PAUSE
While the entire team has had their nose to the grindstone these past few weeks, I cherish this newsletter because it forces us to press pause and reflect on everything we're creating around us. My mom Twila (aka Grandma Izola's daughter) reminds me to take photos and capture the moment because soon it will become a distant memory - so true....
It's been a bit emotional this past week as we baked our last croissant at 13th Street and started to move our equipment out of our original location and over to the new location on Island Avenue. I've been in the studio at 13th Street for over 20 years...It's where so many memories have been made, from raising our son there, to running a film production company, to climbing "movie nights," the first croissants being lowered from our window basket, to IZOLA customers meeting new friends or making new traditions.
And while I was sad to think about leaving this special place, the day itself brought so much joy. Our team, led by AGM Jeff, had the place 100% ready to go on move day - the space was cleared, all tools in place and we were able to hit the ground running. So many people helped, including past and present IZOLA team members, and Pastor Jay from Second Sunday came by to lend a hand. Because of the many helpful hands on deck the morning went by so smoothly.
Jenny and I stole a moment at the end of the morning to sit with each other on Big Bird (what we call the big yellow couch in the corner ) and took time to reflect...It was about three years ago that we had moved the new Salva ovens up into the kitchen and it was just Jenny, myself and two team members. To say it was challenging is an understatement! Everyone was exhausted, it was our first time using our custom lift and we just had so much less experience. So to be able to watch our team now move in concert with each other so seamlessly, it filled our hearts with joy. Thank you team!
This week we've had Iker, the technical engineer from Salva, here to lead the install of our new fleet of ovens and proofers, with a close assist from Chef Lane, our Bake Lead.
At reopening, we'll be rolling out 4 new proofers, 2 new croissant ovens and 1 new sourdough deck all in support of serving our croissants and sourdough hot from the oven, to everyone who wants one. They'll allow us to minimize the time between when they leave our ovens and to your hands (and mouth!) while also allowing us to bump our production.
Prior to our oven install, we needed to finish our interior paint job. Thank you Mom for the amazing recommendation (if anyone's looking for a reliable painter with great attention to detail, email Jenny and she'll pass you Rodolfo's info). Rodolfo and his team worked day and night to complete the project within a week to keep us on schedule.
And my absolute favorite tool during this renovation period?? Pictured right here - the scissor lift! Each and every team that has been through has been able to utilize it and it has made our efficiency skyrocket! When in doubt, rent a scissor lift.
And the question on everyone's mind - when will we be re-opening?? We have not set a date yet, and while the project is moving along at a break-neck speed, mid-May is not likely as we're still waiting on our permits. We also have a big team to hire and train, but that can't happen until the space is ready to host them. So best estimate is June. Stay tuned.....
PS - If you're enjoying our reno updates, follow us on Instagram where we're posting a lot of updates to our Stories these days, like the afternoon Jenny and I became enamored with our new power washer...
JOIN THE TEAM
With over 20 positions to fill, the amazing Jenny has been glued to her laptop booking and holding interviews like crazy. By my count she's combed her way through over 300 applications and scheduled 65 interviews these past 7 days...Don't believe it?! Here's a peek at her calendar:
You know we love our metrics, so you'll see she was allowing for a little buffer in between calls in case calls ran over, but as she started noticing a much higher no-show rate than last year, she's just stacking 'em up back to back.
We've had some really strong candidates move to our second round of in person meet and greets, and for production roles, a third round paid trial shift. Our team is getting really excited with who we've already extended offers to.
But we still have a ways to go! So...if you or someone you know is looking to join a team of hard working, passionate individuals, take a look at our open positions!
HOST YOUR NEXT EVENT AT THE OG IZOLA
Did you know that our 13th Street location is available for event bookings? Imagine holding your next event in the light, bright, airy loft space that has brought so many people together here at IZOLA. We have hosted Grammy award-winning musicians, marriage proposals, birthday parties, art gallery pop ups, production shoots, you name it...it's happened here...
For more details, check out our site where you can also place a request to book and we'll reach right back out to you.
WEEKS 2 + 3
Hi, Jenny here! I'm taking over the email update this week because as you'll see below, Jeffrey has his hands full...but he is in his happy place getting out from behind his laptop and getting his hands dirty, problem-solving and working with the stellar contractors that have been working so hard to bring our vision alive. I have absolutely loved seeing Jeffrey in his element - from the massive amount of coordination involved, the strategizing over our electrical, refrigeration, filtration, you name it....he's planned for it...watching him lead four different teams of contractors at once so that we can stay on schedule, finding amazing folks to help us carry this vision forward, it's been nothing short of awe- inspiring.
We're almost at the halfway point of the renovations at our new location at 1429 Island Avenue. Some days it's hard to recognize the progress we're making, but as I reflect on the past few days, WOW!
The carpentry and drywall is nearly complete. And it was thanks to the IZOLA community that we've been able to stay on schedule - you all came out in full force with your recommendations when we put the call out.
Thank you thank you thank you to Louie for recommending Gilbert and Fabian - this father and son team has been amazing. They are still here as I write this - at 10p on a Friday night - because they are determined to get the job done right.
Email me if you'd like their contact info for any projects you've got in the pipeline.
They also worked on the neighboring towers Pinnacle on the Park and Spire (pictured here from our roof!), so it was fun that they could come back and work at our space.
Given the great success we had with asking for help with recommendations, do you know of any great PLUMBERS, HVAC repair and maintenance folks, or COMMERCIAL DOOR REPAIR? Let Jeffrey know!!
We also worked on mockups of our new signage (spoiler alert, we didn't like this version!), our electrical panel installation is nearing completion (thank you Travis and the amazing team from Absolutely Electric), fire sprinkler inspections are underway and hallelujah - we finally got internet! Going two weeks off of hot spots was interesting to say the least...
Some things (and people) we're thankful for this week:
Amazon and Home Depot (who does same day delivery!): We cannot imagine doing a reno like this without them, it would have taken us 5x as long to get done what we've been able to get done so far.
Our team: Thanks to Alejandra for the countless projects you've helped push through so far for Island while balancing our plans for IZOLA Main at the same time. To Lane, Lidia and Joseph for continuing to find ways to make our croissants and sourdough better and better and for all the trips to Island, to Jeff for juggling a million balls and managing the daily shift in priorities that we throw at you each day, and to Erick who is the hardest working guy I know (besides Jeffrey!) and a man of so many talents (that's him here getting our kitchen hood in shape!).
Simo hot spot: While we were working through our internet struggles we discovered the Simo. We had it up and running in minutes, it was amazingly simple to setup.
The team at Second Chance: We're super excited to partner with you as we build our team back up! We really enjoyed our first interviews with the current Second Chance class. Second Chance offers specialized workforce readiness training, sober-living housing, educational programs and support services for justice involved men, women and youth. We also have an ongoing partnership with Kitchens for Good, who we've worked with for 3 years now and are looking forward to continuing with our partnership.
The list of people we are grateful for just keeps getting longer and longer each day....our community here in San Diego is so special and we can't wait to be back open real soon. Mid-May is still the target!
UGLIER THAN EVER
Guess what the IZOLA Core team has been working on this week? Those that have been visiting IZOLA since the beginning might recognize what we're working on bringing back...the Ugly Bit! With our increased oven space, we're sooooo very excited to bring back it back to our menu.
What is an Ugly Bit!?! The Ugly is special to me - in the early days of IZOLA, in the midst of Covid, Jeffrey would spend long days baking, and at the end of his day he'd take any scraps of leftover dough, add organic dark brown sugar, raisins, and anything else he had around, roll 'em up and bake them off as treats for our son Sacha and me. So it started as one of the many sweet things that Jeffrey does to show he's thinking about us, but then as IZOLA grew and we had lots of scraps of dough, we decided to add it to our menu and share it with the IZOLA community. Not only are they absolutely mouthwateringly decadent, but we love that it allows us to use dough that we otherwise wouldn't be able to use.
Much of the IZOLA Core team had not experienced the Ugly Bit before, so after our first test bake, they confirmed - they're pretty ugly! Uglier the better in our opinion!
JOIN THE TEAM
We are kicking our interviewing into high gear! Would you like to join this team of hardworking, passionate, kind, creative, super smart super stars? We are interviewing now for all positions:
FRONT OF HOUSE: Love a job where you're moving all day and bringing joy to our community through food? Our Front of House team is responsible for welcoming our guests and sharing with them a little bit about IZOLA and how our food is crafted, they'll pack over 1000 items a day and serve over 600 people. IZOLA was named after Jeffrey's grandma Izola - and our Front of House team helps us recreate the warmth and sense of community Grandma Izola always had in her home.
CROISSANT PRODUCTION: Our Dojo team creates all of the buttery deliciousness on our menu, from the Almond Croissants to the Tahitian Vanilla Knots. We are hiring for day and evening shifts, and will soon be expanding into a 3rd graveyard shift too.
SOURDOUGH PRODUCTION: Our Sourdough team is passionate about working with the living creature that is our starter! You'll be responsible for scaling, mixing, shaping and preparing the amendments that get added to our loaves, like roasting whole garlic cloves for our Roasted Garlic Sourdough. We are hiring for day shifts and possibly some evening shifts as well.
BAKE: We are so excited to announce that our ovens are going to be coming out of the kitchen and straight into our dining area! Our guests will now be able to sit at the IZOLA BAKE BAR and watch the bake happen...Our bakers are responsible for managing the proof on our croissants, baking the croissants and sourdough as well as finishing them, and now you'll also get to engage with our guests too. Please note that while we are targeting a mid-May reopening, our actual reopening date is still a bit of a moving target, so start dates are still not firm. For folks seeking immediate placement, we aren't able to just yet, but we're a few short weeks away, so please stay in touch with us! I Wanna Join the Team!
HOST YOUR NEXT EVENT AT THE OG IZOLA
Did you know that our 13th Street location is available for event bookings? Imagine holding your next event in the light, bright, airy loft space that has brought so many people together here at IZOLA. We have hosted Grammy award-winning musicians, marriage proposals, birthday parties, art gallery pop ups, production shoots, you name it...it's happened here...
For more details, check out our site where you can also place a request to book and we'll reach right back out to you.
WEEK 1
We are on day 7 of our tenancy in our new location at the base of the Pinnacle Towers at Fault Line Park and it has just flown by....Here are just a few of the things we tackled this week:
Our first contractor arrived on Day 1 and we were all smiles
We met with the Downtown Partnership Clean & Safe team, a tremendous resource for us here in the East Village. Their team helps keep folks safe, the neighborhood clean and helps make Downtown San Diego a vibrant neighborhood to live in and visit. If you're in the area often, download their app to easily submit safety and maintenance requests! (And we LOVE San Diego's Get it Done app too!)
Jenny submitted her first application for a city permit (for a 40-yard dumpster) and was super grateful for the city's help in getting it submitted properly. She was stoked to see the dumpster arrive and couldn't wait to run the first load! IZOLA Core team member Erick has been crushing it out too - the dumpster is already 3/4 full...
We had a whole lot of meetings to push forward on our new signage, door maintenance, plumbing, demo, window repair, lighting...
I've learned more than I ever knew I would know about sump pumps...
We've had a warm welcome and tremendous support from the Pinnacle security and maintenance teams.
A very special visit from mom and dad who came to cheer us on and fill our bellies with Bronx pizza. Thank you! ❤️
And thank you to all the new neighbors we've met this week!
One thing I could use some help with though...we're looking for someone who can do framing, sheetrock and add some t-bar ceiling. Know of any smart, hardworking guys or gals who'd be up for a smaller job like this? As we build our construction teams, we're thinking about the future and working to find partners to help bring IZOLA Main and our future bread cafes to life.
I'm optimistic we can get back open around mid-May (especially if we can find someone for the job above!). It's an aggressive timeline, but we're gunning for it and doing everything in our power to get back open ASAP.
Of course, stay tuned right here — we'll update you along the way and bring you along for the ride as we gear up toward re-opening day!
P.S. - If you'd like to join the IZOLA team, we'll be hiring for all positions - front of house, croissant production, sourdough production, and bake. Email Jenny your resume!
TENACITY
Our team's got it in spades! Congratulations to the IZOLA Core team for our most recent approval of the testing on our new IZOLA Ramen Croissant! 🎉 We've been sharing pics of this creation for the past few months, but up until this point we still had some details to fine tune to make sure we had the right balance of beauty, flavor and texture. And after FOUR months of testing, the team has nailed it. Big smiles all around when we announced the approval to this hardworking team!
I think Jenny likes the new pizza the team has been developing. You got a little something on your face Bunny....❤️
And since we're sharing silly photos, thank you Jeff for the unicorn eclipse glasses - they made the solar eclipse even more fun!
HOST YOUR NEXT EVENT AT IZOLA
Did you know that our 13th Street location is available for event bookings? Imagine holding your next event in the light, bright, airy loft space that has brought so many people together here at IZOLA. We have hosted Grammy award-winning musicians, marriage proposals, birthday parties, art gallery pop ups, production shoots, you name it...it's happened here...
For more details, check out our site where you can also place a request to book and we'll reach right back out to you.