Josh Poling couldn’t boil water in high school.

Now the 25-year-old is preparing to open his own restaurant.

“We may be young in years but we have years of experience,” Poling said of himself and his 21-year-old fiancee, Chelsey King. “We’re ambitious. And we’ve always made sacrifices, working 40 to 50 hours a week while going to school.”

Both are culinary school-trained chefs who worked their way through Sullivan University in Lexington.

Last week, the two surveyed what will be their new space in Penn Station on Nashville Road. Workers were installing brick on the walls and in front of the order counter. A pizza oven went in the week before at Home Cafe & Marketplace, which is still waiting for a sign as work on the entire strip center continues.

Back in the kitchen space, Poling motioned to where part of the washing station had to be taken down because a wall wasn’t installed as it should have been.

“I can run all day long, cooking, but ask me to build and that’s another story,” he said.

Poling, who owns the restaurant along with others, said he has received lots of good advice from builders and others about putting together the space, which is scheduled to open Aug. 15, just two months ahead of his and King’s wedding date, Oct. 15.

“We had the wedding scheduled long before the restaurant opening,” Poling said.

The two seem to be taking the potential stress in stride and are looking forward to the opening.

The floors are complete and a first coat of paint is on the walls, but there still is some equipment and seating for 50 to be delivered.

The concept of the restaurant will be sit-down, restaurant-quality meals at an affordable price. Poling hopes to keep the price point at $10 each.

“You can sit down and enjoy a good meal and a glass of wine or a beer,” he said.

“I want to focus as much as possible on local ingredients,” Poling said. “We will have a deep fryer, but it will be used sparingly.”

Customers may find that a side one day is roasted beets, not the standard potato substance, and Poling will use Wibaux beef out of Franklin and whatever looks good at the farmers markets, meaning his menu will change almost daily. There will be some staple signature items, including the beef.

“I will focus on using the cheaper cuts of meat and make a really good pot roast or my signature meatballs,” he said.

When Poling returned to Bowling Green, he was the chef at 440 Main, where he said he perfected a meatball sandwich.

King will be holding down the dessert station. She also worked at 440 and was the head baker at Gigi’s Cupcakes.

“My favorite thing she makes is the jumbo chocolate chip cookies that will come out of the oven each morning,” he said.

The restaurant will feature a couple of Kentucky wines, and they are working to bring beers from Bluegrass Brewing Co. and fresh pastas, including gluten free, from a Lexington source.

King looks forward to getting the kitchen going. Until the restaurant opens, the two are continuing to hone their skills by catering events, something they will continue once the restaurant opens.

The restaurant will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. A website for the restaurant, homecafebg.com, is under construction.