nostalgia

It was this week 3 years ago that I signed the lease for 18-20 n washington... I can't believe how much work & time & downright insanity the last three years has encompassed...

I'm sitting at home today, while my highly capable & wonderful staff are giving me my 2nd day off in a row, and beyond grateful & amazed that this is happening.

I was 25 when I decided I wanted to make the restaurant life be my work- and the last 8 years has been a steady climb [and clawing, gnashing, stomping & crying] of culminating the relative success of beezy's. I couldn't imagine, just shy of 3 years on my own, that things would be working this well.

Financially, the business is sustainable and there's a long way to go in paying off the loan, but all the right stuff is happening. We made a bold move deciding to close at 4 daily, but it has been paying off in ways,again, I couldn't have dreamed of.

One of the cornerstones of leadership for me is that without healthy, real people working for & with me, I can't have a healthy business. The importance of having a life beyond the business is tantamount to bringing vitality and energy to our food & service~ of course, I've always wanted this for my crew even before I had my own place, and often I've sacrificed my life & sanity to create a better foundation [in some respects]. Here I sit today, in awe that I AM A PERSON too!

The funny thing is, this business is more like mothering. When my daughter was born, I spent the first three years absolutely immersed in her future success. From sleepless nights and untoward accidents, to napping whenever possible, to guiding, teaching, talking and occasionally losing my mind- I witness today her foundation. She is well rounded, resilient, loving, intelligent, and has a mind of her own- I'd venture to say beezy's is the same way and it hasn't taken 11 years!

I feel blessed that I love my work, and that others "get it". I work hard to be better, faster, more efficient while recognizing that any good system only functions if all the parts are working. There's more to business than systems, and humanity is imperfect and messy, but beautiful when engaged in the business of LIFE. So here's to more balance, more days off, more opportunities for my crew to have a full life outside of work, to nurturing a business that is an organism that grows beyond the foundation I've lain.

thanks for making it happen, and for its continued growth beyond numbers & systems.

love
bee

where DOES the time go?

I've been thinking for a while that I should get back to posting about beezy's- I'm working on setting up a new blog combining my personal thoughts & whimsies & explorations and I came back here to do so... It's invigorating to read the beginning of this, like a time capsule; I miss the unabashed honesty and downright gamble of every word.

Now, I'm more reserved, more careful- like tending a bonsai rather than than letting the garden take over the lawn. I don't think it's a bad thing- I suppose it's something akin to 'maturity'.

We're open Sundays now, have been since Halloween. We scaled back our hours and now close at 4 pm daily. We've got a few 'readers' choice' awards under our belts and quite a run of positive press. It's crazy busy even when the cafe isn't full of guests- always catching up, always trying to make something else better, going back to forgotten fix-it lists... if I'm ever caught up, I don't think it will bode well- it'll mean complacency and ultimately failure. Keep me busy busy busy.

bad bloggin'

but, I'm on facebook and twitter!

things are progressing nicely- if you've been around you know I'm still trying to get the third room open and my philosophy for sanity right now is to let it happen as it happens- coming out of a crazy first opening months and the emotional and environmental ping pong of spring is making a racket of my already addled brain!

upcoming awesome: starting June 5th we'll stay open late on Friday nights for Crossroads Summer Music Festival on Washington Street; every Friday through June, July and August! We'll start with staying open til 10:30 and see how it goes...

also very excited about this summer's Shadow Art Fair!! Beezy's had just opened when the Winter one went down and we made a lot of friends and I'm working on a little thing or two to pull off a late night breakfast buffet for that... (sponsored by the as yet to be created 'no starving artists in ypsilanti' fund....)

and then there's been just a fantastic run of publicity for beezy's; perception is 99% of the truth I believe and hell, for as rotten as some days are, as stressful as it all it, as much as I still haven't finished (or even started) it's beyond wonderful that we have so much support from so many places- check out www.beezyscafe.com and click on the recent press link to get a good overview of what They are saying...

and the internets is my friend, and so are you I hope, so if you have a moment to spare give us some props over at Yelp and Urbanspoon!

this message is brought to you for the love exuded by to and for my awesome neighbors, pals, friends, fans, bartenders and sundry other awesome:
the elbow room
dreamland theater
michivore
emYou the magazine
the tap room
hullaballoo
misty lyn and the big beautiful
jim roll
drunken barn dance
chris bathgate
matt jones
vg kids
hooray forever
dave lewinski & concentrate media
nick roumel & current magazine
and so too many more that I'm bound to have forgotten several already...

but mostly, thanks to my awesome staff and my amazing daughter and my super pal, jim roll.

beezy's closed for a few days

apologies world, for not getting this to the blog sooner!

we're closed for winter weekend over at beezy's- from today through Tuesday the 24th!

we'll see ya wednesday February 25th for deliciously fun times!

the black path breakfast afterparty

tonight, late night 2 am to 4 am with matt jones & co.

post elbow room show, join us at beezy's for a tight little menu of deliciousness:

"bee, I love you AND

...the toilet is overflowing."

ah. the life of a restaurant owner.
As I watching the most fetching janitor mop up the overflowing water while I plunged, I told her the story of how back at Roast & Toast every time something like this happened, we had to go talk to the bookstore that (was awesome! go McLean & Eakin...) expanded their office directly below our bathrooms. Ouch.

So while overflowing toilets, breaking down coolers, water heaters from hell, plumbers from outer space, raining apartment ceilings, flash flooding, slippery stairs, creaky doors, broken tiles, drippy valves, shaky legged sinks, and the al capone/abu ghraib basement room are without much charm, at least there isn't a bookstore underneath me.

that day also started with the first-ish guest walking in and immediately informing us that this was her first and last visit; before she even talked to us or tried anything. Like Bob Keedy used to say: "at least you don't have to be her".

just don't ask me about the day I made eye goggles from poblano peppers. No, it wasn't intentional, but you aren't gonna ask, so we won't talk about it. And floor muffins. Cunningham muffins hasn't even made those.

I spent 93% of my day in bed today. forced laziness was necessary. it's been nonstop since two days before the doors opened way back in November. And in the last 2 weeks I had an "extra" day off, I spent those days moving in to my apartment finally; unpacking boxes from the July move (that coincided with the lease signing for Washington St.) and cleaning up (on so many levels)...

oh, and you know adding several unconventional hours to my week with the breakfast buffet; which in turn inspired several more hours of brainstorming (oh, just wait, ypsilanti...) and popcorn brain... and beezy's was WAY busier than I could've hoped with 4 less staff on schedule. And I went and got smitten besides. And drunker on NYE than I've been since my 21st birthday.

yes yes, the glamour, the glory!

and to the 2 anonymous people who said I shouldn't use 'ass' when referring to recipes: suck it. As a person who's very particular about the words she chooses, a certain level of crASS is very important when referring to some inspired moment. Lighten up. I also ordered a bunch of this ass milk for lattes.

Besides, the health inspection was FINE.

Those are kale flower stalks holding up the caution tape. They were not used in the soup.

Seriously though, I take asses and food safety very seriously, and while I appreciate the concern... food is sexy and asses are sexy and while ass food, okay.. I'll stop, just had to get it out of my system. Nothing if not inappropriate is a tagline I've not been able to shake and I don't see that changing any time soon. I always thought it was part of my charm. But I'm also delusional. So there's that.

Other things we've experimented with the last couple of weeks sans recipe and with extra supplies (fortunate how when a freezer breaks you're loaded down with 4 bags of once frozen berries and cinnamon roll dough and cookie dough and... not wanting anything to go to waste, inspired moments and creative refrigeration and utilization become inspirationally mandatory- nothing like crisis to motivate)

• housemade blueberry jam, blueberry sauce
• raspberry jam and sauce
• cinnamon roll bake off- then soaked in egg happiness for 2 different baked french toasts:
  cinnapear crunch and apple crisp baked french toasts
• banana mash and calder yogurt, peanut butter and omanhene single origin Ghana chocolate becoming happy banana french toast
• sugar BUTTer cookies filled with raspberry, blueberry and happy peanut butter sauce (that also filled peanut butter cookies....)
• Chula Vista flashbacks of higas/chilaquiles; frying corn tortillas with eggs and refried beans
• smittenfest corn chowder for a new friend and who doesn't want a soup dedication? really!?) that combined a mess of roasted poblanos with potatoes, roasted garlic, roasted corn, sour cream, toasted cumin and love... then upon reheating it started to scorch (New Year's Day at breakfast- thanks to my crew of best customers ever being a posse of 18?) while kicking breakfast ass (there I go with ass again) like some breakfast ninja with a wicked hangover... still, my little 4 burner range took it's aggression out on the poor chowder which was repaired with the magic of bacon and cheese and more more more poblano peppers. It started vegetarian, but ended in bacon. (like most things should)
• a rippin' delicious vegan mushroom veggie barley
• a slew of delicious vegan entrees of fun for the VG Kids Christmas party all with recipes I conjured (is that more appropriate?). I was especially pleased with the sweet potato and wild rice casserole- roasted sweet potatoes (man, I am SO hawt for sweet potatoes! orange vegetables in general...) wild rice, celery, roasted pears, dried Michigan cherries, hickory seasoning from Alden Mill House and topped with housemade sourdough croutons and drizzled and baked with maple syrup... and the vegan mushroom and spelt noodle stroganoff was fun too; using no 'substitute' ingredients like margarine or fake sour cream: red wine, mushroom stock, coffee and almond milk are magical...
  

and probably three hundred other things.

did you know:
buff wizard calendars are available at beezy's? [19.99]
growing hope calendars too? [12.95]
erin kelley's [of tarte.] handmade groovy owl, heart and bird ornaments [11.-24.] are for sale?

a note to all of you fantastic guests and supporters: thank you SO SO SO much for your feedback, your help, your bits of delciousness you share with me- I wish I could sell everyone's everything and probably eventually will; it's just [excuse time] there is so much to do, and so little is working equipment wise that logistically, until I can afford 2 new reach in refrigerators (one just for desserts so they don't reek of leeks and roasted poblano! and another to run our ever busier breakfast days that will replace the [broken] freezer) I just can't take anything else on. Unless it's dry, easy to store and virtually indestructible :D

other things in the works that need work/visioning/writing/future blog posts:

• the milkshake buffet in 18 (18 is the room behind the curtain- where I play wizard {priestess} of Oz) as soon as the floor is laid and the lights are installed
• the soapbox saturday shindig leading into the...
  
• the late night beezy's events (hoping jonathon will dj, BZ will move back to ypsi and help host sweet ass indie folk rock in an alcohol free venue)
• more tables, more chairs, community table and benches
• finish painting, the tin ceiling, and finish finishing in general
• sami's fashion club
• the record player will work
• secret benefit breakfasts, dinners, brunches, etc.
• the mystery machine catering van (think A Team, but with beezy's flair; think Velma baking with cocaine laced flour)
  
• tables and chairs and permits, oh my, for spring & summer outdoor seating
• the grrls of beezy's calendar to benefit alex's change the vu project

damn, see what resting does?

more soon.

all my love,
yours in service-

bee

MONDAY THRU SATURDAY
7 AM TIL 6 PM

CLOSED SUNDAYS
FOR.EVA

mmmhmmm, thanks to all who cruised in last night- excited for next year/excited for future opportunities to rock special things at special times...

beezy's and mittenfest!

two great tastes that taste great together... a spur of the moment decision was borne last night:

beezy's will open tonight at 1 am for a breakfast buffet with 33% of the proceeds going to 826 michigan

roll on by post elbow room!

9 dollars, a lotta good food, and some coffee to keep you partying like the rock star you are or want to be...

end of week 6

and there's this amazing snow that, while forecast, sorta hit all at once between my falling asleep around 3 am and waking up (late) around 6:30. A damn mess really.

wanted to get an update out about holiday hours:

Christmas Eve: open 7 to 4 pm
Christmas Day: closed
Friday Dec. 26th: 10 am to 6 pm
Saturday 27th: 7 am to 6 pm
Sunday: closed as per Sunday

New Year's Eve: same ol' same ol'- 7 am to 6 pm
New Year's Day 10 am to 6 pm

Also, we will be open on my birthday, Jan 9th. It should be a holiday, but isn't.

love & light
bee

utilization dreams come true

I had two huge food wins this week that I pulled right out of my ass...

the first:
harvest vegan soup

I wanted to make a roasted sweet potato soup. My natural inclination is to saute applewood smoked bacon with mirepoix and add pureed sweet potatoes, finish with heavy cream and sprinkle on some sharp cheddar.

But things took a turn at 7 am. The last of my gifted apples from Petoskey's Jennifer Eis (of Ward & Eis gallery) which were picked over at Bill's Farm market starting getting braised with the mirepoix (no bacon yet) and then I hit them with some crushed red pepper and cinnamon and molasses. And then some apple cider and white wine to deglaze. And then, and then... a butternut squash was roasted and pureed along with the sweet potatoes. Combined them all together and thanks to Stef's suggestions, we cut the sweetness with some lemon juice and a little salt. It was so full of flavor and the texture was outta sight- though the base of the soup was pureed, the chunks of carrot and apple, as well as the rough puree of the sweet potatoes (no thanks to me not having a commercial food processor yet!) made it less baby food textured than squash soups often come out to be....

The second started out as a series of losses.

I make the caramel sauce for the espresso drinks/cider/chai whathaveyou- and the first recipe Sami pulled- I didn't think reading the recipe that it would turn out as sauce, but I gave it a shot anyway. What I ended up with was more of a burnt sugar syrup, close to butterscotch. Very very tasty, but not thick and saucy like I wanted for the drinks.... so I stored it and it had been floating around since a week or so before we opened. I knew I'd find a use for it, but....

On Tuesday my bananas were finally ripe for banana bread. I make, what I believe to be the finest banana bread on the planet- hand mixed and wickedly banana-y, but not sweet. I crust the pans with cinnamon sugar and the loaf comes out airy and dense at the same time.

But at the shop, I doubled the recipe. Only to recognize that my bowl was much too small and there was no going back- I couldn't divvy it into 2 bowls because the ratio of ingredients would be off, etc. So Genevieve suggested I use a bucket- it was difficult for me to think outside the bowl, but I went for it. And the results were what I would expect- there is a certain hand and wrist motion that occurs working with a bowl... a bucket lend itself to shovelling- something quick breads don't love so much.

Once it was baked, I had what felt like 5# loaves of sunken banana mash. boo. But I sliced a loaf and put it out for sale by the slice and I didn't feel good about it, so I covered the other loaves and put 'em aside until I figured out how to deal with my mess. All the while :this is so good:best banana bread:tell me when you make this again comments were floating around. I shrugged and said it was alright, but not how the recipe was supposed to turn out. meh. (food depression isn't pretty)

But... I thought maybe it would make nice french toast. A good baked french toast casserole (I love casseroles) a good saturday breakfast & brunch special... and then the wheels started spinning. Bananas foster... rum, lime, yeah.

walked over to Dos Hermanos to get some whole cumin for the homefries and black bean veggie soup, my apartment to grab the ol' mortar and pestle, called my daughter's dad who was once a pretty renowned chef (Andante, opening chef at Chandler's, Douglas Lake Bar amonst others) around the Petoskey area and starting laying out my idea- he offered some helpful tips regarding cooking off the rum and a plan was born.

later that day while Christine from the Ypsi Citizen was interviewing me, my idea took another level... (oh and thanks to the beer cooler for that rum, it really was for the french toast). I had some egg nog from Calder. I don't really enjoy eggnog, but it would mean that I could cut the amount of egg in the recipe, plus I'd get a nice, rich, perfectly spiced custard out of it. I mixed the egg nog, some extra vanilla, some rum and a few eggs and poured that over 3 loaves of sliced banana bread, covered it with foil and said, "see ya in the morning, drunken monkey bread to be!"

the topping spread was going to be shredded coconut with butter and toasted almonds, and then I'd make a lime rum sauce to serve it with.

Once the morning came around, I saw my burnt sugar sauce sitting on my prep table... and another bunch of bananas. And the pan of soaking banana bread. pow! sliced the bananas and poured the sauce over the bananas in the pan. Let it bake for about 40 minutes... it crisped and caramelized the bananas beautifully. Then I spread the topping on and let it bake another 20 minutes, until the top was golden brown. As that was going down, I started whisking brown sugar with water and lime juice over the stove, then chugged the rum, I mean, poured the rum into the pan and got a little flame (fire at 6 am is a beautiful thing!), it coated the back of a spoon and voila, I was done. Took a spoonful out of the french toast pan and my first bite made my knees buckle.


It sounds like a lot of work- and maybe it was- but it was just a succession of work and experimentation that turned into a happy accident. And it will probably never turn out as deliciously as it did this time, but thanks to my fine obsessing, I recall every detail and it will undoubtedly translate again, likely with a subtle nuance due to humidity, the ripeness of bananas, my hungover and sleepless state or some other astrological pattern I won't be able to put my finger on til after the fact!

all in all, a great week- steady sales and lots of new faces, but even better, lots of the same faces daily and so many wonderful comments....

"I want to move to Ypsi so I can eat here every day!"

"We like your place a lot- [other guy chimes in] No! We LOVE your place!"

"I haven't a soup this good in I don't know when"

Really?! Me?! Us?! We're doin' it!

Yesterday Anna worked on a mini menu in 'veganeze' which could also be adapted for gluten free in the coming weeks.

Almost all the dressings are made from scratch ('cept the ranch and caesar) and I have the ingredients on hand, same with the soup. And the bread. But I just learned about someone having a soy lecithin allergy (I'd not run across that in my years in this business) which is a concern since I use a pan spray that contains it- and I couldn't tell you where I don't use it. The salads are safe. But anything that has touched a pan in the oven or on the stove has likely been hit with it. Hmmm.

end of week 2!

beezy's: out of survival mode, the ICU, and starting to settle into being and growing and progressing...

if you've talked to me through the summer, you know that basically the work of two people amounted to the majority of the transformation of the space. One of those people was not me. That not me person was my fiancee. I'm still there. And the restaurant is terrifically unfinished. Does that cover it?

There's lots of big and little buttoning up to do- but all our guests seem to either find it charming and real or offer their tools and hands in exchange for lunch. It's amazing. I had harbored fantasies that we wouldn't be as steady busy as we are and would be able to get more done during the day- aside from caulking, attaching base coving around the counters and trying to catch up with all the rock dust and building debris it's a slow going process. I feel a little like a superheroine- soup & breakfast girl by day, contractor girl at night and best mom in the world through it all. (delusions of grandeur anyone?)

but it's working. and we haven't burned the building down yet. In fact, it seems to be working really, really well:

ypsi food bulletin

best cafe ever

beezy's runs on ...

beezy's buzzing with business

and my first Yelp! review

pretty sweet stuff!

and my crew is amazing- strong personalities, strong sense of caring, and a huge support to me during my difficult personal problems.... I'm amazingly lucky that I have them in my life! thank you jon, erin, nick, jamie, stef, jess, emily, genevieve and my daughter, sami for working so hard and being so awesome!

5 days down (er, or UP!)

Sunday night, midnight? 1 am? I am freaking the fuck out. Been up since 7 am or so and busting ass and brainsorting all day. This picture does no justice to how trashed it was.

then here we are, 3 am. about ready to set up the tables in some reasonable and inviting formation. No more metal shavings on the floor. But everything. everything. is crusted in a fine layer of dust.

4 am. it's hazy, my hands are shaky and if I'm gonna be any kind of worth a damn in an hour, I better go home and shower. And let the dust settle for a second. Sure the menu isn't up on the chalkboard, the menus aren't printed and we have nothing to hold ice in, nor is there any ice in the building yet. But every single menu item is available.

then Robyn was our first customer! just after 8 am- we took down the opening soon sign and signed it for her to keep. She keeps coming back and emailed to say it's her new favorite place. (thanks SO SO much!)

it's only Tuesday but all these people I know start showing up, and suddenly I'm putting smiles on faces while frying chorizo and flipping homefries and washing dishes and cartwheeling through the cafe.






more later, I gotta be at the shop in a few hours... thanks beyond thanks for the tremendous support already, it's AMAZING.

open!!

that is all

see you soon

more soon

check out:

www.markmaynard.com

far more eloquent than I can muster right now!

thank you to all who've stopped by, who are stopping by and will stop by!

xo
bee

torches and pitchforks

I forced the staff to shop at the Downtown Farmer's Market. Then, they prepped stuff so I could make the first supper (maybe the second?)

cheesy pumpkin soup, sourdough toast and rockin' little salad. mmm. housemade tongue and groove table :D

but really?

who thought (ok, I did, I reallllly reallly did but I've been accused here and there of being an overachiever) we could actually open a restaurant in 2 months? I mean, even if the joint were in perfect shape it'd been difficult. But still, we're verrrrry verrrrrrrrrrry close, so put away those pitchforks and quit rioting outside and sending me threatening emails.

The reality is, Bennett is working with some challenges... the least of which is my being hyper organized and having held the vision in my bosom for over 5 years now, the bigger part of which is dealing with a 140+ year old building that has suffered a bit and is hesitant to be restored and well, that's bennett's rant, for I could never ever do it justice.

It looks so easy on paper. It does, I can show ya. But the results are gonna be worth it.

here's a peek at what's happenin':

emily, nick and me in the first aprons.

jamie rockin' calder cappuccinos instead of spraypaint!

stefanie holds deli meat near and dear

gratuitious leaning shot of exhaustion

building happenin':

here we have bennett- not only an expert in mangenuity,
but also unicorn catcher of the jigsaw sea

the bennett floor money shot



when you see it, it'll have a rug on it, so appreciate it here, alright?



this is what you see when you walk in: go right on up to that purple counter and place your order!



money shot #2 notice the light grained ash, the walnut inlay, and then the darker ash? meow.



room to grow...



barista area coming together



floor grain beauty



sometimes I forget that natural light actually comes in and it's freakin' gorgeous

look for open doors very very soon.

beezy's will be open at 7 am and close at 6 pm
(and I'm still debating being open on Sunday; I keep going back and forth...)

in fact, we're hosting the space tuesday "after hours" for a nice little test run private party

the health inspection granted us operational status on Friday, now I just gotta have everything squared with the city and all before we're totally legit.

So a soft opening with little fanfare, and then on into a nice grand opening party later in the month- thanks for all the support, kind emails, gentle nudges, leads, opportunities, staff leads, hugs, smiles and I look forward to serving you!

long time...

I lost a huge post from earlier this week- lotsa photos of the coming together of bennett's beautiful custom counters, jess wearing a dust mask, and several unnamed butt-cracks (isn't that what renovation is *really* about?)

but mostly this week, small equipment has been trickling in, and the gorgeous Cyncra Synesso 2 group machine of caffeinated happiness is here.

Jon, Genevieve and Jamie endured the fabulous Espresso 101. I finished reading 'Omnivore's Dilemma' which was fantastic.

I've been fine tuning the menu copy and (still) working on the format.

look what genevieve made:



but there's more than that... breakfast menu with oatmeal, breakfast sandwiches, bagels and specialty cream cheeses like veggie herb and blueberry lemon, an array of baked goods made in house and fresh fruit, milk from Calder dairy and as much produce & meat we can get from the bounty of each season from neighboring farms and producers.

the mr. man show

this photo was taken by Sam- pretty sure we were talking about lights with Sue...

I'm not so great at this keeping a beezy's blog- but the internet is my friend so I know I can do it.

This blog is dedicated to Bennett, who is working as my project manager and CMO (chief mangenuity officer)...

he's the brains and brawn behind pulling the renovation off. He's sourced all the materials and is doing oh, 96% of the labor and I certainly haven't given him his due. Part of that is my innate separation of work & personal life, part of it is that it's so special I really don't have the words for it. It's something to witness, be a part of, and I'm sorry for not displaying it more obviously.

What started as, "oh, I just wanna move this counter, fix the floor and move this stuff to the back" has become the stuff of many a sleepless for the Bennett. It always takes longer to do things right, and while it's a tough go right now (please send more easy tin ceiling vibes! or start!) it's going to be totally rad! And, no doubt, an ongoing struggle to improve and continue renovating even once beezy's is open. I hope that friends, guests, the staff, cheerleaders, and the community finds the work and love in the place charming and a vast improvement! A warm and welcoming spot where you step in and really feel all the love and care, where the blood, sweat and tears we've already poured in is a visceral and passionate part of the story of 20 N. Washington.

Oh, and remember all those invitations to stop by? Lay off for a week so we can get some shit done, alright? Or come by late in the evening! (really!) Or find us at the Tap Room for lunch and we'll chat you up... or Bennett for that post work beer...

so... here's some of the amazing work so far:

the gorgeous wood sourced from John Haling, bottom coat on


layout of the tin ceiling tiles

tearing down the prep area wall and the parts and pieces of the ceiling grid, and HVAC vents, wheeeeeeee!


and there's others scattered through the previous blog posts too!

It ain't pretty right now, but as Bennett's sister mentioned, it's a lot easier to see all the potential.

So Jess Ex came by the shop in July- here I am in front of the mural (slated to be primed and repainted this weekend) Most of the ceiling grid was still in place and that purple carpet I love so much...

Later on that evening, Ben was in town and needing a Denny's fix with Holly and Chuckie and he helped with a minor water 'incident' in the basement.




Ever the sacred janitor and dishwasher to the stars, he jumped in and took me up on an offer to help for a while on his way down to Texas (though he didn't make it there, he DID come and help; I now have a clean Christopher Walk-In



(this is Ben doing a pretty bad ass Henry Rollins)





some carpet rolling and grid removal in progress...


(insert Nina somewhere in here too!) We also had some help from the beautiful and mysterious Nina and her canine pal, Coby- from the use of her truck, to walking around Washington with a Bloody Mary, to pulling nails out of wood and schlepping crap from one side of the cafe space to the other, it was a blast to have her here and part of the process.


goodbye purple carpet, and thanks to the ladies who took it off our hands.


and sorry to the upstairs tenants who get to endure a lot of banging.

I'll make it up to you somehow.

more...

and more this sunday too.

So wherever July went, I would like a rebate please... sure we achieved quite a bit, but here Sam has already returned from her summer sojourn, I'm officially all moved in (erm, maybe once the last of the mail is picked up over in Ann Arbor...then it'll be official?) and I'm a scant 3 weeks away from my opening target date!

I spent the better part of a week interviewing a gang of amazing applicants, who made the whittling of choices one of the most difficult tasks so far. I wish I could hire everyone that applied- it's so easy to see what each person had to offer. In the end, or well, the beginning here, the selections I made I think will be a great balance for the opening team.

Bennett is hard at work with the ceiling restoration. It's amazing- and grueling to witness. Corroded tin and ancient sheetrock, eye blinding rusty dust and some of the most amazing boogers are to be had.

Jon has come on as a helper- an extra set of hands and some comic relief and he's at least 6 foot tall so that helps too. (thanks Jon, you're more than just a tall person)

celings and floors and cleaning, oh my!

this looks like fun, doesn't it? It's a damn tragedy what people have done over the years- stuffing this here and that there; ruthlessly ripping tin tiles throwing up a pipe here and dear lord, all the fluorescent lighting...

while I'm not a fan of the existing decor- baby blue walls and purple carpet and acoustic ceiling tiles; it's obvious that it was put together with love and care.

I'm giddy whenever I give someone a tour, because I see pure potential. Bennett is working on matching tiles, but not being obsessed with matching tiles is going to have to be alright. I mean, I patchwork quilt, so I have no issue with 'em not matching. It's amazing how much more open it is already- it's only something like 12 inches.

now the floor- Bennett started getting the carpet up and the subfloor looks sound so far. Going from this:




To some amazing reclaimed ash from Washtenaw county by local sawyer John Haling
this isn't a picture of his wood, but it'll give you an idea of it:


I think I should be getting ready to go the Shadow Art Fair or dinner with Bennett at over at Dawn's. I fell asleep reading 'The End of Food' by Thomas Pawlick then shook myself awake from a dream about painting beezy's.

Yesterday I saw a ton of visitors- Allen from ZCC came by and then Jess Ex of Flint fame; then Ben, Holly and Chuckie of Petoskey fame... Chuckie is now roasting back at my old stomping grounds
They had come down for Warped Tour in Detroit and needed the requisite post show Denny's and there I was a mere 30 minutes away...

Keys!

Yesterday I picked up the keys for the space!

This week is a whole lotta back and forth (the next couple weeks, really) moving, cleaning and clearing, calling and sorting and filling out a helluva lot of paperwork!

But, GAME ON!!