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February 2027 - Chris Byall and David Ottomas are 29, Autumn Miller is 23.

After more than six years of working as an office drone, Chris is finally able to quit her job and focus on her own business ventures.

Part of the reason she can do this because David's music career has really taken off. He plays gigs all over the country and has quite a devoted fan base, who refer to him as their Rock God. To celebrate, they rent a larger apartment in the same building, with a large main room and two bedrooms, the smaller of which they use as Chris' office.

With the extra space, they decide it's time to get a dog.

They still work hard at The Warehouse, but Chris knows the club is never going to be super successful. There just isn't enough demand for a club scene in Providence. So she's started thinking about other possible business ventures.

She hears about a property on the beach that's up for sale, and one afternoon she goes to check it out. It's right on the beach next to the pier where people dock their sailboats. In the winter it's beautiful but stark, so cold and quiet.

She approaches Autumn Miller with a job offer one afternoon in the lobby. Autumn moved into the building a year ago when she finished college, and Chris and David are good friends with Autumn and her boyfriend Tucker Wright.

"I'm thinking about opening a restaurant," she tells her. "The previous owners started building a restaurant right on the beach, then gave up on it, and I can get a good deal on the property."

"That sounds great," Autumn says.

"I want you to be the executive chef," Chris continues. "You're really talented, and you have a lot of great ideas, especially involving seafood. That's what I want for this place - seafood but with a modern spin."

"But I'm not a chef," she protests. "I'm just a waitress."

"You want to be a chef, right? This will be a great opportunity for both of us." Seeing her hesitation, she adds, "Why don't we head over there together so I can show you the place?"

"It's a little out of the way," Chris admits, "but in the summer there's a good amount of traffic because of the beach and the pier. And I think people will make the trip for the food and the location."

Autumn nods. "This place will be so cool during the summer, with all of the boats out. And we should be able to get good deals of seafood from some local fishermen."

"We? So does that mean you're in?"

Autumn laughs. "How could I say no to having my own restaurant?"

"It needs a lot of work," Chris points out, "paint, lights, furniture. I think we should shoot for opening in a little over a year. But the previous owners installed a pretty nice kitchen before they gave up on it."

"Nice," Autumn says admiringly. "This is beautiful."

"Your studio," Chris tells her, "where you can create your masterpieces."

Autumn has to head off to work, but Chris sticks around a little longer...

...and leaves behind her first employee - a guard snowman.

*****

This post is partially inspired by Laura's story over at Lakeside Heights in which Aurora Miguel encourages Carly to open her business. I thought it was a great idea to show that initial planning stage before the new business starts. I also drew inspiration from a section of Jonathan Franzen's novel The Corrections in which one of the characters' starts up a new restaurant in an abandoned factory. (It's a great novel, and I strongely recommend it by the way.) The Pier is scheduled to open in June of 2028, so you'll see more of it in a little while!