Finally...a new home for KOTO

You may recall I used to blog a lot about "A new home for KOTO". Time was running out, we needed $80,000 USD, we needed it fast.

The awesome KOTO restaurant that had touched the lives of 200 young kids from street and disadvantaged backgrounds was to be no more. We had six months to find and fund a new place or the unthinkable would happen - no more KOTO.

So the fundraising started and so did the search. We found what we thought was the ideal spot and we even announced it to the press. Then it didn't work out and we were back to sqare one.

In the meantime we negotiated an extension at our current slot.

On my computer I have pictures of four potential "new KOTOs", their was the one above, the super modern but badly located place and the awesomely located but bureacratically complicated place.

And then we found our newest new place. One or two of the staff checked it out first and they came back glowing. The landlord was nice, the space fullsome, the location perfect.

So I went down with a group of staff and we wondered around in a daze. Not only would it hold twice the number of customers, it was also large enough to include our training centre. Yes, it was a rent rise compared to our current restaurant but we would actually be saving money because we wouldn't have to pay an additional rent for training space.

The customer space is fantastic too. Space for a small cafe at the front. A beautiful open air courtyard at the back. A formal function room upstairs and a comfortable coffee room just perfect for filling with sofas, low tables and magazines.

It hasn't been without problems. Shoe horning a kitchen in was tricky. Even harder was an additional training kitchen. But it all should fit. Well just about.

We've had swanky designers and architects look at the place. And we've had beautiful plans back. In short though, while the architects will help us with the shoehorning - the decoration will be done by us.

And so...it's paint brushes at the ready and KOTO teamwork all round. This week we have had a goup of visitors from South Korea (plus film crew) who have been helping us decorate - alongside the KOTO kids (pictured above).

We're not just decorating ourselves to save money - although that is obviously a consideration. We want the kids to invest in the new place. We don't want swanky - we want warm and comfortable. A little bit of rusticness is no bad thing.

Ooh...I nearly forgot. The location?

Okay, you're going to have to wait or work it out for yourself from the pics. But, those of you who know Hanoi, it's a street back and two minutes walk from Hoan Kiem. The perfect place to be.

Of course a million things could go wrong yet and they probably will. But this seems do-able and can cement the future of KOTO for many many years.

The uncertainty of the new KOTO made 2005 a tough year (the best, most toughest year of my life). So far 2006 is showing great promise.