Laiola closed on New Year’s Eve and the next day, the construction began. Joe’s dad, Mike, arrived and after a little bolstering breakfast of hashbrowns and eggs at Bay Watch Restaurant, everyone got to work. It took Isaac, Joe, Manny, Yonni and Mike the majority of the day just to get down the beautiful wine bar which they started out thinking weighed about 300 pounds and ultimately figured out weighed about a ton. What they thought they could just lift and take away to storage ended up being a full-day project that involved, saws and hammers, not to mention a dramatic fall that Isaac took, including a few puncture wounds from the nails on the floor, causing all the mothers in the room to suck in their breath or shriek and repeatedly ask him if was ok for the rest of the night. It’s hard to be a man when you’ve got a brood of hens clucking around you.
I’m sorry to say, the wine bar is no longer for sale on Craigslist.
The next day, my mom and dad and I painted; Kelly organized the office; and Joe’s mom did errands for us. Meanwhile, Mike and Isaac—true carpenters—spent the day building a beautiful bar and lining some of the walls with wood, which then general manager Mike came along and stained. Telmo fed us a much needed lunch.
I know I’m bias here, but I’m stunned by how beautiful it looks.
Fast forward and the signage is up and the restaurant is nearly done and ready to open. The official opening is this Wednesday, although I think you might see some action in the kitchen on Monday if, just say, you were to stop by and ask for a margarita. I’m thinking there will be shots of tequila all around.
