WOW, JUST WOW...Â
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After 7 months, 3 weeks and 5 days closed, man oh man has it been a pure delight to have you all back at the bake shop! We've missed your smiling faces, your kindness, and the abundance of joy you bring to our space and to the team. Thank you.
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Our "soft open" didn't stay soft for long...it's been a bit of a whirlwind since we officially reopened our doors last Tuesday. Our team continues to shine, providing IZOLA hospitality and kindness to our guests, hustling to learn and grow every day. Our weekdays are as big as the weekends we used to do at 13th, and this new team is killing it in only their 2nd week.
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For folks who have come by and we've been sold out, or your order has been incorrect or delayed - thank you for your grace. We learn from each mistake as we strive to elevate your experience. We'll likely continue to sell out over the next couple of weeks as we closely manage how hard we push our teams. They're scaling up each and every day, but this is a marathon, and we take the long view. We're pushing each day to do better than we did yesterday.
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We're currently open Tuesday - Friday, from 7a-2p, but as soon as next week we may be able to open our doors on Saturday as well. (We'll announce it here 1st). IZOLA DRIVE BYÂ is still available if you have a pre-order! Just double park and give us a ring at 619-289-8358 and we'll run your order out to ya with a smile.
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For the month of July we'll have our new flavor drops available:
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Our Hibiscus Tequila Knot
A luxurious braided croissant with whole Tahitian vanilla beans steeped into the milk, then enrobed in a glaze spiked with hibiscus, tequila, mint, pineapple, jalapeño and lemon. Topped with candied lime and jalapeño and freshly grated lime zest.
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Cherry Parmesan Sourdough
Packed with huge chunks of parmesan reggiano and dried cherries. Our parmesan reggiano is crafted using cows milk from Italian regions including Parma and Bologna and creates melty pockets of umami flavor bombs (weighing in at over a third of a pound of parmesan per loaf!). Paired with the sweetness and tartness of the dried Montmorency cherries, our Cherry Parmesan Sourdough is a sweet and salty adventure.
JOIN US Â
We're raising capital to expand IZOLA's production capabilities, improve our IT, and expand our impact. Our factory project in City Heights is well underway, we submitted our 180 page architectural and engineering plan set to the city last week, we have a PRJ number! We plan to begin construction in about 6 months. This project will provide up to a 20x increase in our production capacity + improve our quality. Additionally we're expanding our IT capabilities to better serve our customers. And we're taking action on our 5 areas of social justice, including economic, LGBTQIA+, environmental, gender, and racial justice.
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If you'd like to join us on this journey, our new capital campaign is live and we are offering an early bird discount. Please visit our Microventures page for all the details.
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*Only invest an amount you would feel comfortable losing.
Investing in private businesses involves risk. Though potential returns are designed to reflect that risk, there is a possibility that you will lose your entire investment.
- Jeffrey Lamont Brown
- Jun 24, 2024
A NEW DAY
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I know, I know...how could we have even MORE news to share after our epically long update yesterday? Well...I think you'll be excited for this latest update...
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Today we quietly reopened our doors at IZOLA Island. We've been very intentional with our reopening plans, from an 8-day long training with our Front of House team, to holding mock events so they and our Bake team could gain hands on practice, to opening on a Tuesday completely unannounced.
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I hope you'll forgive us for the secrecy as we try to do everything in our control to provide a supportive learning environment for our team. But the cat is out of the bag, so we felt compelled to share this update with our dearest supporters.
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We cannot wait to see you at the new bakeshop. And we thank you in advance for your kindness and grace for our inaugural IZOLA Island team as they find their footing in the new space, with new process and new teammates.
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For now, we'll be open Tuesday - Friday, from 7a-2p. We will remain closed for the weekend until our teams are ready to handle the increased production and increased traffic. Thank you for providing them the space to flourish!
MORE BIG NEWS...
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And why stop at just one big announcement when two is twice as exciting??
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Today we also re-opened our equity raise!!
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For the first $500,000 raised or up until 11:59 PM PST on July 31, 2024, the Price Per Unit will be $1.80 - a discount off of our previous unit price...We are sharing this opportunity first with you, our IZOLA investors and community.
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See the full details, or invest here.
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*Only invest an amount you would feel comfortable losing.
Investing in private businesses involves risk. Though potential returns are designed to reflect that risk, there is a possibility that you will lose your entire investment.
OK...ONE MORE ANNOUNCEMENT...
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Alright I promise, this is the last big announcement for tonight!
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This week we officially submitted our plans to the city for IZOLA Main!!
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Wow...has this been an epic adventure so far. We have been working on the plans for our new zero-emission manufacturing facility and bake shop, IZOLA Main, for over a year now. Located in the heart of City Heights, we'll be dough production capacity by 20x, over 30 purpose-filled careers and investing in an underserved community.
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We aim to change the way America thinks about croissants and sourdough. The IZOLA way. Hot from the oven, great hospitality, amazing quality. Justice. Investing in American Green Manufacturing. Creating careers. Improving the quality of our bread and croissants. Planning to open 12 IZOLAs in SoCal. Hard? Yes. But so exciting to invest in American manufacturing and in our community.
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Thank you to Carlos and Barb at HELEO Architecture + Design for your incredible work, passion, and support.
- Jeffrey Lamont Brown
- Jun 23, 2024
Inaugural IZOLA Island Team- 48 strong
CROSSING THE FINISH LINE
Holy cow, it's been a bit since we've sent out an update (almost a month 😳)! We have been racing toward the finish line to get IZOLA Island open and who knew there were sooooo many things to get done.....things like:
Refinishing the picnic tables (with a little help from our son Sacha and supervision from Sam).
Our Sourdough and Dojo teams finally joined us here at Island. The day they moved in, it really started to feel like home with our entire team under one roof again. Though it is incredibly bittersweet to move out of our 13th Street location! We seem to love places on multi-levels...it sure was fun getting the sheeter downstairs into our new Dojo!
Installing the team lockers.
Getting the sound system up and running.
Putting the finishing touches on our outdoor lighting.
Final installations on our production areas in preparation for inspection.
Finishing the last few details on our new partnership with local roaster, Talitha Coffee. You'll soon be able to buy the IZOLA + Talitha single origin coffee here at IZOLA Island. We are not only in love with the flavor of their coffee, but as a mission-driven company, Talitha was a natural fit to partner with.
Removing the old astro turf and refinishing all 1400 square feet of cement on our back patio that overlooks Fault Line Park.
With our ovens on the ground floor and our walk-in cooler downstairs, our Bake team has been timing their oven reloading cycles to get ready for the hustle of open...one of our newest Bakers Vanessa is soooo up for the challenge!
We onboarded over 20 new front of house team members! They trained for 8 days to prepare for opening, making our way through our new 154 page training manual. Training culiminated with two mock service days where our incredible investors joined us to put the team through their paces. Though nothing can truly prepare the team fully for open, so in our first few weeks back open, we thank you for your kindness and grace toward our new team. They are a group of hard working, passionate, caring, joyful individuals - we cannot wait for you to meet them!
Team meetings with our leads to prepare production schedules for open. We forecast each day so that our production teams know what to produce, and a bake schedule so our Bake teams have a minute by minute game plan to keep the ovens fed the entire time we're open. Doubling our oven capacity and having our walk-in cooler downstairs definitely complicates things, but nothing our team can't handle!
And most importantly, there has been SO very much to celebrate these past few weeks....First, our plans were approved by DEHQ which resulted in enormous cheers from the team that reverberated through both floors of the bakeshop.
Then our mechanical permits were approved which made way for our final DEHQ approval last week and the delivery of our A. This means we are now clear to open our doors to the public and start baking again! 🎉
And this past Sunday we invited our investors, contractors, families, brokers, architects, lawyers, IZOLA core team members, suppliers, maintenance teams, advisors, neighbors and cheerleaders in to celebrate THEM. It has taken a team of over 600 supporters strong to get us to this day. Without our over 500 investors, IZOLA would not have been able to withstand this 8 month closure. Without our brokers and lawyers, we would not be in this absolutely stunning space we now call home. Thank you to our friends, families and neighbors who have cheered us on, lent an ear when we were sad or exhausted or frustrated, taken out our trash for us when we're working late or brought us dinner late at night. To our IZOLA core team who has stuck with us through thick and thin and are just as passionate about building the IZOLA community as we are. Our incredible architects at Heleo for their constant support. To the contractors who worked nights and weekends and moved mountains to get us ready for opening in record time. To the city officials and staff members who have fielded all of our calls and questions as we navigated the permitting process. The Downtown San Diego Partnership and Clean and Safe team for helping us spruce up the surrounding areas of IZOLA Island. To Second Chance and Kitchens for Good for their partnership as we rebuilt our team. And so many more.....
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We can't wait to welcome you all into our new space at 1429 Island Avenue!
