Grand Opening — Maardu

The first guest arrives ten minutes early, which means the floor has to be down, the bar stocked, and the sign lit twenty minutes before that. A grand opening runs on a fixed clock and there is no second take.

What moves the cost is the size of the crew and how long they are there. A small retail space with a ribbon and a buffet table is four people for half a day. A flagship launch with a stage, spoken programme and two hundred guests is twelve people across two days. The line is drawn by what has to be built, not by how important the opening feels.