On Positivity's Side

We've had paper up in our windows almost going on 5 months now. For a while we had some signs up saying Hall of Records - Grand Opening May. Before we knew it, we were crossing out May and writing June. And even faster still, July is almost upon us and we still can't open our doors.

The building has had some plumbing issues - as anyone who has visited the Aalto Lounge's patio can clearly see. Our back yard is somewhat of a mine field right now. It's put us back into the City's permit system, with no real end date in sight.

But we still show up every day with smiles on our faces. We feel extremely grateful that we even have the opportunity to have our business. In a way I feel like this is the Universe's way of saying, oh, you want a really amazing location and an amazing storefront? We're going to make sure you really, really want it.

Well, we want it alright. And no delays with the City or with old drain pipes are going to get us down. :)





Soon (Exclamation Point!)

Records!

Inputting records into our new system! Technically, we could sell a record right now if we wanted!!



Justin said this was his favorite day so far :)

POS

We got our Point of Sale system today!! We're getting closer and closer!!

Weekend Roundup!

Our resume collecting on Saturday turned out great! We had about 12 people come by the shop and another handful sent their resumes via email. I'm so happy we only sent out word via our email, blog and facebook page instead of doing a mass listing on Craigslist. I remember our neighbor, Hobnob Grill, doing that about a year ago and they got like 200 people showing up to fill out applications. That would have been way too overwhelming. And by keeping it mostly "internal" almost everyone that showed up were vinyl enthusiasts - which was our number one criteria next to having restaurant/bar experience.

So many of the candidates are exactly what we're looking for! It's going to make deciding very difficult. But luckily, most of them are also DJs and we're looking for those, too. So hopefully if they aren't the next employee then they will still want to be a part of the family and DJ with us.

Sunday, we finished hooking up the PA system and finally had music playing in the Hall! It immediately felt like home. Music is why we created the store in the first place!

We had another night of menu testing, as well. We tried our signature salad of cranberries, walnuts, bleu cheese and balsamic and it was soooo delicious!! We also tried our California King Sandwich on two different types of bread. In the end the french baguette won! It's going to be another signature dish on our menu! So good!!

This Coming Saturday

This Saturday we're opening up the shop for about an hour and a half to meet people and look at resumes. We have one more part time position to fill. Here's an excerpt from the email we sent out to our email list and facebook:

Hey all!

As most of you know, we're getting really close to opening the Hall of Records at 3342 SE Belmont St. in Portland. We've already hired most of our staff but are looking to fill one more part time position. We wanted to open it up to people we may not already know, so this Saturday, June 19th we are going to take resumes and meet potential workers from 12 Noon to 1:30PM at the store.


Job Description:
Part Time (3 Days a week - about 18 hours total, to start)
All purpose; server, bartender, cook, cashier and vinyl enthusiast
Wage: $8.50+ tips (to start)

Qualifications:
Bar/Restaurant/Service background
Knowledge and love of vinyl

Bring resumes and yourself to:
3342 SE Belmont St.
Portland, OR 97214

Saturday, June 19th
12 Noon - 1:30PM

After we meet everyone, we'll have a more formal interview process with the most qualified candidates.


Pass this on to anyone you think may benefit from reading this.

Thank you!!
Justin, Katie & Dameian

Details

We got four different deliveries from UPS today. Our apartment is overflowing with stuff for the store now more than ever. We got shipments of beer glasses, art, records and menu sleeves. The menu sleeves are a nice touch. We saw these sleeves at our favorite bbq place, Russell Street Bar-B-Que, and thought they looked so good.



Justin also got a craving to do an art project. His friend Todd had given him some paper record coasters as a going away present two years ago when we left California. He wanted to use them in the store but we want to try to get as much life out of them as possible. So we went to Michael's and picked up some waterproof sealer and wood backing.





Let's just pray they don't go walking out the door.

Menu Testing Night

Tonight we had our second day of testing menu items. Last night we tried the "Gerry" and loved it!! Tonight we tried the "Hungry Man," Caprese, Spinach & Red Pepper Panini and Chicken Salad. We got free bread samples from Delphina's and had a great time!! The focaccia for the panini was delicious! But by far the hit of the night is the Hungry Man:



Roast Beef
Turkey
Peperoncinis
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Melted Provolone
French Baguette

Delicious!!!

Nice little Saturday...

It's about to get loud in here! The boys hung the speakers to the PA system today. They made me laugh because in true audiophile fashion, they weren't satisfied until the speakers were pointed perfectly, to enhance listening in all corners of the room.



But they look nice and the boys did a great job. Now our DJ booth/speaker system/record area is almost complete.



We're getting our Point of Sale system next week so we can start inputting all of our records into inventory. Then we can start filling up the shelves as we get closer to opening!

Glassware

I'm a big fan of drinking wine out of an oversized glass. I think it's more fun that way. Therefore, both the red and white wine glasses we got for the store are oversized and fabulous!!

We also wanted to go for something a little more exciting than traditional pint glasses for the beer. So this morning I ordered some "Pub Glasses."



I also ordered some small shooter glasses for tasting. Because we're all about tasting, too.

Before & After

Before:



After!

All Hands on Deck

Day 2 of painting we had lots of help and we quickly found out that we needed it! There is a lot of surface to cover! The inside of the columns are by far the hardest part to paint. We started from the top down and the bottom up and ended the day before the two met. So the building looks pretty silly right now. It's comprised of like 9 different colors and of course it's raining again so we can't finish for a day or so.

Day 1 of Painting the Exterior

Bird's Eye View



Color 1: Sand



Color 2 & 3: Rust and Army Green (on the column)



Day 1 ended in rain. We got about 2/3rds of the way through the rust color. Luckily it dries quickly but I'm a little afraid to go back today and see if the rain made some of the last parts run. More painting days to come!

We have a phone number!!

Integra Telecom came to install our DSL and phone lines today! Our business phone number is: 503-546-0892

We even get our messages forwarded to our email with wav files of the messages attached. Technology is amazing!

Pitman's Restaurant Equipment also came today to drop off our new mega-top sandwich prep table. Tomorrow we're going to the City to apply for our Sidewalk Cafe License to put our tables out front.