the 828 julia st. project (part 4)

here is an update on the 828 julia st project!  i can’t remember the exact date i started cooking in my new kitchen, but i have been doing so for i guess a couple of months now.  i have been blessed with lots of catering jobs that have kept me busy and allowed me to warm up in my new space.  i absolutely love this restaurant!  it is beautiful and my family is so proud of it for many reasons.  here are some pictures of the 828 julia st. project:

front dining area

front door

counter with register and display coolers

side dining room

my office- a place to meet with clients and discuss food!

just a few of my hundreds of cookbooks made the move

supplies

for the first several weeks it was hard to leave it and lock up at night, even after cooking for hours.  i am going to embarass myself a little here and share with y’all that some of the first mornings when i arrived at the restaurant and turned on all the lights- i started telling the place and appliances “good morning.”  i even pat on my mixer some mornings.  i guess you can’t be too surprised at that since i have already personified my old and new cuisinarts on this blog!  i only shared this with mitch last night.  his reached out and hugged me while laughing- i feel sure he thinks i’m crazy.  the worst part of it- is that i can’t quit doing it every morning.  maybe when i hire some help- i will be too embarrassed to talk to my stove in front of them.  but probably not!!  here are my new friends:

"good morning stove"

hood from norred fire systems

ice maker and storage

double convection oven

dishwasher, mixer, etc.

biggest three compartment sink i could find!

upper lighted storage cabinets

required fire suppression system to six burner gas stove and hood

for weeks now i have answered many questions about when i will open this place to the public.  i joked to my dad one day after being asked around town- that i wanted to wear a t-shirt that said “sometime soon.”  interest has been overwhelming and very encouraging.  sometime soon will be here soon.  as mentioned earlier i do have some big jobs this holiday season and am a little busy.  i have been catering to larger crowds of 200 – 300 people and as of now, i am still a one man show.  we passed the health department inspection with flying colors just this week, and as soon as i get things finalized with the fire marshall, we will be open for casserole and catering job sales.  clients are already calling in their orders for thanksgiving and christmas.  i have two display coolers- one a refrigerator and one a freezer.  the casseroles are stocked some unfrozen and some frozen.  we also plan to place an ad in the beacon about our opening and what will be available.

we plan to open for lunch sometime in january when catering jobs typically take a dip.  this will allow me to really focus on that new aspect of my business.  our plan is to serve a menu of soups, salads, sandwiches, casserole plate lunches, mixed in with some lunch specials.  there will be tables to eat in the restaurant or our guests may choose to carry out.  in addition, the restaurant will be available to rent for private parties.  my dad has collected some really beautiful antique tables and a glass case from an estate sale.  we also have gathered other beautiful tables from family members.  but we have no chairs!!  got to find some soon somewhere. 

i recently catered a pretty big announcement party.   it was a little tough to pull off with little chef out with a personal emergency and mitch and hunter in north dakota for an entire week hunting pheasants.  my mom stayed with francie and luke and my mother-in-law worked the party with me.  we served rosemary roasted pork tenderloin, oysters rockefeller dip, hot crabmeat dip, pickled shrimp, marinated tomatoes, and bamboo-skewered sweet potatoes with basil aioli.  my client was from lafayette and the only way to describe her is “dream client.”  she sent me an e-mail the next week that i will probably never delete from my inbox.  here is a part of it:

“you did such a wonderful job.  You have so much talent girl– especially your cool nerves of steel.  I appreciate everything you did and will mail the check in the am.”

i share this with you because- i don’t care who you are, how old you are, what services you provide- it is always nice to get positive feedback when you gave it your all.  we should all remember that when we do business with each other.

peace y'all

i am really looking forward to feeding y’all very, very soon!

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