Open

Knives Out

Sharpened and ready for tomorrow.

Prepping has begun

With Health inspection in hand we began the process of prepping everything.

Permisiion is granted to operate a...

Restaurant! We passed and received our permit from the health department. We came in just under the wire. We were putting the finishing touches on everything as the inspector was walking across the parking lot.

GC summed everything up (as only he can) "Now the real work begins." Soft opening is scheduled for monday.

Pre Opening Visit - 9 More Things

Glass for the sneeze guard was installed this morning. Health Inspector came by for a pre-opening visit this afternoon. Left with 9 things that needed to be addressed before we can get our permit and open. Inspector will be back late on friday afternoon. We have less than 24 hours to handle all 9 things or we most likely will not be permited till January. Going huddle with the GC and see if we can make it.

Close....to losing my mind

Sneeze guard is in, but alas no glass. Same company who made the mistakes with the sink that I wrote about previously decided to cut the wrong glass as well. First time I have ever asked anyone to leave a job, but felt that given their track record we were better off going with another company. We had hoped to be open already but can't without the glass. Local company is going to rush it but even with that still about a week a way.

Failed Plumbing Inspection

Down to our last inspection (not including health department) and the hope was that we would breeze right through. GC called it when he said that someone would find a reason to hold us up for a day or two. Plumbers will be back in the morning to address the inspectors concerns.

What did you think you were doing today?

Hit a little bit of a roadblock late on friday. An unamed supplier royally screwed up the dimensions of our dish sink. Unbeknownst to everyone involved he decided to make his own sink rather than the one we ordered.

In addition they showed up with no tools to break it down (so that it would fit through the door) and no crew to actually move it in. Fortunanetly the GC saved the day with both the tools and the crew. Which was no small feet considering it was Friday afternoon at 4PM. Most construction sites are a ghost town by that point.

New Menu Boards

Happy that with this location we were able to revist the menu boards and touch up the design. We used the the new website as a jumping off point. They look awesome!

A little to the left...

Another logo. We don't want you to forget where you are.

Getting it Right

Doesn't look like it would be, but hanging the blocks for our logos at the right angles and the right spacing is rather difficult. GC and crew took their time and did a great job.

Stacked

After much planning and fretting the blocks for our big logos are built, painted and stacked. Gotta get them up on the walls though, they take up a lot of valuable floor space.

Hanging Signs

One of the first things we ordered when we started this project was our exterior sign. Hard to believe, but you can practically build out an entire restaurant before the various agencies approve and build our sign. Very happy to see the crane on site this morning hanging our 10 letters.

Day 2 of the Corian

Counters are in and clamped down to dry. They will be back later today to buff the edges.

Polishing Corian

Corian Instillation started today. A lot of the work they were able to do off site (the cutting and forming of the individual pieces). The pieces fit together like a giant puzzle and then they came back and sanded and polished the edges together to make smooth surfaces. All the sides were done today and tomorrow they will be back to make the tops (with the cutting board inserts).

That's a straight line

Cabinets in and waiting for Beach Glass Corian. Messy Messy stuff but when finished oh so pretty. The goal is to have the corian finished before thanksgiving.

Blocks!

Now that the cabinets are in the GC and woodworker? woodsmith? carpenter?(not sure what he calls himself although I would be happy to call him the man based on his work) have begun work on our logo blocks that adorn the wall. The GC spent the weekend sketching out the plans, making adjustments and ordering the boards. One of my favorite parts of the original Green Tango design (thanks john!)

First Cabinet

But it looks a little lonely, don't you think.

Taking Photos of Photos

My photo of electrician's photos of the lights at the first Green Tango. Woah. Kinda trippy. If only I could make them spin. He was using them to get the track lighting mounted on the bulkhead exactly the same as he did 5 years ago.

You always forget something

Was informed today that the electrician overlooked the track lighting on the original plan. Woops. Luckily it is one of the things that can be added late in the game without too much trouble. Hopefully they finish today because the cabinets are coming in this weekend.

Green Tango Application for Employment

With opening day near Green Tango is now hiring.

Green Tango Application

Questions? email info@greentango.com

Paint

Most everything was moved out this morning to get ready for the floor application on monday. With the space cleared out it provided a good opportunity to start the painting. Glad to know they still make Pumpkin Pie paint.

Menu Boards

We haven't printed the whole thing yet, just pieces to test spacing and font size. I have been staring at it a lot lately so I can fill in the gaps. Can you?

Floor Preperations

Seems a shame to waste it, but the tile floor in the bathroom has got to go to get ready for the new floor. Instillation of the epoxy floor starts on Monday and will take about a week to cure.

Timbre

Doorbell waiting for hardware. Nuff Said.

Little Drawings

Throughout this project little drawings have been popping up on the drywall (assuming one of the subs is documenting the progress as well).

This one showed up soon after the GC returned to the site after a few days away.

Here Comes the FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic)

Bulk of the drywall is done and the FRP is going up. Like every other restaurant in the world you gotta have that cleanable washable surface in your kitchen areas to satisfy the health department.

Progress through Puzzles

Walk-In Cooler was delivered and installed today. Surprisingly smooth process. They apparently fabricate and put together in a warehouse to make sure it works. Then disassemble and send to the site. It is not stick tab A into slot B, but not much more complicated than that. The Walk in is the workhorse of our operation because of the amount of produce we handle, so we went for the model with no interior drain lines or condensers. Buys us a few extra feet of storage which at 1500 sq ft is important.

Drywall

Drywall was started today. This is a shot of the bulkhead over the counter. Lot of fine detail work that will go into this.

Cutting Steel

One aspect of the construction process that I haven't been able to capture is how noisy it can be. Think that this clip adequately does that. One of the few times that I saw the HVAC guys working less than 15 feet off the ground.

Steel In Plastic

Hood was installed today. One of the last major pieces of HVAC work. A few smaller pieces to be installed but the heavy lifting is done. On to drywall.

Just to the right of the hood is where the menu boards will be.

Trapdoor

Above the woman's restroom is the main unit for our HVAC. Good news is that it is out of the way. The bad news is that is out of the way. In case we need to service it (not if, but when) we added this trap door for access.

Oh, now I am a gardner too?

Had to move some plants today to make room for the outside HVAC unit. Will sit on a pad where the red flag is.

What Color is your floor?

Flooring company made samples of possible colors for the dinning room. Which goes better with stainless steel, beach glass corian, black tables and chairs and pergo brown?

Waiting for Coke

Coke should be by today to install lines for our drink machine. We have run a line for them that should make the process easier since our ceiling is nearly full. They will deliver the equipment just before we open.

Three Layers of Sheetrock

Column is ready for inspection.

15 ladders = A lot of standing around

This morning we had 15 ladders in the space - I counted while I was waiting for someone - which is basically one ladder per 100 sq ft of space. No wonder everyone is bumping into each other. There is also a lift, I wonder If I should have counted that?

March of The Tin Soliders

Hvac work began today. First step was delivery of all of the duct, and then men on ladders and lifts began to hang each piece. For some reason I had the urge to push one piece and watch all the rest fall down. If we weren't pushed for time maybe I would have given in to that urge....

Columns

This column had been hanging around in the back room since construction started. Basically it is one of the rails to the Elevator in the breezeway. It penetrates the two hour wall into our space. There was some question as to what should happen to it (and ultimately who would be responsible for it) but the inspector ruled this week that it would have to be wraped in three layers of sheet rock.

Bulkhead Day 2

Work continued today on the bulkhead. Thought we would have to move the ceiling to get the bulkhead in, but they worked around it and did not have to take it down. Just meant that the guy pushing the scaffolding had to move it about a thousand times. Shame I didn't have time lapse photography of him working.

Framing the Bulkhead

Work began today framing the bulkhead that runs over our counter. As the work was being laid out the GC realized that the bulkhead was in conflict with the kitchen door. None of us realized this in earlier reviews (including the architect who drew it). GC figures that it would be important for the door to open. So we moved it by 3 inches. For those keeping score it is now 7 foot 3 rather than a straight up 7 foot.

Framing, Part Deux

Day two of framing. Hoping to get all everything framed by Monday or Tuesday. Drywall will start right after.

Framing

The walls start to go up.

Georgia Buggy

Learned late yesterday that the concrete truck would not be allowed to pull up in front of the space. Landlord was concerned that the weight would damage their parking lot. So we had to order Georgia Buggys. Basically an atv like vehicle that you can fill with concrete and drive onto the site to pour. Took a little more time (and money) but went smoothly.

Plumbing Inspection

Passed Plumbing Inspection today.

Brute

Today the plumbers finished installing all of the lines and prepared for inspections on monday. They packed up brute shortly after this picture was taken. Don't think I have ever seen a more aptly named piece of equipment.

The Big Dig

<

Plumbers back at work this morning very early (pre 6AM) so that they could tie our lines in to building lines. Everything went smoothly and they plan for first plumbing inspection on Monday.

Louver two, electric boogaloo

Louver rears its head again, as the hvac contractor notes the presence of several drains lines that cross right in front of our opening. Hard to tell from the ground but on the ladder it is easy to see why the lines may need to be moved so that our hvac work can make the required drop per foot and still exit out the louver. In discussions with multiple people about how to get this done and who's responsibility it may be. GC is invaluable at navigating complex arrangements such as these.

Transformer in the sky

Some time ago we identified that the transformer needed to be moved (as it was mostly blocking the back door)and today was the day the electrician moved it. Missed seeing the lift that got it up there (as the transformer weighs well over 300 lbs) Should give us a little more space to work with during construction and beyond.

Plumbers return to save the world tomorrow.

Some things are more important

GC had to leave town unexpectedly because of a death in the family. Sometimes you just have to roll with those things you cannot control.

Agreed that it was best to put everything on hold till he returned sometime next week. Would rather stop and make sure we did everything right than push ahead and make a mistake.

Will give us a little time to sort out an engineering issue that has been bubbling just below the surface (literally) for the past few days. Basically the plumbers can't finish tying in the main line because the line the engineers specified is not in the place that was listed on the as builts. Or it is there and not exactly in the right place. Bottom line the engineer has to go back to the drawing board and figure out this all out by the time the GC returns.

Core Drilling

Plumbers returned today to core drill our floor sinks for what will be our dish room. The back of Green Tango Pavilion East is not on a slab, so there is no digging. If you look through the hole you can see a cage below that contains a residential tenants belongings. The guys didn't put down plastic before they drilled so the cage received a fine coating of dust. The building management was none too happy (rightfully so) but I think we sorted everything out by the end of the day.

Looking through the hole into the cage makes me think of a crime caper like Oceans Eleven or The Italian Job.

Dig it

Mini stonehenge removed, and serious digging underway. Watching the guys work I can see why they measured, remeasured, and checked the plans about 100 times.

In ancient times, hundreds of years before the dawn of history, an ancient race of people... the Druids.

First cut is underway. Sawcutters are working 7-11AM today and tomorrow so as not to disturb the flow of business at our neighbors. Got about halfway done today, and will pick back up tomorrow. Plumbers should also be in to start laying floor sinks and pipes.

Early Morning Ceiling Tiles

The GC's crew began the labor intensive process of removing the ceiling tiles. Space will be tight for the next few weeks with ladders, scaffolding, and people occupying the space. Need to find space offsite to keep safe. Question is where?