Pearls 'Bummed,' Optimistic About Opening Delay

As Hampton's streets continue to flood with tourists and all thermometers continue to indicate summer, most local businesses are enjoying thriving starts to their busiest time of year.

Most, but not all.

Jen Blankenship and Heide Conlin had been eagerly awaiting the late spring opening of their new, in downtown Hampton. The duo recently had to abandon thoughts of opening in 2012 altogether, though, after the town's pushed the projected opening back to, at the very earliest, the middle of summer. 

Blankenship said she isn't bitter about the approval process Pearls Hamburgers' opening, and she said the situation presents both negatives and positives for the duo, which have now decided to .

"I was chomping at the bit at the beginning of April," said Blankenship. "I could be open right now, and we were really kind of bummed we had to wait. Now we have more time for planning, which is great for us, but days like this we are chomping at the bit."

"Despite that, it was a business decision to wait and not rush and stress ourselves out in the middle of the season. We didn’t want to run the risk of shooting ourselves in the foot for the beginning of the season and not be able to sustain it through to next season."

Pearls Hamburgers was earlier this year after overcoming initial reservations from elected officials about their proposal to transform the vacant lot at the corner of Lafayette Road and Swain Court into a landscaped outdoor eatery with a converted silver 1963 Airstream trailer permanently installed in its center.

Blankenship said they didn't want to pay to have the Airstream converted into a full kitchen and service facility before receiving town approval. Because of the decision to delay the opening until 2013, Blankenship said they'll likely have the trailer transformed this fall, giving the entrepreneurs a chance to refine their menu and make other preparations before getting settled on the restaurant's lot.

A targeted date has been set for the upscale burger restaurant's opening, and much like Pearls' goal of helping support the community, Blankenship said that date has much love behind it.

"To be poetic about it, as you know , and her birthday is April 16, so we're thinking about doing the grand opening day on her birthday," said Blankenship. "We're tossing around ideas for how we can kind of make it a really special day for our grand opening."

The delayed opening may also give the business a chance to refine or cut its costs, as Blankenship said they'll have more time to do the work and get the site ready. It also gives them more time to gain community support, which Blankenship is optimistic will increase due to anticipation for the business.

"We really hope so," she said. "It's really kind of sad because we had a big thrust from the get-go. We generated a lot of discussion in the community and there was a lot of excitement when we were trying to come in, so we really hope that is sustained. We hope people are still as excited about it when we do finally open up."