Restaurants and Institutions

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Calling Doctor Freud
May 24, 2007

Coffee—check. Telephone—check. Music—check. Computer—check.

It’s early, way too early, on Monday morning and I am sitting at one of my outdoor tables, currently set up in the middle of the yet-to-be completed dinning room at Terroir. I’m feeling, to say the least, a bit apprehensive, slightly tired from a good number of sleepless nights, and chilly. It is Portland in May, you know. This is Day 1 of my leave of absence from teaching. Several hours from now, my front-of-the-house manager and the front-of-the-house staff will be here for the first day of their service training.

A lot of work has been done. The concrete floor has been stained and polished. The blackened-steel framing for the bar, the wine wall and the back-bench supports have been installed. The cabinet-makers are about halfway through placing the cabinetry, bar back and bar top. The electrician has completed most of the lighting and electrical-socket installation. We’ve got an audio system, a working telephone system, Internet access for our online reservation sys-tem, a working coffee maker and a really big wood box holding the wine-by-the-glass system (see picture).

Here’s where the apprehension begins to set in. My wood-burning oven FINALLY arrived on Friday. Today, my con-tractor, with a tiny bit of help from me, is assembling it and putting it in place (see photos). All it took was a winch connected to one of the steel ceiling beams and two palate jacks. Now, the stainless-steel contractor can wrap the surrounding walls with stainless, so that the plumber can connect the gas line, so that the stone mason can begin to place the stone façade, so … You get the idea.

I have a pre-opening party in less than two weeks and a scheduled soft opening to the public in a little more than three weeks. I keep being told by contractors, other restaurateurs and just about anyone with an opinion that, “It will work out in the end. It always does.” Somehow, that isn’t that comforting.

I don’t know how you other restaurant-empire builders handle the stress, but I’ve been taking my dog to the dog park and also testing recipes, in between making sure all the paperwork is completed, smallwares are ordered and initial product deliveries are lined up.

Taking a page from Julia Child’s repertoire also seems to have helped—sip a lot of wine, and liberally taste every-thing.

And the journey continues.

Cheers!

Stu

Posted by Stu Stein on May 24, 2007 | Comments (0)