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for the record
LyAnn and I are opting to pursue the development of our Popeyes locations in Florida, Georgia and Alabama full time ,and continue to run our Copelands units in La.,as well as our Chevrons and our real estate investments in lieu of diversing our efforts to develop Pier 13 and the adjoining Marina and a mile of shoreline connecting to Pier 13 on the Petis Amite River. We were considering a dry storage facility and building golf cart accessible environmentally camps along the Petis Amite, however, with the commitments we have to our family and other businesses we are spread to thin to be able to do everything on our plates. Since Pier 13 was the last in it will be the first out and especially since we are now enjoying such a businesses business it makes sense to sell while it is doing so well and has so many more opportunities to capitalize on. When I moved to Ascension from New Orleans in 1979 I lived about 5 miles from where 13 is located now on the Amite River. We lived there until 1993 when I moved into Gonzales but not before investing in River Highlands on some lots from Chris Ingram the original developer of River Highlands and the east end of the canal in General. In 1999 LyAnn bought us a new summer house in River Highlands that was already constructed not far from the 8 lots I already owned there. At that time the other side of the river was just starting development and a good friend of mine from New Orleans , Glen Martin did some incredible things to make the north side of the canal the place to be. We sit across from some million dollar plus homes and they are beautiful. Last July I bought Pier 13 from Chris Ingram and we tried putting an Andrew Jaegers there but when you are on the end of a 3 mile dead end road it is tough to make that sort of investment work. WE ended up putting our national headquarters for Popeyes as well as all of our other adminisrative offices on the second and third floor of the facility and opened Pier 13 with some recipes I have from the never ending quest to come up with a concept I could marry to Popeyes in the spirit of multi concepts that YUM foods has enjoyed by combining KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco bell under one roof thus cutting expenses dramatically and increasing customer counts from diversity. Anyway Popeyes has not pursued rotisserie Chicken or hamburgers and I have built my new Popeyes units with an an additional 1800 square feet separate but attached so I can put some concept under the roof that I believe will work. Thus the 13 kitchen tests that I am not allowed to do in Popeyes. The Popeyes parent company would frown if I started just throwing in "homers" rotisserie chicken just as McDonalds tightly control their menu. With Pier 13 I am able to test and perfect some ideas I have had and am now ready to implement them in the new units I have built with the additional biz space. That being said we are finished at 13 and are ready to sell while Sith. As for the neighbors they have a right to enjoy their homes and we are always trying to be sensitive to their needs and request, Last year we were open 7 days on the outside deck until 12 pm. This year we are open outside only FRiday Sat. and Sun and only till 9 pm. Also we have turned the speakers around to face back at us and away from the neighbors. The legal limit for decibels is 92 at the point of complaint. We have a decibel meter and do not exceed 92 decibels at our own property line which is a Sith a hundred yards from our closest neighbor across the river. At the end of the day 13 increases property values in that an abandoned facility this size would probably decrease property values not to mention become an eyesore quickly. Anyway I just wanted to clarify what was happening so the rumor mill could get the facts. I still own 5 lots in addition to the Pier and want the best for the area as I have my children here all of the time , not to mention the investments in property. Hot Boat is doing a special spread on 13 the second week in July and I am sure there will be some great pics at that point. We have 4 bed and breakfast and the buildings appraised for 3.1 million with an additional 400k in FF&E. I have over 3 million invested and am interested in selling only for what I have in with no added charge for enterprise value. The deal is pretty sweet considering we are doing a shockingly high amount of volume at this point. The only catch is the season runs from Easter till Halloween but we just bought a very expensive projection system for outside and have a 20 ft by 40 ft screen for night games and various ideas IE Karaoke,nascar,fashuion shows, and we are now getting booked fro weddings almost weekly which has a very high profit margin. The possibilitys are endless but it will take someone who has only this to worry about so 13 can reach its full potential. Thanks for the listen, And thanks to Mike Stancomb for taking the time to come here and stay to help us with some great ideas
Stan & LyAnn Ware
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Gold Member
