Lots of busy work...

Today Stein, Brion, Galen and myself put the large equipment into the facility. There were some real challenges due to the sidewalk being about 6 inches lower than the front door. But we were expecting that part to be a challenge and everyone pulled together and overcame.

We had a couple of really inebriated guys come by and start messing with stuff, and Brion almost got into a fist fight. There is a really dive bar around the corner and up a block... like one of those ones where not everyone has all of their teeth and I've seen girls come in and out of the place wearing no shoes, halter tops and misspelled ink. It is not very noticeable during the week, but on the weekends when most other places are closed... it is more so.

So we got up early and headed into Oakland to Danny's place where we picked up the refrigerators/freezer and then headed back to the storage unit. The guys got everything loaded with remarkably little fuss and we headed to the restaurant and started unloading stuff. My mom and her husband stopped by to say hi (right around when the drunken youths had their incident) . Then Danny came by with a cohort named Jimmy to help hook up the stove and fryer.

Stein and Galen and I walked down to El Tapatio and had lunch and this GIGANTIC margarita. The food was good and inexpensive.

Anyway, it was so awesome to really be able to get the stuff in there and brain storm how we are going to organize the space! We nearly cleaned out the storage unit (everything but the catering stuff) so I will downsize that next week as well.

Our... I am not sure what to call it? Caseworker? Our guy from the Health Department is named Phoung and I know people complain about the health department, but they have really been awesome. I mean it is a REALLY difficult process, and be glad it is for you own health! But they are also SO SO good about helping you understand the requirements. Our guy is coming down informally on Tuesday to go over everything so we can get in there to get permitted.

They are clearly working on the earthquake retrofit, but I am still not sure if they have a plan to fix the ADA stuff? I will have to call Stan about it next week. Sadly I suspect he thinks we will open without it if he stalls long enough, but I just can't afford to be sued so I can't open until it's fixed. Thankfully I suspect it is a much easier fix than the earthquake stuff. And I might get lucky and he might actually be working on it!

Either way... things are progressing! I will have a better idea of timing after we see Phong this week.

ARGH! Money money and more money,,,

So this weekend we are moving in the equipment (Stove range, refrigerators, fryer, steam table etc). This means

• $250 for rental of the truck with the lift gate and pallet jack
• $100 for a guy to come hook stuff up
• $350 for two quick release gas valves
  

Yep, $700 just to move the stuff in and get it hooked up. I also need to get gas and water turned on, but the plumber hasn't finished stuff so I hope that will be ok!

On the plus side, Ecolab came out to the site today and did the once over and they are giving us a bunch of stuff (hand dryers, soap dispensers etc) for free for using their products (this is pretty standard). AND very awesome, I talked to my most awesome equipment reseller today and he is going to work something out so we can lease to own a 20 qt mixer and ice machine. And he is being beyond helpful about us getting stuff hooked up this weekend.

So all in all... I am pretty excited about the next chapter... I think this thing might actually happen !

New pictures of progress on the kitchen...

Wow! What a difference a floor makes! So awesome to check it all out!. today we went down and met with the new Exec Chef at Creek Monkey and did a tasting and also had some lunch. We had the pulled pork sliders and an arugula salad plus the paninni. Everything was really good! YAY!

We also got to to meet the master brewer for the Creek Monkey and some of the wait staff. They were all very personable and fun to hang out with. I think Stein and I will be having a beer after work on a regular basis over at Creek Monkey!

Exciting Week Ahead!

Tomorrow Chef Tony Baker from Montrios in Monterey will be visiting the restaurant site. This means Stein and I will be hanging out in the morning at the almost completed restaurant! I will try to remember to get pictures for the Blog. He is picking up the first order for Salumi for the restaurant. We are then meeting the new Chef at Creek Monkey to do a tasting and have lunch.

Then we will be spending the afternoon grinding the offal for Nduja. I cleaned the hearts and kidneys today and kitted out the spices. I would have ground everything but I had to take pork out of the freezer to let it thaw anyway.

I only have about 4# of Nduja left and every one of the restaurant clients we've seen have seemed to prefer it. Tuesday we are making spicy lamb Slim Jims with really small casings. Then we are organizing all of the equipment to be moved into the restaurant next weekend. (YAY!!!)

Then we will spend some time moving stuff around and making lists of stuff we need, and then... (insert drum roll) going for our permitting! Wish me luck!

No one else can feel it for you, only you can let it in...

Feel the rain on your face ~ Natasha Beddingfield, Unwritten

Today is kind of a day of rest... KIND of.

Stein and I took the measurements of the space and got the measurements of the cold storage units from our fantastic equipment purveyor (Danny). So I've been hanging out this morning playing tetris on paper with the spaces, which are simply going to be really tight.

I am worried. This is a constant state of being for me currently. I am worried the sink is not big enough to wash all of our larger equipment. I am worried about having the money to buy the last of the equipment we need. I am worried they put the hand sink in the front on the wrong side of the wall and now I may have to build a barrier between the walkway and the behind the counter area. I am worried about having a sneeze guard for the sandwich prep station. I am worried about how I am going to get an ice maker and a standing mixer. I am worried about how we are going to work out the smoking. I am worried about where and how we are going to clean and degrease the stove. I am worried about Brion's back for next weekend when we are supposed to be moving stuff into the space. I am worried that David won't remember I need another plug/outlet on the wall the left. I am worried I won't find an espresso grinder for a decent price.

I am just so very very worried.

But, dappled like sunshine in the forest, rays of light keep shining through. We are getting so much interest for the salumi that I may need to stop at my current number of wholesale clients (at least until we see how production goes in the new kitchen). I am so proud of the clients and potential clients we have currently; really dynamic and serving the kinds of foods and wines that are SO exciting. That part of this process has been such a fun journey. Meeting people who are similarly passionate about what they do; true believers and ardent advocates for real hand crafted food. I am deeply grateful for the California food and wine culture that encourages craftspeople to push the envelope whole-hog (pun intended).

This past summer has been busy busy with catering, but I am finding that I am still largely catering for friends or friends of friends. Stein and I plan to hit a few of the wedding conventions this fall to see if we can change that a bit. There is one on Sept 18 on Main St in Martinez which we won't have top pay to attend, so we will likely start with that and see how that goes.

I am really getting excited about the prospect of opening too. We have been passing the new hamburger place on our way back and forth from the restaurant and it seems pretty hopping. It is hard to imagine how people will receive us. So far the people in Downtown Martinez have been really awesome.

When we did the Peddler's Fair, the local business people were really curious about us. We had a young couple from the bank come by and introduce themselves, plus several of the artists that participate in the Co-op at the end of the street, plus others. They really seemed to enjoy the food and sought us out specifically to sample our products. I will be so glad to be in my own kitchen! But there is still so much to do before that will be a reality. Bleh... back to worrying lol

Salumi Tasting at Savour in St Helena

Stein and I drug Galen into Napa today to do a Salumi tasting at Savour in St Helena. It was a lot of fun! It is a co-op tasting room for 7 micro-wineries and it is run by Dejan Nikitovic and Meghan Farley. We got to try some KILLER wines in conjunction with our salumis and... it was just a lovely space and Dejan and Meghan were really personable and knowledgeable.

They are looking to serve small hand crafted charcuterie with wines that are also handcrafted and from small wineries. I think it is a genius concept. Some of the most exceptional wines in Napa are not generally available to the public because the vintners are too small to have the big flashy marketing machine (nor would they likely be able to provide wine in the quantities needed by Costco) enjoyed by the large Wineries. I think the hard core foodies and oenophiles really WANT those hand crafted one of a kind products to be available to them in a beautiful setting like the one Savour has created.

I think they really liked the products and I am pretty excited to be given an opportunity to be a part of something so timely and... well cool!

It was fun to drink fantastic wines and hang out and do a brain dump on salumi. They seemed genuinely interested in all of the historical coolness of the Garde Manger kitchen; enough to ask me if I would be interested in coming to do a tasting/teaching demonstration with the wines. How cool is that!?

Some days... I really REALLY love my job.

Exciting News!

Stan started the ADA and Earthquake work! WOO HOO!!! This means this part of the construction may be done in a few weeks.

SO the floor for the kitchen is going in this weekend which means (drum roll please) we are going to be moving fixtures in next weekend! (July 23/24)

SO if we move stuff in next weekend, we could spend the week getting everything settled and then go for our kitchen permit in a couple of weeks. (July 24-29)

THEN, assuming we go for our permitting on a couple of weeks and they flag a few things that take us (hopefully not more than) a week or so to fix. (July 29- August 5)

Then two weeks of food prep time (August 8-19)

Then our soft opening (August 21st) for friends and family.

then one shut down and processing day (August 22)

Then a week long test run/soft opening (August 23-26)

Then MAYBE just MAYBE (and there is a ridiculous amount of monket-wrench that could be thrown into any part of that plan) we might able to open like Sept 1st.

Strange to think... this thing might ACTUALLY be really happening (knock on wood)!