June 21, 2022 • 32 mins
Happy Pride and Happy Juneteenth. And yes, we're still in a pandemic, and on June 2nd of 2022, Alameda county has issued a mask mandate, so please wear masks; I mean, it's the least you can do. Thank you!
My next guest is bar owner Lauren Jamieson owner of Lofi Laboratories, from my old neck of the woods, where I grew up - Modesto. Yes, Lauren is my first guest with an operating business in the Central Valley. And since I started this podcast, I've wondered about the restaurant/bar industry in other parts of California, the States, and the world. And now, after a year of podcasting, I finally get to talk to an owner outside of the city. I want to read a quote from Lauren when we were first talking about the Industry and the podcast.
"I would argue that we are the oldest profession—preparing/offering food & drink. I believe in this Industry, and it is a pleasure to support and promote it in any way."
Cheers!
Instagram - @loficocktails
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
The worst part is, is youcan't see my adorable dog.
Dang it, what kind of dog is it?
Oh, who knows?
I have no idea what she is.
But she's just a hundred percent adorable.
So I, you know, I didn't mean to takethe cutest dog off the market, but I did.
(00:20):
Well, it sounds like you deserve it.
So that is good for you.
So it seems like when we were talking,like we kind of hit a lot of topics that
I want to talk about again, if you don'tmind doing a little bit of a recap.
of course.
Awesome.
So.
You talked about growing upin the central valley Modesto?
(00:41):
I did too.
I grew up in Riverbank.
You went into restaurantwork pretty early on.
And what was your, what was yourfirst job in the restaurant world?
I worked a beer and wine bar.
It was the day after I graduatedhigh school And I was offered a job
(01:04):
at Harvest Moon which is still open.
Downtown different owners, but still open.
I don't know if you can stilltend beer and wine bars at
18, but in 1998 you could.
And so that's how I started.
And were you front of thehouse or back of the house?
Could have been both knowit's depending on the bar.
Yeah, it was definitely abartending slash serving.
(01:27):
You know, it was full, fullservice dinner service.
So we had maybe, I don't know when Istarted maybe three seats at the bar.
and then I think theyexpanded while I was there.
They, they kept expanding after Ileft and now they it's a much bigger
restaurant than when I started.
But yeah, so I, I was definitelyserving lunch and dinner and
(01:50):
then pouring beer wine and youknow, ice tea and all of that.
Awesome.
And in Harvest Moon, thatsounds very familiar.
Where, where is that?
I know I've seen it.
It is on I street.
So downtown.
Yes, it's between 12thand 12th and 13th on I.
Okay.
(02:10):
And then in 98, when you, when youstarted working there, that was
a little bit before the downtownkind of remodeling resurgence, or
was that kind of at the same time?
Because it kind of, I rememberdowntown being kind of, you know,
what you would call sketchy,
Yeah.
Then you had a few little, like boutique-ylike, you know, an nice beer, beer
(02:34):
and wine place, but now it seems likedowntown is, is, is built up more.
Is that the timeframe I'm thinking
?Yeah.
Okay.
So, you know, I'm, I'm having to thinkback many years now, so apologies if I,
Take your time.
Sometimes it's really tough.
I know.
If I don't get this exactly right.
I apologize to my fellow Modestians.
(02:55):
But.
If I recall correctly, Deva openedup on J street between 11th and 12th.
That sounds familiar.
And then they went onto open Harvest Moon.
And then I think if I remember correctly,they kept Deva for quite a long time.
(03:17):
But sold Harvest Moon and Mark andCharlene Smallwood at the time.
They were married and, and, and hired me.
And but yes, to answer your questionDeva, if I remember correctly
kind of kicked off the resurgence.
When I was a kid, there werea lot of places downtown.
(03:37):
There was the Vintage.
There were placesdowntown that people went.
I think El Cavell was on 15th.
Nice places to go.
And then they tore down theHotel, Houston and the Cavell.
And it was, you know, skid row down there.
I remember right.
Yeah And they tore down thesebeautiful old buildings and that
(04:00):
did kind of pave the way I, I feellike that was in the really early
nineties, maybe, maybe late eighties.
And then yeah, they put a theaterdown there and anyway Deva opened
up, Harvest Moon opened up,Tresetti's opened up Dewz opened up.
Yeah, so there was justthis domino effect.
(04:22):
And yeah, early two thousands, therewas quite a bit to do and, and,
and kind of a Renaissance of sorts.
And then I left Modestobasically in 2000 I came home.
I came back to Modesto and hadan apartment here for gosh.
A year or two and between livingin San Francisco and then I
(04:43):
moved to new Orleans in 2006.
And then the recession happened andthat really gutted downtown again.
Right.
I remember that.
Yeah.
It was very devastating to Modesto.
But I was living in New Orleansthat whole time, and when I came
home, I was visiting my family aswe were talking about yesterday.
And I, I didn't, I, I wasn'treally going out and paying
attention to what was happening.
(05:05):
So yeah.
And now it's seems to be a lot ofplaces are opening and I of course
don't have time to go to any of them,but, but I yeah, it's, it's very
exciting and I'm happy to be a smallpart of what's happening downtown.
That's great.
That's such good news.
(05:26):
Yeah, you never want to see something.
You know, it's very unfortunate.
And here in , San Francisco somuch has shut pre pandemic because
people couldn't afford the rents.
And then during pandemic, Imean, we're still in a pandemic.
And then when it full force, shutdown, people obviously lost their
(05:46):
income and lost everything and,you know, again could not afford
rents for a very different reason.
So I'm very happy to hear thatabout, Modesto coming back but
what about New Orleans where youworking in the restaurant slash
bar industry in New Orleans?
Yes.
I was a cook and a bartender.
(06:10):
I worked a couple of differentplaces in New Orleans.
Not nothing notable, just littleneighborhood spots up in the
Riverbend Upwork, Carrollton, and St.
Charles intersect.
And so it was, it's a great neighborhood.
And I very quickly becamelike a New Orleanean in that I
(06:30):
never left my own neighborhood.
I didn't really drive I walked everywhere.
I walked to work.
I walked to the store, you know?
So I was very familiar with my ownneighborhood and, you know, and then
when people would come to visit,we would take them to Commander's
Palace and things like that.
But yeah, for 10 years had veryneighborhood kind of life there.
(06:52):
Yeah, I could see that.
I mean, I've been to New Orleans probablyabout six times and each time I've
tried to stay in different parts of.
And that's, one of the beautiful thingsabout New Orleans is that, I mean, those
neighborhoods and neighborhood bars andneighborhood restaurants are just gems.
(07:14):
You know, each of themare these gems that, yeah.
I could see it getting reallyeasy to get sucked into.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, you know, it, it was a goodfeeling to be cooking breakfast
for the people that I saw every day.
My, my favorite shiftsare breakfast and brunch.
(07:35):
And yeah, so to just to just see thepeople that I also saw at the bar when
I got off of work and, you know, whenI was strolling around the neighborhood
I mean, I think that that's my.
But that's probably all of our favoritethings about the service industry is,
is having regulars and having peoplethat we get to know, and, and that we
(07:55):
feel are kind of like family to, to us.
And if, if you're like to work in a.
You know, for, at a place for avery long time, you can, you know,
see these people's children andtheir grandchildren and growing up.
And it's it's very rewarding.
I think that that's one of the mostrewarding things about this industry.
(08:16):
Oh, no, that's very well put for that.
I agree.
So you had your lovely little neighborhoodin New Orleans, and then you are
a back in central valley Modesto.
And did you start working rightaway or did you just instantly
look for a place to purchase buy?
(08:36):
What was that transition like?
I came home and got a job in a kitchencause I worked in Livermore for a little.
Okay.
I had a friend that wascheffing in Livermore.
So I went and worked with her and then Igot I commuting really is not my thing.
You know, I mean, kitchenjobs are plentiful.
(08:58):
So I moved, I started working in Modesto.
I worked at a Bauers And achef here named Ty Bauer.
That was his flagship restaurant.
He's opened a couple of other places sinceand closed that initial location actually.
And then I started working atCamp Four and I was working kind
(09:20):
of those two jobs back and forthwhile I was working on on the bar.
So and initially I wantedto open a restaurant.
That's just what I assumed Iwould do, but I couldn't find
a space that worked for that.
So we're for what I wanted to do.
So I, I don't really understandin hindsight, why I thought that
(09:42):
opening a bar would be easier.
Yeah.
Well I knew that I wanted afull liquor license anyway.
Yes, exactly.
Yeah.
So because it would be in NewOrleans and, and having brunch
you know, I, I knew that I wanted.
A full cocktail menu for brunch.
But Yeah.
I don't really know why I thought thatgutting a building and building a bar
(10:06):
would be easier than like updatinga grease trap in an old kitchen.
I don't, I don't really know what I wasthinking, but anyway, that's what happened
Well, so, so what wasthe space before the bar?
What was that before.
The building was was completed in 1952.
So it's been many things.
(10:26):
When I was a kid, it was Anderson's frame.
And that's what it was.
That's the only thing I can recall itbeing, it might've been something before
when I was very little, but my wholechildhood, it was Anderson's framing.
And then yeah, I, I completely guttedit to the concrete and started all over.
(10:50):
And what are the questions that you askedin your email was what it's like being
a woman and doing something like this.
And I don't imagine that it wouldbe easy for anybody to do, to,
to, to take on a project likeI did for the very first time.
And I don't think that anybodythat was working on the project
(11:13):
consciously ignored my my visionbecause I'm a woman, but I don't, I
also don't think, I don't think thatthey did it on purpose, but I was.
Ignored.
And so it really didn't turnout the way I had envisioned it.
You know, luckily we're able tomake adjustments and it's getting
(11:36):
closer and closer as the years goby kind of nudging it towards what
I had intended in the beginning.
But.
I'm not a very brash person.
So you know, getting on the phoneand yelling about things and being
very confrontational is, is just notsomething that comes naturally to me.
(11:57):
And also I was worried for alittle bit that I would have to
turn into that person to be in thisbusiness and doing this on my own.
And then I decided that's just not me.
And, and so having to just repeat.
Over and over again.
I mean, I think that that's the thing.
Men may do it too, but women definitely.
(12:20):
I've had to repeat myselfover and over and over again.
I've had, you know, an electricianand a plumber, both working at
the same time in the building.
And I'll say something that I want fromthe electrician and the electrician
and the plumber will start talkingabout if that's what I really want.
(12:41):
And I think, wait a minute, what, whatdoes, what does the, what does the
plumber, I mean, The only thing that I canthink of that the plumber has anything you
know, to, to do any, any it's only becausehe's a man and they're talking to each
other, you know, the, the plumber actuallydoes not have anything to say about what
(13:04):
I want as far as the electrical goes.
So And so to just constantly have toredirect the conversation and state
what I want a little more bluntly.
It, it, I think it just takesan extra layer of patience.
(13:24):
When you're, when you'retrying to do this as a woman.
Yeah, no, I God, I, I I'm just shakingmy head because when I had a nine to
five job, I worked in construction.
So I was a project managerand an office manager.
Cause we were on the smallerscale of the business.
(13:45):
And first everybody isscreaming at everybody.
Okay.
That's that's how it was.
And I'm not saying that it's right at all.
It's not right, butthat's just what you did.
You picked up the phone andyou just screamed at everybody.
Every, you know, the generalcontractor is screaming at the framer.
The framer is screaming at.
The electrician and watching that happen.
(14:07):
I just was like, I, you know, Iwould think like this is not helping
anything because no one's listening.
Right,
So that's really kind of suckythat they're not listening.
They're still not listening..
right.
And I know about the dismissivenessI know about having to
repeat yourself 5,000 times.
Oh, it's just, I, again, I'm shakingmy head, so that sucks, but good for
(14:32):
you, you got the place opened and it's,you know, it seems to be on your terms.
There's some tweaks that need to happen.
It's what it sounded like.
But.
It seems like it was most on your terms.
Well, I would say that now that we'reexpanding into a restaurant, the
restaurant is turning out more like whatI had originally envisioned The bar still
(14:56):
kind of makes me upset on a daily basis.
Because I walk in and, and, andwhat I see, what I see is all
the ways in which my, my clearrequests, my, my clear statements, my
instructions were completely ignored.
But it's, it's been a learning process.
And I, I think that going into the,the restaurant, I've been a little more
(15:23):
particular about working with people whosetemperaments are closer to something,
even if they're not like my own.
It's something that I feelcomfortable working with.
I feel like I I'm at least being heard.
And now I am not less andless as each day goes by.
(15:46):
I I'm not as willing to be dismissed,just you know, it's just not.
If, if, if I feel that way, I amtotally fine changing a vendor.
I'm totally fine.
Not ever calling that electricianagain, or just like actually
dismissing the person that's workingthat I, I don't, you know, I'm much
(16:07):
more just like, listen, this isn'tworking for me and it's my money.
And, and, you know, I, I, andthat's just the way it is.
And I don't want, I don't wantto, it is my choice to not know.
Turn into somebody that's justyelling at people on the phone.
That's just not theperson that I want to be.
(16:30):
And that's important to me.
And so I'm not letting it.
No, that's, that's great.
And yes.
Good for you.
I love to hear that becausepeople just like start to steam
roll over each other and just.
You know, like I just said,it's not that hard to listen.
Well, and, and I think, you know,I think now that I've transitioned
to being an owner it's importantto me to stay myself because.
(16:56):
I've been yelled at by chefs.
you know?
I've had hot frying pans thrownover my head because the chef came
in after Coke binge and hung over.
And, you know, I mean, it's true.
Very true.
I've seen those scenarios.
I, yes, it's
you know, and being a 21 year old cookAnd having this person in authority
(17:23):
that is just utterly out of control.
And I don't, I don't, I, Yeah,I, I don't want to be that way.
You know, I think it helps thatI don't have a Coke problem.
Yeah, that's probably the number one.
Yeah, But you know, I, just, I, soremember, 20 years later, how that
(17:47):
makes you feel to be spoken to that way?
So I, I don't, I just try not to dealwith anyone in my life at all that way.
And most, especiallymy employees You know.
It's good to hear about having thosememories to learn from those memories and
not repeat those memories into your life,because I think that kind of happens too.
(18:10):
yes.
So yeah, and, and, and it definitelydoes take a conscious effort to
just process and stop processagain, and then move forward.
And I don't think a lot of peopleare good at that in general.
And then when you are dealing witha high pressure situation and hungry
people and you know, the printer's notworking and somebody is late and then,
(18:34):
you know, it's so easy to just lose it.
Oh, you know?
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
but
Mean, it's part of being a humanbeing, but then there's a part of other
other factors that could be prevented.
just say,
it's, you know,
I mean, we're puttingon entertainment really.
(18:55):
That's what we're doing.
And.
You know, we're, we're, we all knowthose services, you know, where, where
it just, it, you know, when you'relike you're running maybe four minutes
late and you're thinking, oh my God,I hope that the simple syrups not
out, You know, don't let that be out.
And then you get there.
(19:16):
And not only is the simple syrupout, but all the juices are out and
all, and you're going, oh my gosh.
I was just hoping
Right.
That you know, and it was likeworse than I could ever imagine.
And You know, and then there are theregulars that are at the door, six minutes
early, and they just want to sit down andthey're not going to ask anything of you.
(19:39):
They don't even want water, but, youknow, and then, and then you're like,
well, that's just not how it works.
You know?
So they come in and they sit down andthen they distract your bartender and
then the whole service is just shot.
But we're in the trenches togetherand we're basically putting on.
Kind of a play, you know, entertainmentfor people it's supposed to look flawless.
(20:01):
People are not supposed to see the costumechanges and everything behind the scenes.
The only thing that makes us aservice like that, just the worst
is when a team can't come together.
Because.
If you're, if you can come together andyou're all in it together, then even if
it's horrible, you're, you're managingto get through it with, with your crew.
(20:25):
It makes it it's fun in a perverse way.
I can, you know because you, youget through it and then there are.
You know, high fives and shots and,you know, after the, after the last
person leaves and you're just like,oh my gosh, we got through that.
That's just, man, we're good.
You know, it's like that could have beenso much worse, but we made it happen.
(20:49):
And you know, it's almost as rewarding asa, as a perfect service in a, in a way.
No that I agree.
, . So let's talk aboutMarch, 2020, what happened?
Did you shut down?
How did you shut down?
How did you reopen?
What was that like?
We shut down for, I think,a full year and a half.
We shut down immediately onMarch, whatever that was March
(21:14):
15 or 19 or whatever that was.
And I, we, you know,initially it was supposed to
be two weeks and I just knew that thatwas not what that wasn't going to be it.
So Yeah.
we were shut down until October of 2021.
Wow.
That is a big amount of time.
(21:34):
The bar is so small.
We tried when California lifted, wherewe did not have to shelter in place
anymore, but we were only supposed tohave, you know, so many people in the
room and we had to move all the chairsfrom the bar and all of That we tried
one night to be open just for friendsand family, just to see how it works.
(21:56):
And it didn't feel good at all.
And it was definitely notentertainment or escapism or anything.
It was a real big downer.
So we just made the, or Imade the decision, I guess to
cause the, the head bartender.
(22:16):
Would have worked throughthe whole entire thing.
She, she was bored out of her mind.
But I just said, look,this is too serious.
, it is not just about us.
You know, the healthcare workers andeverything being so overwhelmed, our
whole system being really under strain.
I said, we can't really contribute to.
(22:40):
This problem.
So, and again, the bar was so small thatwe could have maybe four people in there
and they were sitting so far apart.
It just didn't feel good.
It's a little tough at the moment.
I'm really feeling that year and a halfnow, as far as how we're, you know,
the financial part is getting tough.
(23:00):
I think we're going to get through it.
I know we're going to get throughit, but I'm feeling the pressure now
more than I did during the pandemic,because even though we're open and we're
staffed, we're still climbing back..
We were only open for ninemonths before this happened.
That was going to be my next question.
Oh my gosh.
So nine months and thena year and a half off.
(23:20):
Yeah.
We were just starting to hit our stridethat that ninth month we were starting
to get consistently busy and we werestarting to really be able to, to predict
how our, our days were going to go.
And then this happened.
And and now we're just gettingback to pre COVID numbers.
That sounds positive thatI'm, I'm loving that.
(23:42):
Yeah, we're, we're very, we're very lucky.
I'm glad I'm, I'm really happy youknow, I said, I don't know why I thought
starting a bar was going to be easier,but I have to tell you that when.
Colleagues in this industry, we'rethrowing out lobster and , and I
just have like a little bundle oflimes that we're going to go bad.
And I took them home anddrank at home instead.
(24:05):
You know, all my inventories was fineobviously, cause it was all distilled.
I mean, we threw beer away and stuff,but nothing, nothing catastrophic.
And Yeah.
all my inventories was fineand, it was a pretty easy
operation to get going again.
That is so nice to hear.
(24:26):
And then how did you find your bartenders?
How did you, how did you hire.
I would like to say on that,that we do have an all female
staff that was not my intention.
It ended up being that I hired each andeveryone of the bartenders based on merit.
And if I was, I would have basicallyhad to discriminate against them to not,
(24:48):
to not hire, you know, cause they werethe, the, the best, the best applicants.
One, bartender.
This is kind of not cool,but it's just the truth.
There was a, a restaurant goingunder, and everybody knew it except
for the owners of the restaurant.
And so I went and I actually, I poached,I poached a bartender, everybody.
(25:11):
I did it.
We all know those bars.
We all know those restaurantsthat aren't going to make it.
And we all know those ownersthat are the last to know.
So I don't think youshould feel bad at all
And I, I mean, I don't feel bad,but I feel a little ashamed on
a, on an industry podcast saying,you know, I just went and poached.
(25:34):
Bartender.
And I didn't even, you know, Ididn't even like go and try to
seek her out outside of her shift.
Like it was just right inthe middle of the shift.
I was like, yeah, come work at.
No, that was ballsy, ballsy.
But you know, on the other hand,the owners weren't there and
(25:54):
maybe if they had been thingswould've been different for them.
But.
And I don't think that there arefrom Modesto or even in town anymore.
So I feel comfortable sayingthat, but she is still with me.
Our four original bartenderspre pandemic are still with us.
One of them we're kind of upset with her.
She went in and took a, a seasonalgig in Virginia at a resort and.
(26:18):
And so, you know, that's a niceadventure for her, but we miss her.
She'll be back in August.
And, but other than that, it's been theoriginal bartender that I poached this.
The girl Penelope is in Virginiaand Heather they're best friends.
So against my better judgment, I'vehired two sets of best friends and
(26:41):
you might think that that would bea disaster, but actually it's been
lovely it's been really great.
They're a great balance.
We work well together.
Now that I'm going to open the restaurant,we've brought on two other trainees
because Heather and Penelope are gonnacome over to the restaurant with me
.And so we're training to two other bartenders, the, the two newest
(27:02):
bartenders Jess, and Alicia we put outan Instagram post and they, they applied.
Oh, that's so great to hear.
So where do you want to seethe industry go now that we're
supposed to supposedly coming back.
I mean, we're still in a pandemic, butwhere do you want to see this industry?
Go?
(27:22):
Well, not just the pandemic.
I think that.
We're in dark timesbefore and the pandemic
The worst part is, is youcan't see my adorable dog.
Dang it, what kind of dog is it?
Oh, who knows?
I have no idea what she is.
But she's just a hundred percent adorable.
So I, you know, I didn't mean to takethe cutest dog off the market, but I did.
(00:20):
Well, it sounds like you deserve it.
So that is good for you.
So it seems like when we were talking,like we kind of hit a lot of topics that
I want to talk about again, if you don'tmind doing a little bit of a recap.
of course.
Awesome.
So.
You talked about growing upin the central valley Modesto?
(00:41):
I did too.
I grew up in Riverbank.
You went into restaurantwork pretty early on.
And what was your, what was yourfirst job in the restaurant world?
I worked a beer and wine bar.
It was the day after I graduatedhigh school And I was offered a job
(01:04):
at Harvest Moon which is still open.
Downtown different owners, but still open.
I don't know if you can stilltend beer and wine bars at
18, but in 1998 you could.
And so that's how I started.
And were you front of thehouse or back of the house?
Could have been both knowit's depending on the bar.
Yeah, it was definitely abartending slash serving.
(01:27):
You know, it was full, fullservice dinner service.
So we had maybe, I don't know when Istarted maybe three seats at the bar.
and then I think theyexpanded while I was there.
They, they kept expanding after Ileft and now they it's a much bigger
restaurant than when I started.
But yeah, so I, I was definitelyserving lunch and dinner and
(01:50):
then pouring beer wine and youknow, ice tea and all of that.
Awesome.
And in Harvest Moon, thatsounds very familiar.
Where, where is that?
I know I've seen it.
It is on I street.
So downtown.
Yes, it's between 12thand 12th and 13th on I.
Okay.
(02:10):
And then in 98, when you, when youstarted working there, that was
a little bit before the downtownkind of remodeling resurgence, or
was that kind of at the same time?
Because it kind of, I rememberdowntown being kind of, you know,
what you would call sketchy,
Yeah.
Then you had a few little, like boutique-ylike, you know, an nice beer, beer
(02:34):
and wine place, but now it seems likedowntown is, is, is built up more.
Is that the timeframe I'm thinking
?Yeah.
Okay.
So, you know, I'm, I'm having to thinkback many years now, so apologies if I,
Take your time.
Sometimes it's really tough.
I know.
If I don't get this exactly right.
I apologize to my fellow Modestians.
(02:55):
But.
If I recall correctly, Deva openedup on J street between 11th and 12th.
That sounds familiar.
And then they went onto open Harvest Moon.
And then I think if I remember correctly,they kept Deva for quite a long time.
(03:17):
But sold Harvest Moon and Mark andCharlene Smallwood at the time.
They were married and, and, and hired me.
And but yes, to answer your questionDeva, if I remember correctly
kind of kicked off the resurgence.
When I was a kid, there werea lot of places downtown.
(03:37):
There was the Vintage.
There were placesdowntown that people went.
I think El Cavell was on 15th.
Nice places to go.
And then they tore down theHotel, Houston and the Cavell.
And it was, you know, skid row down there.
I remember right.
Yeah And they tore down thesebeautiful old buildings and that
(04:00):
did kind of pave the way I, I feellike that was in the really early
nineties, maybe, maybe late eighties.
And then yeah, they put a theaterdown there and anyway Deva opened
up, Harvest Moon opened up,Tresetti's opened up Dewz opened up.
Yeah, so there was justthis domino effect.
(04:22):
And yeah, early two thousands, therewas quite a bit to do and, and,
and kind of a Renaissance of sorts.
And then I left Modestobasically in 2000 I came home.
I came back to Modesto and hadan apartment here for gosh.
A year or two and between livingin San Francisco and then I
(04:43):
moved to new Orleans in 2006.
And then the recession happened andthat really gutted downtown again.
Right.
I remember that.
Yeah.
It was very devastating to Modesto.
But I was living in New Orleansthat whole time, and when I came
home, I was visiting my family aswe were talking about yesterday.
And I, I didn't, I, I wasn'treally going out and paying
attention to what was happening.
(05:05):
So yeah.
And now it's seems to be a lot ofplaces are opening and I of course
don't have time to go to any of them,but, but I yeah, it's, it's very
exciting and I'm happy to be a smallpart of what's happening downtown.
That's great.
That's such good news.
(05:26):
Yeah, you never want to see something.
You know, it's very unfortunate.
And here in , San Francisco somuch has shut pre pandemic because
people couldn't afford the rents.
And then during pandemic, Imean, we're still in a pandemic.
And then when it full force, shutdown, people obviously lost their
(05:46):
income and lost everything and,you know, again could not afford
rents for a very different reason.
So I'm very happy to hear thatabout, Modesto coming back but
what about New Orleans where youworking in the restaurant slash
bar industry in New Orleans?
Yes.
I was a cook and a bartender.
(06:10):
I worked a couple of differentplaces in New Orleans.
Not nothing notable, just littleneighborhood spots up in the
Riverbend Upwork, Carrollton, and St.
Charles intersect.
And so it was, it's a great neighborhood.
And I very quickly becamelike a New Orleanean in that I
(06:30):
never left my own neighborhood.
I didn't really drive I walked everywhere.
I walked to work.
I walked to the store, you know?
So I was very familiar with my ownneighborhood and, you know, and then
when people would come to visit,we would take them to Commander's
Palace and things like that.
But yeah, for 10 years had veryneighborhood kind of life there.
(06:52):
Yeah, I could see that.
I mean, I've been to New Orleans probablyabout six times and each time I've
tried to stay in different parts of.
And that's, one of the beautiful thingsabout New Orleans is that, I mean, those
neighborhoods and neighborhood bars andneighborhood restaurants are just gems.
(07:14):
You know, each of themare these gems that, yeah.
I could see it getting reallyeasy to get sucked into.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, you know, it, it was a goodfeeling to be cooking breakfast
for the people that I saw every day.
My, my favorite shiftsare breakfast and brunch.
(07:35):
And yeah, so to just to just see thepeople that I also saw at the bar when
I got off of work and, you know, whenI was strolling around the neighborhood
I mean, I think that that's my.
But that's probably all of our favoritethings about the service industry is,
is having regulars and having peoplethat we get to know, and, and that we
(07:55):
feel are kind of like family to, to us.
And if, if you're like to work in a.
You know, for, at a place for avery long time, you can, you know,
see these people's children andtheir grandchildren and growing up.
And it's it's very rewarding.
I think that that's one of the mostrewarding things about this industry.
(08:16):
Oh, no, that's very well put for that.
I agree.
So you had your lovely little neighborhoodin New Orleans, and then you are
a back in central valley Modesto.
And did you start working rightaway or did you just instantly
look for a place to purchase buy?
(08:36):
What was that transition like?
I came home and got a job in a kitchencause I worked in Livermore for a little.
Okay.
I had a friend that wascheffing in Livermore.
So I went and worked with her and then Igot I commuting really is not my thing.
You know, I mean, kitchenjobs are plentiful.
(08:58):
So I moved, I started working in Modesto.
I worked at a Bauers And achef here named Ty Bauer.
That was his flagship restaurant.
He's opened a couple of other places sinceand closed that initial location actually.
And then I started working atCamp Four and I was working kind
(09:20):
of those two jobs back and forthwhile I was working on on the bar.
So and initially I wantedto open a restaurant.
That's just what I assumed Iwould do, but I couldn't find
a space that worked for that.
So we're for what I wanted to do.
So I, I don't really understandin hindsight, why I thought that
(09:42):
opening a bar would be easier.
Yeah.
Well I knew that I wanted afull liquor license anyway.
Yes, exactly.
Yeah.
So because it would be in NewOrleans and, and having brunch
you know, I, I knew that I wanted.
A full cocktail menu for brunch.
But Yeah.
I don't really know why I thought thatgutting a building and building a bar
(10:06):
would be easier than like updatinga grease trap in an old kitchen.
I don't, I don't really know what I wasthinking, but anyway, that's what happened
Well, so, so what wasthe space before the bar?
What was that before.
The building was was completed in 1952.
So it's been many things.
(10:26):
When I was a kid, it was Anderson's frame.
And that's what it was.
That's the only thing I can recall itbeing, it might've been something before
when I was very little, but my wholechildhood, it was Anderson's framing.
And then yeah, I, I completely guttedit to the concrete and started all over.
(10:50):
And what are the questions that you askedin your email was what it's like being
a woman and doing something like this.
And I don't imagine that it wouldbe easy for anybody to do, to,
to, to take on a project likeI did for the very first time.
And I don't think that anybodythat was working on the project
(11:13):
consciously ignored my my visionbecause I'm a woman, but I don't, I
also don't think, I don't think thatthey did it on purpose, but I was.
Ignored.
And so it really didn't turnout the way I had envisioned it.
You know, luckily we're able tomake adjustments and it's getting
(11:36):
closer and closer as the years goby kind of nudging it towards what
I had intended in the beginning.
But.
I'm not a very brash person.
So you know, getting on the phoneand yelling about things and being
very confrontational is, is just notsomething that comes naturally to me.
(11:57):
And also I was worried for alittle bit that I would have to
turn into that person to be in thisbusiness and doing this on my own.
And then I decided that's just not me.
And, and so having to just repeat.
Over and over again.
I mean, I think that that's the thing.
Men may do it too, but women definitely.
(12:20):
I've had to repeat myselfover and over and over again.
I've had, you know, an electricianand a plumber, both working at
the same time in the building.
And I'll say something that I want fromthe electrician and the electrician
and the plumber will start talkingabout if that's what I really want.
(12:41):
And I think, wait a minute, what, whatdoes, what does the, what does the
plumber, I mean, The only thing that I canthink of that the plumber has anything you
know, to, to do any, any it's only becausehe's a man and they're talking to each
other, you know, the, the plumber actuallydoes not have anything to say about what
(13:04):
I want as far as the electrical goes.
So And so to just constantly have toredirect the conversation and state
what I want a little more bluntly.
It, it, I think it just takesan extra layer of patience.
(13:24):
When you're, when you'retrying to do this as a woman.
Yeah, no, I God, I, I I'm just shakingmy head because when I had a nine to
five job, I worked in construction.
So I was a project managerand an office manager.
Cause we were on the smallerscale of the business.
(13:45):
And first everybody isscreaming at everybody.
Okay.
That's that's how it was.
And I'm not saying that it's right at all.
It's not right, butthat's just what you did.
You picked up the phone andyou just screamed at everybody.
Every, you know, the generalcontractor is screaming at the framer.
The framer is screaming at.
The electrician and watching that happen.
(14:07):
I just was like, I, you know, Iwould think like this is not helping
anything because no one's listening.
Right,
So that's really kind of suckythat they're not listening.
They're still not listening..
right.
And I know about the dismissivenessI know about having to
repeat yourself 5,000 times.
Oh, it's just, I, again, I'm shakingmy head, so that sucks, but good for
(14:32):
you, you got the place opened and it's,you know, it seems to be on your terms.
There's some tweaks that need to happen.
It's what it sounded like.
But.
It seems like it was most on your terms.
Well, I would say that now that we'reexpanding into a restaurant, the
restaurant is turning out more like whatI had originally envisioned The bar still
(14:56):
kind of makes me upset on a daily basis.
Because I walk in and, and, andwhat I see, what I see is all
the ways in which my, my clearrequests, my, my clear statements, my
instructions were completely ignored.
But it's, it's been a learning process.
And I, I think that going into the,the restaurant, I've been a little more
(15:23):
particular about working with people whosetemperaments are closer to something,
even if they're not like my own.
It's something that I feelcomfortable working with.
I feel like I I'm at least being heard.
And now I am not less andless as each day goes by.
(15:46):
I I'm not as willing to be dismissed,just you know, it's just not.
If, if, if I feel that way, I amtotally fine changing a vendor.
I'm totally fine.
Not ever calling that electricianagain, or just like actually
dismissing the person that's workingthat I, I don't, you know, I'm much
(16:07):
more just like, listen, this isn'tworking for me and it's my money.
And, and, you know, I, I, andthat's just the way it is.
And I don't want, I don't wantto, it is my choice to not know.
Turn into somebody that's justyelling at people on the phone.
That's just not theperson that I want to be.
(16:30):
And that's important to me.
And so I'm not letting it.
No, that's, that's great.
And yes.
Good for you.
I love to hear that becausepeople just like start to steam
roll over each other and just.
You know, like I just said,it's not that hard to listen.
Well, and, and I think, you know,I think now that I've transitioned
to being an owner it's importantto me to stay myself because.
(16:56):
I've been yelled at by chefs.
you know?
I've had hot frying pans thrownover my head because the chef came
in after Coke binge and hung over.
And, you know, I mean, it's true.
Very true.
I've seen those scenarios.
I, yes, it's
you know, and being a 21 year old cookAnd having this person in authority
(17:23):
that is just utterly out of control.
And I don't, I don't, I, Yeah,I, I don't want to be that way.
You know, I think it helps thatI don't have a Coke problem.
Yeah, that's probably the number one.
Yeah, But you know, I, just, I, soremember, 20 years later, how that
(17:47):
makes you feel to be spoken to that way?
So I, I don't, I just try not to dealwith anyone in my life at all that way.
And most, especiallymy employees You know.
It's good to hear about having thosememories to learn from those memories and
not repeat those memories into your life,because I think that kind of happens too.
(18:10):
yes.
So yeah, and, and, and it definitelydoes take a conscious effort to
just process and stop processagain, and then move forward.
And I don't think a lot of peopleare good at that in general.
And then when you are dealing witha high pressure situation and hungry
people and you know, the printer's notworking and somebody is late and then,
(18:34):
you know, it's so easy to just lose it.
Oh, you know?
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
but
Mean, it's part of being a humanbeing, but then there's a part of other
other factors that could be prevented.
just say,
it's, you know,
I mean, we're puttingon entertainment really.
(18:55):
That's what we're doing.
And.
You know, we're, we're, we all knowthose services, you know, where, where
it just, it, you know, when you'relike you're running maybe four minutes
late and you're thinking, oh my God,I hope that the simple syrups not
out, You know, don't let that be out.
And then you get there.
(19:16):
And not only is the simple syrupout, but all the juices are out and
all, and you're going, oh my gosh.
I was just hoping
Right.
That you know, and it was likeworse than I could ever imagine.
And You know, and then there are theregulars that are at the door, six minutes
early, and they just want to sit down andthey're not going to ask anything of you.
(19:39):
They don't even want water, but, youknow, and then, and then you're like,
well, that's just not how it works.
You know?
So they come in and they sit down andthen they distract your bartender and
then the whole service is just shot.
But we're in the trenches togetherand we're basically putting on.
Kind of a play, you know, entertainmentfor people it's supposed to look flawless.
(20:01):
People are not supposed to see the costumechanges and everything behind the scenes.
The only thing that makes us aservice like that, just the worst
is when a team can't come together.
Because.
If you're, if you can come together andyou're all in it together, then even if
it's horrible, you're, you're managingto get through it with, with your crew.
(20:25):
It makes it it's fun in a perverse way.
I can, you know because you, youget through it and then there are.
You know, high fives and shots and,you know, after the, after the last
person leaves and you're just like,oh my gosh, we got through that.
That's just, man, we're good.
You know, it's like that could have beenso much worse, but we made it happen.
(20:49):
And you know, it's almost as rewarding asa, as a perfect service in a, in a way.
No that I agree.
, . So let's talk aboutMarch, 2020, what happened?
Did you shut down?
How did you shut down?
How did you reopen?
What was that like?
We shut down for, I think,a full year and a half.
We shut down immediately onMarch, whatever that was March
(21:14):
15 or 19 or whatever that was.
And I, we, you know,initially it was supposed to
be two weeks and I just knew that thatwas not what that wasn't going to be it.
So Yeah.
we were shut down until October of 2021.
Wow.
That is a big amount of time.
(21:34):
The bar is so small.
We tried when California lifted, wherewe did not have to shelter in place
anymore, but we were only supposed tohave, you know, so many people in the
room and we had to move all the chairsfrom the bar and all of That we tried
one night to be open just for friendsand family, just to see how it works.
(21:56):
And it didn't feel good at all.
And it was definitely notentertainment or escapism or anything.
It was a real big downer.
So we just made the, or Imade the decision, I guess to
cause the, the head bartender.
(22:16):
Would have worked throughthe whole entire thing.
She, she was bored out of her mind.
But I just said, look,this is too serious.
, it is not just about us.
You know, the healthcare workers andeverything being so overwhelmed, our
whole system being really under strain.
I said, we can't really contribute to.
(22:40):
This problem.
So, and again, the bar was so small thatwe could have maybe four people in there
and they were sitting so far apart.
It just didn't feel good.
It's a little tough at the moment.
I'm really feeling that year and a halfnow, as far as how we're, you know,
the financial part is getting tough.
(23:00):
I think we're going to get through it.
I know we're going to get throughit, but I'm feeling the pressure now
more than I did during the pandemic,because even though we're open and we're
staffed, we're still climbing back..
We were only open for ninemonths before this happened.
That was going to be my next question.
Oh my gosh.
So nine months and thena year and a half off.
(23:20):
Yeah.
We were just starting to hit our stridethat that ninth month we were starting
to get consistently busy and we werestarting to really be able to, to predict
how our, our days were going to go.
And then this happened.
And and now we're just gettingback to pre COVID numbers.
That sounds positive thatI'm, I'm loving that.
(23:42):
Yeah, we're, we're very, we're very lucky.
I'm glad I'm, I'm really happy youknow, I said, I don't know why I thought
starting a bar was going to be easier,but I have to tell you that when.
Colleagues in this industry, we'rethrowing out lobster and , and I
just have like a little bundle oflimes that we're going to go bad.
And I took them home anddrank at home instead.
(24:05):
You know, all my inventories was fineobviously, cause it was all distilled.
I mean, we threw beer away and stuff,but nothing, nothing catastrophic.
And Yeah.
all my inventories was fineand, it was a pretty easy
operation to get going again.
That is so nice to hear.
(24:26):
And then how did you find your bartenders?
How did you, how did you hire.
I would like to say on that,that we do have an all female
staff that was not my intention.
It ended up being that I hired each andeveryone of the bartenders based on merit.
And if I was, I would have basicallyhad to discriminate against them to not,
(24:48):
to not hire, you know, cause they werethe, the, the best, the best applicants.
One, bartender.
This is kind of not cool,but it's just the truth.
There was a, a restaurant goingunder, and everybody knew it except
for the owners of the restaurant.
And so I went and I actually, I poached,I poached a bartender, everybody.
(25:11):
I did it.
We all know those bars.
We all know those restaurantsthat aren't going to make it.
And we all know those ownersthat are the last to know.
So I don't think youshould feel bad at all
And I, I mean, I don't feel bad,but I feel a little ashamed on
a, on an industry podcast saying,you know, I just went and poached.
(25:34):
Bartender.
And I didn't even, you know, Ididn't even like go and try to
seek her out outside of her shift.
Like it was just right inthe middle of the shift.
I was like, yeah, come work at.
No, that was ballsy, ballsy.
But you know, on the other hand,the owners weren't there and
(25:54):
maybe if they had been thingswould've been different for them.
But.
And I don't think that there arefrom Modesto or even in town anymore.
So I feel comfortable sayingthat, but she is still with me.
Our four original bartenderspre pandemic are still with us.
One of them we're kind of upset with her.
She went in and took a, a seasonalgig in Virginia at a resort and.
(26:18):
And so, you know, that's a niceadventure for her, but we miss her.
She'll be back in August.
And, but other than that, it's been theoriginal bartender that I poached this.
The girl Penelope is in Virginiaand Heather they're best friends.
So against my better judgment, I'vehired two sets of best friends and
(26:41):
you might think that that would bea disaster, but actually it's been
lovely it's been really great.
They're a great balance.
We work well together.
Now that I'm going to open the restaurant,we've brought on two other trainees
because Heather and Penelope are gonnacome over to the restaurant with me
.And so we're training to two other bartenders, the, the two newest
(27:02):
bartenders Jess, and Alicia we put outan Instagram post and they, they applied.
Oh, that's so great to hear.
So where do you want to seethe industry go now that we're
supposed to supposedly coming back.
I mean, we're still in a pandemic, butwhere do you want to see this industry?
Go?
(27:22):
Well, not just the pandemic.
I think that.
We're in dark timesbefore and the pandemic
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