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!
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