FROM CHINA TO SWITZERLAND...
Our newest sourdough flavor drop is the Lao Gan Ma Gruyère Sourdough and it takes us on a taste journey from Southwestern China to the hills of Switzerland...
What is Lao Gan Ma?! It is a Chinese chili crisp that we stock en masse at home - we put it on everything from our eggs to our pizza to our sourdough, on sandwiches, on rice, on chicken...I think you get the gist...
We've paired swirls of spicy Lao Gan Ma with the slightly nutty, warm Swiss Gruyère AOP in our newest sourdough. Amazing on its own, or top it with a fried egg, or as the foundation for an epic sandwich. And as you can see in the image below, we're serious about flavor in every bite and accuracy.
OCEAN DISCOVERY INSTITUTE
On a recent bluebird San Diego day, we visited the inspiring team at the Ocean Discovery Institute in City Heights. Located just a few hundred feet from where the new IZOLA Main will be, we were excited to meet our neighbors and learn more about how they're making a long-lasting impact on City Heights and how we can support their efforts.
Their mission? To inspire the next generation of science leaders, break generational poverty, and change the future of science. They do this through their 100% tuition-free model, providing in-school science programs, after-school and summer programming, and much more.
If you'd like to help propel ODI's mission, you can join their community of donors (just a few pictured below) by donating here.
IZOLA FUTURE:
ARRIVES TOMORROW!
Join me and Jenny tomorrow, Monday, September 23rd, at 6:30p PST for a Google Meet discussion on IZOLA's future and why we're raising funds to support these five areas of justice:
ECONOMIC
ENVIRONMENTAL
GENDER
LGBTQIA+
RACIAL
Plus guest experience!
It's a fun conversation, super informal...we'll touch on where we're at now, our plans for the future, and how you can take part.
LUNCH AT IZOLA
We're super stoked over the response to our new flavor drops - the Lao Gan Ma Gruyere Sourdough and Bibimbap Croissant (and it's vegetarian counterpart the Vbap!).
Our Bibimbap Croissant has become the team's favorite for lunch. It's filled with bulgogi beef, carrots, daikon, kimchi, house made bibimbap sauce...served with beautiful microgreens, cucumber salad and more bibimbap sauce for dipping. We also have the VBap Croissant, the veg version, and interestingly enough, may actually win out as my favorite. Coming from a carnivore like me, that surprised me!
NOW OPEN SUNDAYS!
Wow.....did the IZOLA community come out in full force to celebrate our first Sunday open here at Island Avenue! We are sooooooooo happy to be back open for the full weekend and officially come out of our soft opening stage. (Though our sign still says "coming soon," don't let that fool ya! Our fingers are crossed that our permanent sign finally gets released from customs jail this week. 🤞)
The entire team did such a phenomenal job this Sunday:
Our Dojo team increased production and launched a brand new (and complex) croissant flavor all in the same week.
Our small but mighty Sourdough team kicked off their first Saturday production shifts while also launching a new flavor.
Our front-of-house team killed it both Saturday and Sunday! They served over 600 people each day, over 1500 croissants and sourdough loaves, and our Dishes team washed over 100 sheet pans plus hundreds of plates and cutting boards.
Our Bake team baked croissants and sourdough hot from the oven all weekend long, clocking in at over 25 oven loads of croissants and 17 loads of sourdough each day. 😳
And here's a mind-blowing fact — our production team (Sourdough, Croissant, Bake) took 628 flights of stairs just to support Saturday and Sunday service days alone! For every tray of croissants we roll or every load of sourdough we bake, a team member brings a full sheet pan of them up the stairs, then down the stairs to bring the next load up.
Thank you, team, and thank you to our IZOLA community for coming to see us. We look forward to seeing you this weekend!
PRO TIP: Looking for a more chill experience? Come see us Tuesdays through Fridays - shorter lines (if any!), full menu available!
NEW EXTENDED HOURS
Tuesday - Sunday 7a-2p
(ABOVE) The team stages out all pre-orders for Saturday on Friday afternoon, but by Saturday morning here are all the new orders to stage!
(ABOVE) The team celebrating an EMPTY orders screen! WOOT WOOT! Power team! (Not pictured as she's behind the camera: The amazing Andy, our Expeditor!)
THE GLAMOUR OF RUNNING A BAKERY 😉
We've received such great feedback on the Reels we've been posting showing behind the scenes footage (like this and this), we thought we'd share some deets on what we've been up to this week:
First up: It has to happen - grease trap and lift pump maintenance. In the wee hours of the morning we sheathed 60 feet of hose, then guided it down to the basement. (Warning: Noisy video, a little gross)
Oven repairs: My tip for business owners - have a backup in place and always carry spare parts! We spent a little time this week installing replacement parts on one of our croissant ovens, and cleaned the top of the ovens while we were at it, because why not?? (Can anyone spot Jenny?)
Surprise Inspection: The DEH visited us yesterday for an inspection! All went great and we appreciate the County for educating us and keeping us all safe. There's a lot that I appreciate about our team, and today was another day where the pride in their work showed...
And the team took part in their regular maintenance, like power washing the sidewalks, picking up trash surrounding the bakery, putting touch ups on the paint around the bakeshop and much much more...
IZOLA FUTURE:
Join me and Jenny this Monday September 23rd at 6:30p PST on Google Meet for a discussion on IZOLA's future and why we're raising funds to support these five areas of justice:
ECONOMIC
ENVIRONMENTAL
GENDERLGBTQIA+
RACIAL
It's a fun conversation, super informal...we'll touch on where we're at now, our plans for the future, and how you can take part.
LIVE MUSIC SATURDAYS
Every Saturday we welcome local musicians to come and perform at IZOLA from 8a-1p. Here's a sneak peak at some of the artists dropping by this weekend.
KAHLIL NASH
8-9a
Emerging from the elite San Diego music scene in California, San Diego Music Award winner Kahlil Nash is a Funk/Rock and R&B recording artist/producer who is a multi-instrumentalist. Influenced by artists Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, and Prince, Kahlil Nash thrives to entertain his audience.
SHANTI
12-1p
Shanti brings the soul, love, and expression to every one of his performances. It is captivating and a dream to experience. A true time machine to the 60's meshed with new school style.
NEW FLAVOR DROPS
Dust off your taste buds.....tomorrow we launch the IZOLA Bibimbap croissant...Lunch at IZOLA, anyone?
This croissant shows our love for K-Food. House-made everything: daikon/zucchini/carrot filling for the veggie version (VBAP) with the addition of Asian pear marinated shabu shabu for the carnivores.
Served with IZOLA's own BAP SAUCE: scratch-made with notes of maple, ginger, and some heat.Korean Mom approved.
We've never seen a croissant like this, and the team is excited to share with you.
Carnivore Confession: (I love the VBap almost more than the meat)Congratulations to the entire IZOLA Team for pushing the limits of what a croissant can be....Chef JB
LAO GAN MA GRUYERE
Wait a minute...what's Lao Gan Ma? A chili crisp from the Guizhou Province in China. Delicious?...Absolutely (with some heat)
Plus Emmi Roth AOP Gruyere, with flavor notes of candied walnut, a touch of warm spice, and dried fruit.
CHINA X SWITZERLAND
Gooey, spicy, yum yum nestled in a loaf of IZOLA Sourdough. I've died and gone to heaven!
SUNDAYS ARE HERE!!
We are officially out of soft launch mode. HOORAY!!! It has taken a lot of planning, but our teams are ready for us to open on Sundays.
Beginning this Sunday September 15th, we will now be open on Sundays, from 7a-2p! 🎉
Our new expanded hours are:
Tuesday - Sunday
7a-2p
ASK US ANYTHING!
Join me and Jenny this Thursday September 12th at 11a for a live Q&A online - ask us ANYTHING! And we mean anything! It will be hosted by Bill, the CEO of Microventures where our capital raise is hosted. We'll kick it off with an overview on why we're raising funds, but then turn it over to YOU!
Will we ever sell baguettes?
Where do I get my cool kicks from? 😉
Will you be opening an IZOLA in North County?
What's the minimum to invest?
Where do we get our ovens from?
Our early bird perk ENDS THIS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15th, so it will be your last chance before the cost to invest goes up!
CONGRATULATIONS!
Please help us congratulate our newest Front of House Leads! Emma, Zach and Adrian were promoted this week and will be working with our Assistant General Manager Jeff on leading our Front of House team. Each new lead embodies the IZOLA spirit - they are compassionate, hard working, curious, kind.
Our Front of House team is a powerhouse team. Many of you have been able to experience the hospitality that they provide while we're open, but this team also manages a 10 page opening checklist and a 6 page closing checklist. And our new leads will be working with the team to execute our open, service and close.
Our Front of House team ensures the bakery and the surrounding sidewalks and park are ready to welcome our guests; they'll wash up to 125 sheet pans, hundreds of plates, glassware, cutting boards and knives a day and our production dishes; they'll prepare hundreds of gable boxes a day in anticipation for our pre-orders and to-go orders; they service, calibrate and test the espresso equipment; fold hundreds of napkins; power wash the surrounding sidewalks, vacuum and mop our dining room and basement and soooooo much more.
We are so grateful for you team!
LIVE MUSIC SATURDAYS
Every Saturday we welcome local musicians to come and perform at IZOLA from 8a-1p. Here's a sneak peak at some of the artists dropping by this weekend.
MAYBEAR
8-9a
Maybear is a singer-songwriter and indie rock musician based in San Diego. Some of her influences are Clairo, Phoebe Bridgers and Raveena.
LEATEA
9-10a
Leatea (San Diego native Dylann Jelden) has been a musician all her life, beginning with classical violin at age 4. She began writing songs and incorporating guitar in high school. She performs regularly in San Diego.
MADISON NOCON
10-11a
Madison Nocon is a local singer-songwriter born and raised in San Diego, CA. She got her first guitar when she was 5 and has been writing poems and music since she can remember! Madison has released a few singles on Spotify, and plans to release her full album “Candid” this fall!