that was ultimately accepted, and they were off and running.

Now this is ordinarily a demanding enough process with strict deadlines and lots of things that buyers have to do. It would have been challenging enough as we headed toward Memorial Day and the start of “the season” for these restaurant owners. But simultaneously, they had been contacted by “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”, a show on The Food Network hosted by Guy Fieri, for tentative filming the last week in May. This was literally the opportunity of a lifetime, and not one to pass up just because they were buying a new house during the same week.

All I can say is, I’ve never seen any buyers manage – with grace and aplomb – the amount of stress that Casey and Ben experienced between May 27 (when they were filmed for almost a full day) to June 2 (when they closed on their new home). Hats off to this great couple! They deserve every good thing that comes their way.

And get to the Pickle Jar Kitchen soon, before the show airs and the line will be out the door, around the corner, across the street, and into treetops!

On a personal note, Casey and Ben invited me to be one of the “diners” during the filming. Since Triple D shoots 20 hours for a 15-minute segment, I don’t think this is going to be my 15 minutes of fame. Or my 15 seconds. But it surely was fun! I was like a teenager seeing the Biebs when I saw Guy Fieri in front of the restaurant. He and his crew couldn’t have been nicer. They were relaxed, mellow, and really great. The show will probably air in early fall.

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