Minor Headaches

Da Michel, Naples Italy The Benchmark!

Seems like a lot has happened since Tuesday.....  I've found a chef I'm excited about.  I'm hoping to get him to "audition" (do some cooking) for me next week.  He's got the right kinds of experience, has all the right local contacts, Spanish - check, wood-fired oven - check, Italian cuisine - check, salumi making & butchering - check, passionate - check, some press - check, and all his references had very good things to say about him.  So, I'll leave you all hanging on that one until something is solid, but I'm very hopeful.

My dear friend Bonnie Swift came over Wednesday night to help me stuff the 250 envelopes for the letters I had to send out for the ABC.  Thank God for my "roll up your sleeves" friends!  Then we went out for a nosh & drink at Frantoio.  Bonnie's dear friend Duilio Valenti is the Executive Chef/Owner there who she's been trying to introduce me to.  He was so encouraging and helpful, said he'd keep an ear open for a chef for me too.  Our supper was delicious and it got me inspired to get my place open, soon!

Thursday and today were lots of admin.  Phone calls, appointments set up, more POS, merchant services, payroll, FOH & BOH (front of house/back of house) systems.  Bla, bla, bla..... It's amazing how many people take forever to return phone calls and get back to you with bids, proposals, quotes and whatever else they call it.  I've got 2 sign guys I haven't heard back from and 1 table and chair guy, its been over a week in some cases.  This is why it always takes longer than you think.  I did meet with a recycled table maker here in San Rafael today who does beautiful work, www.blacksfarmwood.com.  Check them out!  I hope they're affordable.

So then I get home to an email from my architect.  Seems the architecture company that has been in charge of the whole Red Hill Shopping Center remodel doesn't like our store front design.  They picked it all to pieces because it doesn't look like the rest of the shopping center.  What really irks me is that they've had the design proposal for about 6 weeks, we've already finished all the plans and submitted to the county!  My architect finally called the project manager to find out if it'd been approved or not, they sent us back the design with a bunch of picked apart remarks!  They don't have a clue who we are, what we're doing or why we've designed the way we did.  We submitted a store front reflective of a rustic, Italian eatery.  We want to look different.  We want to add a dimension of class to the Center.  Bill my architect is fighting for our design and I hope they will understand and agree.  Otherwise I'm going to have to go down there and kick some ass!  LOL!!
I'm getting tougher skin! 

Thank God for a beautiful weekend ahead.....enjoy you all & come in for pizza tonight at Picco!

Louise