ok, so ya, i vented a little bit in that last post... hopefully i'm allowed and hopefully i didn't upset too many people.
i'll try to keep things more positive and upbeat... but fact is, sometimes this job is bloody hard and there are days when the thought crosses our minds to just stop... go get real jobs and have a paycheque again... and benefits (hm... i've never had a job with benefits... dunno if i could cope!)
thankfully, those moments are usually short-lived, and tempered with the knowledge that we actually do love what we're doing...
that whole line about doing what you love and the money will follow... i guess they never promised how close behind the money would follow... :D
but we're not really here for the money... i mean, it'd be nice if we didn't have to WORRY about how things were gonna get paid, but we're keeping our heads above water and it gets better every day... generally.
anyway - i just wanted to apologize for venting a little ... and reiterate how much we truly love and appreciate our customers - particularly the ones we see all the time who support us so amazingly, and help us out with honest feedback and helpful ideas... and the NEW ones who are just discovering us! Thanks for taking the trip off the beaten path and coming in our door!
Happy Sea-Cav!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
bistro or bakery...
so, we knew when we made the decision to go for our vision that we might end up annoying a few people...
a few of the people who only come here for bread, specifically...
we knew that when we changed our hours and started achieving our goals that some people might not find that to their liking or convenience...
mostly those are the people who only come here for bread.
DON'T GET ME WRONG... we LIKE those people who only come here for bread, and we're grateful that they DO come here instead of going somewhere else... but we really do apologize for creating the concept that we are a bakery first... that was never our intention and from the get go - march 1, 2006 - we have been working at dispelling that myth.
yes, we bought a bakery... a bakery that happened to have fantastic recipes... and a ton of potential to become the bistro/restaurant that we'd spend the previous 6 years talking about and trying to realize...
now... if we'd been able to buy said bakery with a ton of extra cash available, we'd have gone directly to bistro without passing go, and we wouldn't have even needed the $200... but we didn't. We mortgaged our entire lives to scrape together enough to get us open and running... with just enough to manage on for the first few months.
this has been both a blessing and a curse.
as some of you may notice... restaurants that open with a big bang and a ton of capital outlay, don't always succeed... in new york city, for example, 1000 new restaurants open EVERY YEAR... and only 1 in 5 are still open at the end of that year...
we have been forced to grow only as quickly as cashflow has allowed - in many ways not a bad thing.
The curse: This resulted in being perceived as a bakery for a lot longer than we intended...
The blessing: it also gave us a long time to earn fantastic customers who come regularly for their bread and baked goods... and lunch... and NOW, dinner,too.
The curse: we've had to "make do" with old equipment, flatware we think is a bit ugly & pedestrian, 69cent mugs from the dollar store... etc
The blessing: we HAVE made do with old equipment, less than magazine quality flatware and 69cent mugs from the dollar store that have a certain funky charm about them...
The curse: we had to wash & sanitize dishes (which included, of course, muffin tins & cake pans & bread buckets & mixing bowls - all stainless, all requiring scrubbing with steel wool... every day... ) by hand for the first 18 months, which physically wore us out and severely limited how quickly we could grow
The blessing: we learned the importance of taking some financial risks to buy a dishwasher and other equipment... and that the adage of spending money to make money is very true
The curse: we often can't take advantage of sales on equipment that would really make our life more simple and/or efficient
The blessing: we don't buy stuff that we don't really really really need just because we can get it on sale
Even just today... i learned about an amazing financial management tool that could really help us improve cash flow and guide us thru the maze of when to spend how much on what... it's truly an incredible tool, which i would jump at... except that it costs a lot up front that i just don't have - even THO it could pay for itself in a few months and help us get AHEAD in not many more months further down the road...
but we don't have that big deep pocket backing us up... we dont even actually have a change dish beside the bed to back us up...
we've got our wits, our drive, our love of what we're doing, and our wicked-ass, amazing, loyal, supportive and delightful customers to keep us going... and slowly, bit by bit, we claw our way up and out of the pit, and eventually we'll build a little hill of "extra" cash (is there really such a thing as extra cash??) that might allow us to buy that new fridge or pay for an ad, or heaven help us, take a vacation, even!?
Anyway, the point i was getting to... and yes, i'm sure if you've read more than one post here, you've noticed it can take a while to get anywhere... we have strived for 3 years to become a bistro and are finally there in our eyes, while we now can probably count on another 3 years trying to convince everyone else.
So, we apologize if the bread isn't ready at 10am... seeing as we're not open til 10:30 we're ok with that... we apologize if the bread isn't ready at noon... in fact we apologize that we're not making bread every day...
fact is... we're not a bakery. we've never wanted to BE a bakery... we're a bistro that happens to bake enough bread that we have some left over to sell...
and we'll be super happy when the general perception of who/what we are changes out there too... we know it will take time, and sadly it also means we'll likely lose some customers who are not prepared or willing to change along with us... but hopefully they'll find somewhere else to get what they want when they want it, and the folks that ARE willing to come along with us will do so and allow us to continue living our vision and enjoying it with us.
a few of the people who only come here for bread, specifically...
we knew that when we changed our hours and started achieving our goals that some people might not find that to their liking or convenience...
mostly those are the people who only come here for bread.
DON'T GET ME WRONG... we LIKE those people who only come here for bread, and we're grateful that they DO come here instead of going somewhere else... but we really do apologize for creating the concept that we are a bakery first... that was never our intention and from the get go - march 1, 2006 - we have been working at dispelling that myth.
yes, we bought a bakery... a bakery that happened to have fantastic recipes... and a ton of potential to become the bistro/restaurant that we'd spend the previous 6 years talking about and trying to realize...
now... if we'd been able to buy said bakery with a ton of extra cash available, we'd have gone directly to bistro without passing go, and we wouldn't have even needed the $200... but we didn't. We mortgaged our entire lives to scrape together enough to get us open and running... with just enough to manage on for the first few months.
this has been both a blessing and a curse.
as some of you may notice... restaurants that open with a big bang and a ton of capital outlay, don't always succeed... in new york city, for example, 1000 new restaurants open EVERY YEAR... and only 1 in 5 are still open at the end of that year...
we have been forced to grow only as quickly as cashflow has allowed - in many ways not a bad thing.
The curse: This resulted in being perceived as a bakery for a lot longer than we intended...
The blessing: it also gave us a long time to earn fantastic customers who come regularly for their bread and baked goods... and lunch... and NOW, dinner,too.
The curse: we've had to "make do" with old equipment, flatware we think is a bit ugly & pedestrian, 69cent mugs from the dollar store... etc
The blessing: we HAVE made do with old equipment, less than magazine quality flatware and 69cent mugs from the dollar store that have a certain funky charm about them...
The curse: we had to wash & sanitize dishes (which included, of course, muffin tins & cake pans & bread buckets & mixing bowls - all stainless, all requiring scrubbing with steel wool... every day... ) by hand for the first 18 months, which physically wore us out and severely limited how quickly we could grow
The blessing: we learned the importance of taking some financial risks to buy a dishwasher and other equipment... and that the adage of spending money to make money is very true
The curse: we often can't take advantage of sales on equipment that would really make our life more simple and/or efficient
The blessing: we don't buy stuff that we don't really really really need just because we can get it on sale
Even just today... i learned about an amazing financial management tool that could really help us improve cash flow and guide us thru the maze of when to spend how much on what... it's truly an incredible tool, which i would jump at... except that it costs a lot up front that i just don't have - even THO it could pay for itself in a few months and help us get AHEAD in not many more months further down the road...
but we don't have that big deep pocket backing us up... we dont even actually have a change dish beside the bed to back us up...
we've got our wits, our drive, our love of what we're doing, and our wicked-ass, amazing, loyal, supportive and delightful customers to keep us going... and slowly, bit by bit, we claw our way up and out of the pit, and eventually we'll build a little hill of "extra" cash (is there really such a thing as extra cash??) that might allow us to buy that new fridge or pay for an ad, or heaven help us, take a vacation, even!?
Anyway, the point i was getting to... and yes, i'm sure if you've read more than one post here, you've noticed it can take a while to get anywhere... we have strived for 3 years to become a bistro and are finally there in our eyes, while we now can probably count on another 3 years trying to convince everyone else.
So, we apologize if the bread isn't ready at 10am... seeing as we're not open til 10:30 we're ok with that... we apologize if the bread isn't ready at noon... in fact we apologize that we're not making bread every day...
fact is... we're not a bakery. we've never wanted to BE a bakery... we're a bistro that happens to bake enough bread that we have some left over to sell...
and we'll be super happy when the general perception of who/what we are changes out there too... we know it will take time, and sadly it also means we'll likely lose some customers who are not prepared or willing to change along with us... but hopefully they'll find somewhere else to get what they want when they want it, and the folks that ARE willing to come along with us will do so and allow us to continue living our vision and enjoying it with us.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
summer frenzy
ok... so call us crazy but we've committed to minimum 12 hour days (which actually means 15-16 hour days when you count prep & cleanup) for at least the summer...
not sure what we were thinking except that we're finally doing what we wanted to be doing all along - serving great lunches & dinners & drinks at a great price to great people...
i'm thrilled to report that we've had a fantastic response to our "test runs"... the soft opening for dinners on the weekends... now, granted, many of the folk who turned out for those are already dedicated & loyal customers & friends, and maybe they were being nice, but we think we're onto a good thing here and really hope that EVERYONE will come give it a try.
Currently, the most expensive dish on the menu is $14 for a single serving... there is Machos for 4 for $30, but that's what... 7.50 each?
There will be the occasional special that goes over the $14 mark, but most mains will be in that close neighbourhood. Starters range from $5-10, and desserts max out at $6 for the most decadent...
Bar Drinks range from $5 up... which from what we can tell is about the best price in town (aside from specials) which was our intent all along. We're not "about" the drinks, they're simply to compliment the food... or provide a little relief from crazy summer heat on a blistering afternoon...
we're changing the approach to retail bread & dessert sales... THIS IS A BIG NOTE... Fresh bread will ONLY be made on Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday...We welcome your orders in advance while we work out new daily quantity requirements.
All our bars & savory snacks will still be available for now, but soon you will just have to ask for your favourites, as we won't be displaying them as usual. (That said, anyone need a 6' display cooler? $1000 obo).
Lunch menu will evolve a bit further... will likely add lunch size options of some more popular dinner items and a couple hot appetizers to the existing menu... that remains to be seen precisely.
your comments & feedback are welcome - even the negative stuff... in FACT, we LIKE to know the negative stuff so we have an opportunity to address it. We can't fix what we don't know is broken... right? Complete our survey, if you like... we'd appreciate it.
we look forward to seeing your smiling faces come visit us for lunch & dinner...
kera & ian
not sure what we were thinking except that we're finally doing what we wanted to be doing all along - serving great lunches & dinners & drinks at a great price to great people...
i'm thrilled to report that we've had a fantastic response to our "test runs"... the soft opening for dinners on the weekends... now, granted, many of the folk who turned out for those are already dedicated & loyal customers & friends, and maybe they were being nice, but we think we're onto a good thing here and really hope that EVERYONE will come give it a try.
Currently, the most expensive dish on the menu is $14 for a single serving... there is Machos for 4 for $30, but that's what... 7.50 each?
There will be the occasional special that goes over the $14 mark, but most mains will be in that close neighbourhood. Starters range from $5-10, and desserts max out at $6 for the most decadent...
Bar Drinks range from $5 up... which from what we can tell is about the best price in town (aside from specials) which was our intent all along. We're not "about" the drinks, they're simply to compliment the food... or provide a little relief from crazy summer heat on a blistering afternoon...
we're changing the approach to retail bread & dessert sales... THIS IS A BIG NOTE... Fresh bread will ONLY be made on Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday...We welcome your orders in advance while we work out new daily quantity requirements.
All our bars & savory snacks will still be available for now, but soon you will just have to ask for your favourites, as we won't be displaying them as usual. (That said, anyone need a 6' display cooler? $1000 obo).
Lunch menu will evolve a bit further... will likely add lunch size options of some more popular dinner items and a couple hot appetizers to the existing menu... that remains to be seen precisely.
your comments & feedback are welcome - even the negative stuff... in FACT, we LIKE to know the negative stuff so we have an opportunity to address it. We can't fix what we don't know is broken... right? Complete our survey, if you like... we'd appreciate it.
we look forward to seeing your smiling faces come visit us for lunch & dinner...
kera & ian
Monday, May 18, 2009
licensed to take it up a notch!
Well... FINALLY! After a long haul that began in September 2008, we have FINALLY got our liquor license!!
This is such an exciting step in our evolution...
When we bought "wild blueberry bakery" back in March 2006, we had a long term vision. Neither of us ever had dreams of owning a bakery... neither of us are "bakers", least of all me.. Ian has always made bread, and does 90% of the cooking at home... but i was never one of those super-domestics who made cookies & cakes, and fancy desserts just for the heck of it. Give me a reason to throw a party and I'll dust off my culinary chops, but frankly, I got pretty lazy when ian came along and started doing all the cooking!
anyway, the vision from day one was a bistro - bustling with great people, notorious for a wicked wine & scotch list, loved for the interesting and delicious but not expensive food, and simply a great place to be. We think we're getting there.
Ian & I have two favourite restaurants always in mind when we discuss our vision... Ian's is "Amalfi" in Adelaide, South Australia, and mine is "Pagliacci's" in Victoria, BC... our intention is to take the best things of those two places and put our own stamp on them to create Wild... in it's full expression.
We're gettin' there.
We still have a ways to go - there's more construction & decor that need to evolve, there's a bigger bar list that needs to build up, there's a regular menu that needs to be set, and specials that need to be invented... but those will all come together over the next few months... and from there, it's all gravy.
We couldn't have gotten this far without our wonderful customers. I hope you all know that! You are the reason we exist, and we hope that we treat you like that every day... and that if we don't, you'll let us know!
Your support, understanding, empathy, feedback, word-of-mouth and recommendations are all so very important to us. Your suggestions & requests are not taken lightly. Of course we can't possibly accommodate EVERYTHING, but we really do our best to find the balance that fits with our vision and your needs.
So, our hours will be changing on JUNE 8th...
New hours: Monday thru Saturday, 10:30am-10:30pm
We'll see how that works for the summer...
We'll look forward to seeing you!
This is such an exciting step in our evolution...
When we bought "wild blueberry bakery" back in March 2006, we had a long term vision. Neither of us ever had dreams of owning a bakery... neither of us are "bakers", least of all me.. Ian has always made bread, and does 90% of the cooking at home... but i was never one of those super-domestics who made cookies & cakes, and fancy desserts just for the heck of it. Give me a reason to throw a party and I'll dust off my culinary chops, but frankly, I got pretty lazy when ian came along and started doing all the cooking!
anyway, the vision from day one was a bistro - bustling with great people, notorious for a wicked wine & scotch list, loved for the interesting and delicious but not expensive food, and simply a great place to be. We think we're getting there.
Ian & I have two favourite restaurants always in mind when we discuss our vision... Ian's is "Amalfi" in Adelaide, South Australia, and mine is "Pagliacci's" in Victoria, BC... our intention is to take the best things of those two places and put our own stamp on them to create Wild... in it's full expression.
We're gettin' there.
We still have a ways to go - there's more construction & decor that need to evolve, there's a bigger bar list that needs to build up, there's a regular menu that needs to be set, and specials that need to be invented... but those will all come together over the next few months... and from there, it's all gravy.
We couldn't have gotten this far without our wonderful customers. I hope you all know that! You are the reason we exist, and we hope that we treat you like that every day... and that if we don't, you'll let us know!
Your support, understanding, empathy, feedback, word-of-mouth and recommendations are all so very important to us. Your suggestions & requests are not taken lightly. Of course we can't possibly accommodate EVERYTHING, but we really do our best to find the balance that fits with our vision and your needs.
So, our hours will be changing on JUNE 8th...
New hours: Monday thru Saturday, 10:30am-10:30pm
We'll see how that works for the summer...
We'll look forward to seeing you!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
busy is good... thanks for all your help with that!
I'm delighted to make note of the fact that things have been pretty busy... busy enough, at least, that taking the time to post a blog has been difficult.
there's been a lot of activity over the past month... a couple great coffeehouses, a chocolate tasting, some meetings, a special performance date with Twisted String, some renovations... and the liquor license got submitted...
so - update...
liquor inspector is making a special trip - and I cannot tell you how much we appreciate her doing so - on Apr 29 to do our "establishment inspection" and "education"... if we pass that and she approves our license, we could be selling drinks by May 1!!
we've got more great coffeehouse lineups in store...
a Cinco De Mayo Fiesta on ... yes, May 5... because it's simply an excellent excuse to have a party and introduce some of our upcoming mexican tapas, and our plan for regular mexican nights...
(check the website for details - www.wildbistro.com)
another chocolate tasting with Le Petite Souris... Dark Chocolate this time, in time for Mother's Day... bring your mom and get a little decadent on the dark side.
We're hoping to having the patio finished in time for May long weekend... need some steel fabrication done to hold up the awning, and need to acquire/build tables/benches that can STAY outside... See it... margaritas on the patio... come on... how great will that be?!?
Continued renovations (minor) & reconfiguration of the kitchen...
A few new decor changes & additions...
Possibly a big-ass flat screen TV too... for those special events that require TV, or hockey play offs, or seminars that require a presentation... we've got lots of plans... are you ready??
We'd love to have input and help, too... if you are interested in volunteering to coordinate events or do publicity, or sew curtains, or paint... we'd love to have your help!
We're just so EXCITED!
It's all coming together, and we're seeing new customers every day, and we're really, truly grateful for the love and support that our friends (aka fabulous customers) give us on a daily basis... bringing your friends for the first time, telling colleagues, sharing our food with your neighbours... all those "little" things that you think of to do on our behalf are so generous and delightful... we couldn't be where we are, nor on the path we're on, without you.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
there's been a lot of activity over the past month... a couple great coffeehouses, a chocolate tasting, some meetings, a special performance date with Twisted String, some renovations... and the liquor license got submitted...
so - update...
liquor inspector is making a special trip - and I cannot tell you how much we appreciate her doing so - on Apr 29 to do our "establishment inspection" and "education"... if we pass that and she approves our license, we could be selling drinks by May 1!!
we've got more great coffeehouse lineups in store...
a Cinco De Mayo Fiesta on ... yes, May 5... because it's simply an excellent excuse to have a party and introduce some of our upcoming mexican tapas, and our plan for regular mexican nights...
(check the website for details - www.wildbistro.com)
another chocolate tasting with Le Petite Souris... Dark Chocolate this time, in time for Mother's Day... bring your mom and get a little decadent on the dark side.
We're hoping to having the patio finished in time for May long weekend... need some steel fabrication done to hold up the awning, and need to acquire/build tables/benches that can STAY outside... See it... margaritas on the patio... come on... how great will that be?!?
Continued renovations (minor) & reconfiguration of the kitchen...
A few new decor changes & additions...
Possibly a big-ass flat screen TV too... for those special events that require TV, or hockey play offs, or seminars that require a presentation... we've got lots of plans... are you ready??
We'd love to have input and help, too... if you are interested in volunteering to coordinate events or do publicity, or sew curtains, or paint... we'd love to have your help!
We're just so EXCITED!
It's all coming together, and we're seeing new customers every day, and we're really, truly grateful for the love and support that our friends (aka fabulous customers) give us on a daily basis... bringing your friends for the first time, telling colleagues, sharing our food with your neighbours... all those "little" things that you think of to do on our behalf are so generous and delightful... we couldn't be where we are, nor on the path we're on, without you.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
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