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.