Chili Bowl Cookoff

Part of the success of any business, especially one that has an actual product is promotion. Promotion of the product, promotion of the business name. We decided last year that this year we'd enter the Chili Bowl Cookoff for two reasons - to promote the business (we were thinking Chica Chica Chop Chop at the time) and because we felt we could do a really good chili.

So, we had a banner done by ZONES who has been very helpful getting us stuff quick for just such occasions, and made about SIXTEEN GALLONS of chili. (Power 105 recommended 5-7 gallons and we had two entries. Well we ended up with leftover, not because we didn't dish it out, I just think people can't eat that much chili.

We made a delicious vegetarian chili with tofu, and a spicy beef chili that had three kinds of bell peppers, fire roasted jalapenos, beef brisket, and black and red beans. We didn't win any prizes (this year) but there's always next year, and the important thing is that we got the word out to lots of people and hopefully kept up the buzz. Thanks to everyone who came out and told us how delicious our chili was.


Using our new logo on the banner


People lining up for the good stuff


Tuti dishes it out

The ceiling

So, I planned on spending one day on the ceiling. It ended up taking two whole days. But it was worth it. This is not a just clean it up and throw together a place to eat operation. We are trying to create something special. Special has a lot to do with details. So, I took what was a pretty decent looking black ceiling, and I painted it...black. I also blacked out the light fixtures and tracks with a high heat paint, and blacked out the conduits too. It is hard to tell from the before and after pictures, but it made a huge difference. Really cleaned up the look. Every detail is important, because when it all comes together it will really add up.

Blacking out the lights:


White lights on black ceiling:



Black lights on black ceiling:

The Logo

The concept for the logo has been rattling around in our heads for a long time, but to get the chance to sit in front of the computer with everything going on has been hard to find. But we needed it for our banner at the Chili Bowl Cookoff this last weekend, so it had to be done. There's lots more to blog about but its late and I'll be lucky to get this one entry done.

Here are some early rough drafts of logo ideas:





Here are some pics of the process of designing the logo. It is of course still going to be tweaked but this is pretty useable for most of the promotional things we are doing right now.





The more or less end result:



Sol means "sun" in Spanish, obviously that is at the core of the logo concept. We wanted it to look hand drawn, almost tatooed. It's a reflection of the personality of the restaurant itself; individual, unique, a non-commercialized experience. The turtle is symbolic of the ocean, and by extension, the beach, the islands, health and longevity, all the things we hope you will experience from the food in our restaurant. (Also it is Tuti's favorite animal, so she wanted it integrated into the logo.) We hope you like it, just as we hope you'll like the restaurant. Lots more to come soon on the blog!

Signs we're doing the right thing?

Starting your own business is a risky thing. Even when you don't have a lot invested in it. Restaurants are probably one of the riskiest. I've watched enough Restaurant Impossible to know that it can get crazy. People put their homes up for collateral, they sell their cars, they don't pay themselves. Some have $500,000 to a million in their restaurants and ARE LOSING MONEY. I've even had suppliers I've talked to say "I'm not trying to burst your bubble but a lot of restaurant fail." Not exactly encouraging words. But as of late a few things have happened that have helped to give me a positive outlook on this decision we've made, some interesting developments that hopefully are am indication that we are not entirely crazy trying to start a restaurant. Sometimes it feels that way.

First off, I was asked to speak to several students at a business class taught by Ana L. Rosado-Feger (who is a fan of our product), and she has passed our blog on to the class. Our trials and tribulations are being used as a learning tool. So, hopefully we will do something educational. I'd like to think we are being used as a model for possible success. Not failure!

We've also had a long time buggy fan, Dale Francis come to volunteer their services. He'll be helping us with some demolition and carpentry work. We hope that is a sign of how much people like the product, and that the opening of the restaurant is incentive enough to volunteer their labor. That's a good feeling.

Finally, We were in the restuarant, taking a break to eat our dinner, from our neighbor WINGS, and someone opened the door from the alley and asked us "Is this a Cuban restaurant?" To which we replied that it was GOING to be, but not for another month or so if all went well. She said she loves Cuban food. Good to know. Hopefully there are lots more out there just like her, waiting to beat our doors down when we open. Not really sure how she heard about us, or thought that we were actually open yet, but the more people that know, the better! That's the point of the blog.

I believe in the product, I believe in the concept, and I get a pretty good feeling that Athenians are going to too.

More Progress

There has been lots of cleaning progress, I won't bore you with details or pictures, but it is amazing how much filth gets left behind (especially under equipment, etc.), not to mention what accumulates after years of sitting unused. Floors, ceilings, walls, it all has to be cleaned. Even the utility room that is used for cleaning supplies,etc had to be cleaned.

We started removing tiles (yes, as you can see we make extensive use of child labor) from the column in the middle of the room. The wood can now be removed and we will be free to do what we want with the structural post (decor-wise.)




Tomorrow's plans are to paint the ceiling, then by the next day hopefully patch, sand, and paint the walls in the dining area, and hopefully, and especially if we get some volunteer help, demo the bar, remove the old carpeting, and make way to paint the floor.

Once the floors are painted, we'll be able to bring in the tables and chairs. This will make the space start to actually look like a restaurant. And that's when it will start to get exciting. Woo-hoo!

Reclaiming the Verizon Sign

So, I finally conquered (more or less) the task of modifying the verizon sign and making it into shelves. I saved the Sheet metal (for use in refacing the bar) as well as the vinyl (which may or may not be used for some design element that has a sailboat theme.

Here are some pictures:

The sign before. It's almost as long as the restaurant:



Removing the sheet metal





Removing the vinyl:



The nearly done shelf (there will be two)

Eco-friendly painting

Well, there are lots of things you can do to help the environment when you paint. I did the best I could considering we HAD to pick out the colors with only 40 minutes before Lowes closed and we had gone through about twenty different ideas and not even settled on any colors. So of course we went with a water versus oil-based paint (which are much more difficult to get, and hardly anything has VOCs nowadays anyhow) I found a really neat paintbrush that was made out of recycled fibers for the bristles and bambo for the handle. Of course it was a little more expensive, but actually not by much, and I am very good about washing my brushes, I usually have them a long time. I also picked up some biodegradeable paint pan liners. It's not a lot, but it's something.





We were back and forth on colors that depicted the beach, water and sky, doing a realistic mural, or an artistic mural, or something simpler and more abstract. Time is of the essence. We are wanting to try and open the restaurant before Thanksgiving (winter break) so we decided there really wasn't time for anything complex. So we were down to colors.

We still wanted to depict a scene at the beach, we also wanted to tie into the interior of the building as well. The general theme is that of a sunset. We pulled up some pictures I have on Facebook that I took at Ft Myers during sunset a few years back. The mural (if you can call it that) is based on people walking on the beach at sunset, with only silhouettes visible, not only of the beachgoers, but of the sailboats and island-connecting bridges on the horizon. The colors turned out pretty nice we think. We have only to add the details of the silhouettes and trim up the windows near Wings, and the painting of the alley is complete.

This picture was sort of an inspiration, and the kind of scene we want to depict:



Here are some before and afters of the alley:








Hopefully soon we will get a chance to work on the sign above the door and we are working to get some sort of temporary (possibly painted) sign up in the alley that will alert passerbys to the new restaurant that is coming and the blog that is documenting it.

I want to send out a big thanks to our friends the Athertons, they made Sunday one of our most productive workdays yet, and helped us get the fridge in, take down the old sign, and paint the alley.