Thursday, May 26, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Up early... not sleeping very well
Yesterday was a sausage making day. Today we bring in the sausages we've been showcasing to T-rex for them to see the whole plate together. The sausages they liked were the Andouille, Orange Fennel (pork) and Bourbon Apple (chicken and pork). I am frustrated because the first batch of orange fennel were too salty so we added pork and then didn't mix it up enough to achieve the bind, so they were grainy. Which meant I had to start all over again last night.
Also, I ordered the slimmer casings from Sausage Makers and they did not come in in time, so I made the 3 ounce portions in the larger casings but they are still not going to be what they will likely have on the plate if we decide to case in the 1 inch (diameter).
Stein was funny yesterday, he was nervous to talk to me about the financial disappointment of the food booth and make the suggestion that we not continue to explore that avenue but I had already come to the same conclusion. I just can't afford to gamble with resources we will definitely need to open the business in a month or so.
I did Tarot which of course Galen and Stein were highly skeptical, but it was soothing to me and it does help me to gather my thoughts. Stein was amused because the #2 position card (which represents the problem or the issue you have to work thru) was the Hermit, which is kind of a card of "Stop fucking around and focus on the prize". It really is time to refocus. I think I was looking for stuff to do while we waited for resolution on the facility but now that things are rolling, I need to get organized about getting equipment, product testing (specials for the opening) and organizing the weddings and party activities for the month of June.
I am glad we got the food prep tent, and many of the other items. I could really use some portable cambro storage systems for hotel pans for upcoming weddings. These are not very expensive so should not be too big a deal to get a couple of them.
Things I still need are:
Smoker
Refrigerator
Freezer
Dedicated sausage fridge
Sandwich prep station
Sous Vide set up
forks/spoons/knives
coffee mugs
espresso maker
Of those things these things are mandatory
Fridge
Freezer
Sausage Fridge
forks spoons knives
I can lease the espresso maker and use the smoker at school and the Sous Vide set up can wait.
Today we are hitting the farmer's market for product to pickle and preserve for the sandwiches and the biegnet. As soon as the casings come in we will also be making more Finocchiona. I will try to get to the site soon to take some pictures of things as they happen. I may even have an opening date in the next few weeks! YAY!
Also, I ordered the slimmer casings from Sausage Makers and they did not come in in time, so I made the 3 ounce portions in the larger casings but they are still not going to be what they will likely have on the plate if we decide to case in the 1 inch (diameter).
Stein was funny yesterday, he was nervous to talk to me about the financial disappointment of the food booth and make the suggestion that we not continue to explore that avenue but I had already come to the same conclusion. I just can't afford to gamble with resources we will definitely need to open the business in a month or so.
I did Tarot which of course Galen and Stein were highly skeptical, but it was soothing to me and it does help me to gather my thoughts. Stein was amused because the #2 position card (which represents the problem or the issue you have to work thru) was the Hermit, which is kind of a card of "Stop fucking around and focus on the prize". It really is time to refocus. I think I was looking for stuff to do while we waited for resolution on the facility but now that things are rolling, I need to get organized about getting equipment, product testing (specials for the opening) and organizing the weddings and party activities for the month of June.
I am glad we got the food prep tent, and many of the other items. I could really use some portable cambro storage systems for hotel pans for upcoming weddings. These are not very expensive so should not be too big a deal to get a couple of them.
Things I still need are:
Smoker
Refrigerator
Freezer
Dedicated sausage fridge
Sandwich prep station
Sous Vide set up
forks/spoons/knives
coffee mugs
espresso maker
Of those things these things are mandatory
Fridge
Freezer
Sausage Fridge
forks spoons knives
I can lease the espresso maker and use the smoker at school and the Sous Vide set up can wait.
Today we are hitting the farmer's market for product to pickle and preserve for the sandwiches and the biegnet. As soon as the casings come in we will also be making more Finocchiona. I will try to get to the site soon to take some pictures of things as they happen. I may even have an opening date in the next few weeks! YAY!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
The mind and it's delicacy
While many aspects of my personality are well suited to my current journey... there is one that works against me. My tendency to take a small thing and extrapolate it to the sky is falling (The failed Rapture aside).
There is very little room in my plan for gambling and after the poor financial performance this past weekend I am beating myself up for wasting precious resources. I am not afraid of success, I am terrified of failure. What if I've been wrong about Martinez? What if I open the restaurant and no one comes? What if I can't afford employees? What if I go to T-rex Tuesday and they say the sausages are too expensive and they are not going to carry them? What if we run out of money before the kitchen opens and I can't afford to buy the last few items I need?
One thing I extrapolated out of this weekend is I think it is going to take a while for me to find my customer base. People were just not buying the more fancy food. The words of a friend echo in my brain, "It is a blue collar town, and they want blue collar food". I won't be happy making turkey sandwiches and french fries all day forever. I won't do it. I can't do it.
So for me to succeed I will need the people who tried the food and loved it to spread the word and build a clientele over time. I hope I can afford to do that. The basic items we still need are refrigerators and a freezer and some work tables. Everything else (smoker, we can use the one at school once a week. espresso maker we can lease) can wait.
I feel like the universe isn't pleased with me right now. I feel like the sky is falling. I know on a conscious level that I should be grateful that we got so much good publicity this weekend and that the food was so well received. I am super grateful that we finally got a building permit and will get started on the kitchen soon.
That said, I am scared that we did not do well as far as selling a lot of product last weekend. I am worried that my food might not be an instant hit in Martinez. I am worried that I spent money on a tent and all this non-essential stuff and it didn't pay off and what if that is a general reflection of my business acumen and I am doomed? I am worried because it seems like some of my clients lately are surprised that I would hope to break even (not make any money, just break even) on events. I know they just don't have first hand knowledge of how much stuff costs and they are not doing it on purpose but I hate being the bad guy and it is really hard (and kind of embarrassing) to say, "I can't afford to pay for a big party for you right now." I think people are so used to me being able to do that... it doesn't occur to them that my circumstances have changed.
I am also wondering if I shouldn't have waited and gone under the radar longer on getting all the stuff to be "legit" like insurance and a commercial kitchen rental ($250 to start the insurance and $600 for the kitchen rental). No one ever seems to check any of that stuff. But I worry that the one time they would check it is with me and I would be screwed.
I am worried that Stan and Kevi will insist I start paying rent when the kitchen is built out and before the ADA issues with the front entrance have been resolved. They want me to just go get the little certificate that says "I am working on it" and put it in the window, but that is not a guarantee I won't be sued. And they are targeting the people who make improvements downtown (two business sued in the last two years in 6 square block area). I just can't afford to give away 10k right off the bat. And I don't have time to wait forever to open.
I know I will feel better next week. I hope good things happen.
There is very little room in my plan for gambling and after the poor financial performance this past weekend I am beating myself up for wasting precious resources. I am not afraid of success, I am terrified of failure. What if I've been wrong about Martinez? What if I open the restaurant and no one comes? What if I can't afford employees? What if I go to T-rex Tuesday and they say the sausages are too expensive and they are not going to carry them? What if we run out of money before the kitchen opens and I can't afford to buy the last few items I need?
One thing I extrapolated out of this weekend is I think it is going to take a while for me to find my customer base. People were just not buying the more fancy food. The words of a friend echo in my brain, "It is a blue collar town, and they want blue collar food". I won't be happy making turkey sandwiches and french fries all day forever. I won't do it. I can't do it.
So for me to succeed I will need the people who tried the food and loved it to spread the word and build a clientele over time. I hope I can afford to do that. The basic items we still need are refrigerators and a freezer and some work tables. Everything else (smoker, we can use the one at school once a week. espresso maker we can lease) can wait.
I feel like the universe isn't pleased with me right now. I feel like the sky is falling. I know on a conscious level that I should be grateful that we got so much good publicity this weekend and that the food was so well received. I am super grateful that we finally got a building permit and will get started on the kitchen soon.
That said, I am scared that we did not do well as far as selling a lot of product last weekend. I am worried that my food might not be an instant hit in Martinez. I am worried that I spent money on a tent and all this non-essential stuff and it didn't pay off and what if that is a general reflection of my business acumen and I am doomed? I am worried because it seems like some of my clients lately are surprised that I would hope to break even (not make any money, just break even) on events. I know they just don't have first hand knowledge of how much stuff costs and they are not doing it on purpose but I hate being the bad guy and it is really hard (and kind of embarrassing) to say, "I can't afford to pay for a big party for you right now." I think people are so used to me being able to do that... it doesn't occur to them that my circumstances have changed.
I am also wondering if I shouldn't have waited and gone under the radar longer on getting all the stuff to be "legit" like insurance and a commercial kitchen rental ($250 to start the insurance and $600 for the kitchen rental). No one ever seems to check any of that stuff. But I worry that the one time they would check it is with me and I would be screwed.
I am worried that Stan and Kevi will insist I start paying rent when the kitchen is built out and before the ADA issues with the front entrance have been resolved. They want me to just go get the little certificate that says "I am working on it" and put it in the window, but that is not a guarantee I won't be sued. And they are targeting the people who make improvements downtown (two business sued in the last two years in 6 square block area). I just can't afford to give away 10k right off the bat. And I don't have time to wait forever to open.
I know I will feel better next week. I hope good things happen.
The good, the bad and the ugly...
It's been so busy I haven't had time to write!
so on the restaurant front... David asked me for the plans etc last week so he could submit for final final on the building permit. He got the plans and was kind of like... what a mess! So he spent a few hours redrawing some stuff and submitted on Friday and got the ok to get started any time! We have to get inspections and stuff along the way, but we are looking at 4-6 weeks to be in a kitchen. YAY!
The food booth for the Peddler's Fair... we totally lost money on the thing. I think we made like $400 bucks total and spent that on just food and containers and stuff, not to mention buying the canopy ($350.00), sign ($150) and renting the kitchen ($600.00). So that is the ugly part. I would have to say it was worth it in marketing however.
We had tons of peop
le who work in the area come by and get food, ask us about the Cafe and one person (Janet, who I went to school with) got a bunch of stuff and took it back to Shell Oil (where she works) for people to try. Plus I got interviewed for TV (but I am not sure which TV station it will be played on? I suspect some kind of web thing). A bunch of people took our cards and catering brochures as well.So while I wish we had made more money and it feels a little irresponsible to have spent the money considering we still have so many things we need to buy for the restaurant, but it wasn't a total loss. The biggest problems I saw with the food booth thing are:
Our food is too busy and fussy for the crowd. People don't know us enough to be willing to eat anything we make. A few people came into the booth saying, "I am starving!" and looked around and then left. I think there were too many choices, and none of them were very simple. People come to a street fair for Kettle Corn and Funnel Cakes... not charcuterie. I think if we cut our selection in half and lose all of the fancier stuff, we would build up a decent clientele
Two, People are not used to cold food at a Fair. I think they could GET used to it if we were around enough. But it is a novelty currently. People are used to terriyaki chicken on a stick and hot sausages. I think if we had one hot item, it would be really helpful. I think if we test out the Sunday farmer's market, we will bring sliced meats vacuum packaged which if we don't sell them we can just take them home, fewer sandwiches, one salad and one hot item (maybe something we grill once we get our cool new grill). If the restaurant doesn't open right away due to the ADA stuff we can use the kitchen to make hot food and serve it at the farmer's market. It just seems like the Martinez farmer's market is kind of quiet, especially compared to the Concord one.
So ultimately it might be a good marketing tool until we open the restaurant, but if I can't figure out a way to make money doing it, it is not worth it over the long term.
Last night I came home to my awesome friends having a fantastic party at my house. It was just what I needed to recharge my batteries. Now for next week, we have a final sausage viewing at T-rex, so Stein and I need to make sausages on Monday. Then we plan to do some pickling for the opening of the facility while the produce is so gorgeous at the farmer's market.
Whew!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Lots of movement, lots of busy...
Stein and I are prepping for the weekend Peddler's Faire and it's been SO busy. Today we prepped the romesco, all of the creamy dressings (Blue Cheese, Ceasar, Ranch), smoked all of the meats and did the big Costco run. Tomorrow we go to the rental kitchen and prep out everything else and package all fo the food in disposable containers. I have a brutal headache.
I have the $600 for the kitchen rental, the copy of the insurance with Kitchen by the Hour as additionally insured, all of the produce and meats etc. We will need more large plastic containers and the disposable cutlery. I am also going to need a 50 cup coffee percolator. My brain is fried.
I am terrified that this whole thing is going to be a colossal waste of money I could be using for the restaurant. I called Trisha at Main St Martinez to see how many food vendors there were and there are only 3-4. We are all supposed to be in a bank parking lot that may or may not be in the path of foot traffic.
But either way, I should be able to market my product, get some advance buzz for our food before opening, talk to people about what we are and what we do etc. And nothing I bought (other than the food, which is perishable) can't be used for other purposes, especially catering.
Also, JeffTaylor called yesterday and was so nice, I almost forgive him for being such a pain so far. It sounds like Dave should be able to get a permit tomorrow and start my build out next week. I know I am probably jinxing myself, but I could have a kitchen in like 4-6 weeks. Weird huh?
I am really excited about the food we are making for the fair. It is simple food, but really well done, with really good ingredients and most things from scratch. The turkey, pastrami and bacon are house smoked and cured, the hummus from scratch and my favorite North African recipe. I just hope people like it. I have to try and remember to put the sumac on top of the hummus and maybe a little olive oil. (Can you tell my brain is fried?) I just want things to be perfect, even if I know that is not really realistic.
I will try to remember to take pictures of the kitchen tomorrow and the fair on Saturday!!
I have the $600 for the kitchen rental, the copy of the insurance with Kitchen by the Hour as additionally insured, all of the produce and meats etc. We will need more large plastic containers and the disposable cutlery. I am also going to need a 50 cup coffee percolator. My brain is fried.
I am terrified that this whole thing is going to be a colossal waste of money I could be using for the restaurant. I called Trisha at Main St Martinez to see how many food vendors there were and there are only 3-4. We are all supposed to be in a bank parking lot that may or may not be in the path of foot traffic.
But either way, I should be able to market my product, get some advance buzz for our food before opening, talk to people about what we are and what we do etc. And nothing I bought (other than the food, which is perishable) can't be used for other purposes, especially catering.
Also, JeffTaylor called yesterday and was so nice, I almost forgive him for being such a pain so far. It sounds like Dave should be able to get a permit tomorrow and start my build out next week. I know I am probably jinxing myself, but I could have a kitchen in like 4-6 weeks. Weird huh?
I am really excited about the food we are making for the fair. It is simple food, but really well done, with really good ingredients and most things from scratch. The turkey, pastrami and bacon are house smoked and cured, the hummus from scratch and my favorite North African recipe. I just hope people like it. I have to try and remember to put the sumac on top of the hummus and maybe a little olive oil. (Can you tell my brain is fried?) I just want things to be perfect, even if I know that is not really realistic.
I will try to remember to take pictures of the kitchen tomorrow and the fair on Saturday!!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Nights are stronger than moonshine...
The days are becoming a blur of activity... like I am the soul of the hurricane, the wind and noise and rush of everything rising up around me, everything in motion. So much happens that I am struggling to keep track of the details.
Today Stein said to me, "Everything happens for a reason. Think of how stressed we would be if we were only a couple of weeks from opening. We've been given some time to get our bearings and explore many options." I do think the forced delay pushed me to bump up the implementation and exploration of the food booth and festival idea, plus giving me some decent time to market my products to higher end restaurants (which has been a lot of fun).
Today David talked to Jeff Taylor. If I sign a paper saying I know of the ADA and masonry issues, and Stan signs the paperwork saying I have permission to do the work, and I (re) submit the approval of County Sewer... I can give Dave the new keys I had made for the facility, plus the packet I made for the health department that has everything in it... and they will be able to get the building permit and get started (knock on wood).
We still need to talk to the ADA lawyer and get the sticker that says we are working to fix the ADA issues so I (hopefully) don't get sued right away. I am still really leery of opening with the front entrance as is. Apparently the same group that hit up the Mexican place just hit up the new place, Roxx, for money as well.
I am focused on at least getting this one piece of the puzzle, a working functioning kitchen, moving. It seems strange that after resigning myself to possibly being stalled for months, this thing could be done in 3-6 weeks. Of course something will happen and it won't happen so quickly... I think I disbelieve after so many struggles and the labyrinth process that anything will ever happen.
But time marches on and this week I am focused on the Peddler's Faire next weekend, plus the third visit to T-rex with the chicken sausages (tomorrow). It seems like such a simple thing, but there are myriad tiny details that must be attended to and I have an SCA project this week for my room mate that will be at least a days worth of work. Stein and I will have to divide and conquer tomorrow. He will go to Petaluma to check out a local goat cheese maker, plus a used pastry case and grab the Weaver's coffee for the weekend, while I gather all of the stuff for David to meet up with the Building Department and then deliver them to him. I will try to prep out a few items (candied nuts, aioli base, romesco). Then we will both head in to T-rex for the chicken sausage tasting.
I am just going to fervently hope we can actually get a demo/building permit and get going soon.
Today Stein said to me, "Everything happens for a reason. Think of how stressed we would be if we were only a couple of weeks from opening. We've been given some time to get our bearings and explore many options." I do think the forced delay pushed me to bump up the implementation and exploration of the food booth and festival idea, plus giving me some decent time to market my products to higher end restaurants (which has been a lot of fun).
Today David talked to Jeff Taylor. If I sign a paper saying I know of the ADA and masonry issues, and Stan signs the paperwork saying I have permission to do the work, and I (re) submit the approval of County Sewer... I can give Dave the new keys I had made for the facility, plus the packet I made for the health department that has everything in it... and they will be able to get the building permit and get started (knock on wood).
We still need to talk to the ADA lawyer and get the sticker that says we are working to fix the ADA issues so I (hopefully) don't get sued right away. I am still really leery of opening with the front entrance as is. Apparently the same group that hit up the Mexican place just hit up the new place, Roxx, for money as well.
I am focused on at least getting this one piece of the puzzle, a working functioning kitchen, moving. It seems strange that after resigning myself to possibly being stalled for months, this thing could be done in 3-6 weeks. Of course something will happen and it won't happen so quickly... I think I disbelieve after so many struggles and the labyrinth process that anything will ever happen.
But time marches on and this week I am focused on the Peddler's Faire next weekend, plus the third visit to T-rex with the chicken sausages (tomorrow). It seems like such a simple thing, but there are myriad tiny details that must be attended to and I have an SCA project this week for my room mate that will be at least a days worth of work. Stein and I will have to divide and conquer tomorrow. He will go to Petaluma to check out a local goat cheese maker, plus a used pastry case and grab the Weaver's coffee for the weekend, while I gather all of the stuff for David to meet up with the Building Department and then deliver them to him. I will try to prep out a few items (candied nuts, aioli base, romesco). Then we will both head in to T-rex for the chicken sausage tasting.
I am just going to fervently hope we can actually get a demo/building permit and get going soon.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Set up the booth today... and made sausage!
Stein and I planned all week to set up the booth today so he and Bri could work on the sign-frame for the front. Bri is deathly ill and it rained/hailed today... so we set up the canopy in the living room! It went up really easily and was in good repair. We messed around with the tables to see what looked best and Bri and Galen made the frame to hold our banner. (reminder, I need to paint the PVC frame this week)
Then Stein and I made the new sausages for this weeks tasting at T-rex. We made a chicken mole sausage, a bourbon apple sausage and a BBQ garlic sausage. They are all really good! I have to admit the bourbon apple is my favorite.
I am glad we set everything up!I realized I need to make a few more signs and especially the pricing and signage for the coffee and morning pastries. We also need to go by storage and grab the Bunn coffee maker, plus clean and sterilize all the coffee apparatus.
Next week should be busy and exciting... I just it's exciting in a good way!
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