Yet more "finishing" touches?

I'm sorry!... I may have spoken too soon by saying we were to the finishing touches as of my last update. I'm not sure if we can group all of this stuff into what I'd think of as the finish of our little coffeehouse. There is still a lot of work to be done. We've had our first inspection with the city, and there are many more to come over the next few days. Keep your fingers crossed! We think we got it in the bag, but these city officials are tough.

Anyhow, The Hub is finally starting to look like a coffeehouse! A business, at least. The old brick garage we've been converting doesn't look like a garage anymore! Take a look for yourself:



The pictures: the very necessary wheel-action shot, with our custom steel, laser-cut signage off in the distance!; the infamous La Marzocco GB5 (now you know); reflections on the back wall of the work area, adorned with 24 4 x 4 in. mirrors; the legitimitization (that's right) of our garage with the heavy-duty, glass-paneled overhead door!; and yet another shot of the GB5, close-up of its elegance (And there's no such thing as too many pictures of the La Marzocco, I assure you. It will be the lead singer in our coffee choir, singing beautiful song for your caffeinated ears).

The plumbing has been finished for a day or two, and all of the electrical was wrapped up today. That's mostly good news!!! We can hook up the equipment now, and maybe even serve up some espresso for ourselves as we slave away on the rest of our "to do" list. But let's hope tomorrow is more productive for us than today... Oh, you mean we needed to put this crap up under the counters before all of the plumbing fixtures were set and now we have to work around them all when we have no idea what we're doing? Thank you, Mr. Plumber.

And on a side note: Tomorrow's the boss' birthday. He'll be working hard scrubbing brick walls and installing hot water towers and espresso machines on his 43rd birthday. We should all be so lucky! (Forget 43, and make sure you congratulate him on 48... it'll be hilArious)

Finishing touches.

We've constructed many of the finishing touches to our petite coffeehouse on Cheney St. The infamous Bike Wall has been erected. And we couldn't be happier with the design. Here's a picture to see the beauty of it all and there's even a shot of the Bike Wall in action: a Redline crossbike has been hoisted up onto one set of the many arms sticking out from the steel structure. (Try to forget about the moving van in the background... I'd move it out of the way if I could... and don't mind the lady in pajamas in the second picture... that's just Mom.)


And if you haven't already noticed it in the background of this last picture... we've put up some countertops for the work area and the overhang signage above the garage door! All of the metal work was done by a good friend and loyal customer, David Kardonowy. Thanks to him and all his hard work, and we hope you all enjoy the pieces he's put together for The Hub as much as we do.

The design has all been laser cut from the piece. We plan to illuminate the cuts from behind, and give it an explosive, glowing effect to grab attention of passerbies. It's not visible in this picture, but at the far end of the piece to the left, there is even a quaint little coffee cup design cut from the steel. The sign says it all... Coffee and bikes.


The small amount of space we're working with in this tiny little car garage-turned-coffeeshop is proving to be a pain. But we're making some headway. One set of countertops are in... and we're pretty sure we've found a layout that will allow us to work behind the counter with sufficient room. In the end though, it will definitely be a cozy little squeeze to get back there. Anyhow, all that's left is to put up the counter directly opposite this one (the piece is cut and ready to mount) and then it's time to start moving in our equipment! And our beautiful little La Marzocco GB5... and if you don't know what I'm talking about you will soon enough.

It will open soon.... I swear!

It's almost open!!!!!!!!!

Been working on opening up shop just outside of downtown Reno, NV. Perfect location: centered along a long strip of tattoo parlors, independent eateries, thrift stroes, you name it. Perfect set-up: an old brick garage, small enough to maintain with ease, but just big enough to cram in a cozy little coffeehouse. And the perfect time to open up if you ask me: the start of summer, a time when customers may come to enjoy some wonderful outdoor seating at The Hub, and a time when Reno is picking up the pace and redefining what it means to spend time in downtown Reno.

We are all very excited for the shop. We already have a great group of enthusiastic and eager employees to take care of operations behind the counter, and we are very close to finishing up the construction side of things! Our wonderful bike wall (way better than your average bike rack) has been erected; all the necessary machinery has been tracked down and purchased; we're putting on the finishing touches for the decor in the shop; and all of it eagerly awaits the 15th of this month!

Now you know. June 15th is our current projected date of opening for The Hub Coffee Co., just in time for cycling mayhem at the Mighty Tour de Nez!!!! Keep your fingers crossed, minor setbacks certainly aren't outside of the norm in this kind of situation. In any case, we're still working hard to bring The Hub to Reno, NV, and it WILL be here eventually!

Time for an update.

So... I'm obviously not very good at this blog thing. It's been a while since my first post and the media debut of The Hub Coffee Co. Yes, I promise, we are still here. Good coffee is still on the way.

It looks as though The Hub will not be opening up as soon as expected. June 1st seems quite impossible at this time. BUT! Don't try and get used to your Starbucks motor oil yet! We've only had to push back the prospective opening to the middle of June.

A little update to hold you all over: Drywall is up... painting has begun! We're cleaning up those beautiful brick walls over the weekend. And we're pouring concrete in the front for the outdoor seating area in the coming days! Yessir.

Construction!

Build-out of the shop has officially started!!! Actually, it has been under way for several weeks now.

We set out to reconstruct a simple brick garage on Cheney Street, in Reno's Midtown area just south of Downtown on Virginia Street. An area for a bathroom sectioned off in the back quarter of our 400 sq. ft. area... electrical outlets strategically positioned along the west wall of the commons-area... exciting stuff, right? Right?! Hmmm....

Well the really good stuff is yet to come. We have many friends helping out in the development of our lovely little casa de caffeine and, with the collaborative genius of these friends, we only expect wonderful things as we get closer and closer to our projected opening date, June 1!!!

In the mean time, here are some pictures of the garage at this point in the process...


Front of the shop... and the driveway that will be the future patio for those beautiful summer evenings in Reno!

Contractor and Papa Trujillo, the man with the vision... standing in what will soon be the bar area for our knowledgeable baristi of the Hub Coffee Co.

Looking back towards the seating area... tables? an espresso bar? comfy couches?! We don't know yet!