Rugby at Night 

Eat Out Guide

We are now featured in New Zealand's Eat Out Dining Guide. Check it out! We have also been interviewed by Food Service Magazine for the June issue. We were going to wait for Dan to take food photos for us, but these turned out pretty well, yeah?

Plants, Books and Reggae

Last time I posted I was thinking that our next big rush would be the Lions Tour. Not so. A couple of huge events have delivered our biggest weekend ever: New Zealand Music Month and the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival. Add that to the fact that we are now listed in Google and in the Auckland dining guides, and we have lots of new customers discovering Mexican food . . . and they love it!

JB and I placed 4th in one of the big annual golf tournaments at Titirangi. We were expecting a sleeve of balls or some sweeps, but they do things a bit differently here (seems like I say that all the time!) The prize was a potted plant. I remember Gene Taylor from COCC (he did a job share with a fellow from Invercargill a few years back) telling me that their golf club gave meat as prizes and I thought that was so funny. It reflects the attitude towards golf - it's not a big deal, it's just something everyone does. Greens fees and club memberships are pretty inexpensive, and a round of golf is accessible to just about everyone (providing you can walk five miles over hill and dale).

Tyler has achieved his dream of playing semi-pro basketball by joining the North Harbour team. In fact, they made him captain! Conor and Jen have been doing all of the touristy things, even though the weather has been wet but warm. Tyler, Mike and I found a great little cafe in Devonport last week that serves REAL pancakes. Before that we were stuck with Denny's for our flapjack fix.

Both JB and I have made our return flights for July. JB is going back July 3 for the Broken Top Men's Invitational, and I will be in Bend on the 23rd for a couple of weeks for the Broken Top Classic. We are looking forward to seeing as many friends and family as we can up and down the West Coast.

Conor the Fire Warden 

Rainbow Warrior II returns to Prince's Wharf 

Cinco de Sol

I just realized that it’s been two weeks since I last posted. You guys must think that we have gotten lost somewhere in the South Pacific. Quite honestly, sometimes we feel that way too.

My biggest wake-up call came on Cinco de Mayo (nobody knew what that was) when I put together a playlist of all Jimmy Buffet songs to run throughout the day. I might as well have been playing Martian music because not one person had ever heard Margaritaville. Even our Mexican beer supplier was not aware of Cinco de Mayo, but they were kind enough to play along and provide some posters and banners and a special price for Sol. Speaking of which, Sol beer outsells Corona 5-1.

We have been up and running with no major meltdowns since ANZAC day. Sales are steadily improving and our first marketing campaign – Burrito Bucks – has been a resounding success. We have tweaked our menu a bit already by adding a variety of Danish pastries for our rapidly growing morning tea trade. I am sure we are the only Mexican restaurant in the world where the quality of our coffee brings ‘em in the door! We have also added a mini burrito to better relate to the traditional Kiwi pie.

It has been quite a ride so far. Things that we take for granted are either just not available or require importing from the States. Highchairs? There is one choice, the cheapo metal and plastic variety. I showed our supplier a picture of a simple wooden chair we used at Mexicali and Baja and got the standard answer: “We can have them custom made.” That has been the case for wooden dining tables, saloon doors, stainless steel tables and even the sweet & sour that we use in margaritas. In fact, during our first week we used all of the sweet & sour in the entire country! We now have our juice and produce purveyors coming up with samples of mixes they can provide so we don’t have to worry about running out. We have had to import taco and tostada shell forms and plastic baskets from the States. Thank goodness JB ordered $30,000 worth of beans to get us started or we would be rolling burritos with baked beans.

We have been sharing our Subaru Legacy for three months now and it has gotten to the point where JB and I need our own wheels. It’s either that or give up grocery shopping and golf. Well, you gotta eat and you gotta play, so after much research we have purchased a Prius. It’s a 2002 and imported from Japan. Well, you might be thinking, all Prius’ are imported from Japan. Nope, this is REALLY from Japan. All of the instructions, buttons and displays are in Japanese. We are hedging our bets against the day that petrol becomes another one of those commodities you can’t get here. We pick it up on Wednesday and then . . . it’s off to the golf course!

Conor’s projector on the outside wall has been a huge hit with rugby fans all along the wharf. I cannot believe how it draws people from the ferries. It’s provided us with an interesting situation, however. The Float bar next door charges a cover to watch rugby, so all of those customers are stopping by our place to watch the game for free. On the other side are the deros from Provedor who have been swilling $3 Heinekens all night and stumble over to watch while drooling on the new glass windbreaks and creating general havoc. Grant from Float is probably not a happy camper, although he hasn’t said anything yet. Any time you cast a wide net you run the risk of getting some bottom feeders, so I’m sure Richard from Provedor doesn’t mind us entertaining his troops.

Next up, Lions and Tacos and Beers – oh my!

Dinner at the White Lady 

Sharing a margarita with Bob & Arlene Mayfield from Redmond

ANZAC Day

Monday is ANZAC Day and we will all finally get a chance to take a breath, have a meeting, and do a little more staff training because we will be closed. It has been a wild ride over the past week or so. Let's see . . . We have had a near drowning, a sign code showdown, a fire evacuation and, biggest and baddest of all was a total plumbing failure. I'll wait for Tyler to tell the story of the near drowning and his heroics. Conor can relay the sign code saga and his coming of age JB-style. The fire evacuation was not such a big deal, other than it disrupted everything for about an hour on a busy weekend evening.

The plumbing. Oh my. Late Thursday night we got a call at home from Conor saying the drain under the steam table was backing up. JB said told him to call a plumber and went back to bed. The phone rings again, Conor was pretty insistent that this was more than a plumber call. All of the drains were backing up in surges. JB walked down to the wharf at about 10:30 pm and I didn't see him again until 4:30 am. He, Mike, Conor and Tyler spent the entire night sucking sewage out of the pipes with the shop vac, using buckets and brooms. There was a major blockage, and we are the fortunates at the end of the line. Security was called, Prince's Wharf Management showed up, the wharf plumbers we pressed into service . . . it was one gigantic mess. In absolute desperation they finally cut the pipe under the wharf to relieve the pressure, even though they had 3 big pump trucks pumping all night long at the entry to the wharf. We had to close on Friday because it took 14 hours for the enviromental cleaners to do their thing and to get the restrooms working again. (You have to have working restrooms if you have a liquor license.) Turns out there are 4 pumps, but one was on the blink. PW Management didn't take care of the problem. I guess they were too busy hasseling Conor over the signs.

We are ready to begin marketing Mexicali Fresh, and will begin distributing "Burrito Bucks" at the University this next week. Nobody knows what Cinco de Mayo is, but we are planning a celebration. There are enough Americans around who will want to party. We are going into the slowest season of the year, but have the British Lions Tour (Rugby) coming in June. When the All Blacks play, everyone says it's like the Super Bowl for weeks. Many of their supporters will be staying on a cruise ship docked off our wharf, and ground-central for the Lions is next door at Float. It is estimated that 15,000 Brits will descend upon Auckland for those 5 weeks. We are looking ahead to some exciting times.

Thanks to everyone for all of the positive wishes - we can feel your vibe all the way down here in Middle Earth.

Hamish and the finished mural. 

Hamish beginning the mural 

Open for Biz

We opened Thursday morning, April 14, 2005. We had some issues with power that prevented opening on Monday or Tuesday, then we opted to do another day of training on Wednesday, so Thursday was the day. We started out slow, then got slammed for lunch and have been going full tilt ever since. All we have done is set out a sandwich board, so all of our business is just locals from the Wharf. That's just fine for now until we get our speed up.

On Wednesday night JB and I went to see the Neville brothers - a concert that we had purchased tickets for over a month ago. We were so tired we almost bagged it, but ended up taking a cab at the last minute - dirty clothes and all. Wow. When Aaron Neville finished with Amazing Grace and a beautiful rendition of Bob Marley, we were both energized.

Malcolm and Mike have been covering the mornings, Tyler and Conor have been covering nights. JB in conquering payroll and the books, I am paying attention to our personal bills for the first time in 2 months, as well as teaching two online classes at COCC. We are getting busier every day, but things are going pretty darned well. All of us have finally gotten a little sleep, and it's starting to have an effect on short-term memory and the bags under the eyes.

We have such a great team. Words just can't do justice to everyone's contribution: Mike, Malcolm, Tyler and Conor. Wow, what a team! JB and I just look at each other and grin.

The Laptop Brigade 

Taste Testing

Oh man, Friday was rough. We regrouped and managed a respectable showing on Saturday. We have issues with electricity, plumbing, rice and point of sale. Things are looking really great, but will probably hold off our opening until Tuesday or Wednesday. We have some great employees . . . a veritable UN. Let's see, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Canada, England, and the very strong Brazillian contingent. Did I mention the Kiwis and five very exhausted Americans? More words later, check out the pics.

Wish You Were Here 

Limping Toward the Finish Line

I thought I should post a note and let you all know we are moving forward at break-neck speed. If I don’t write tonight, chances are there won’t be another post until after we open. What an eventful day we had this Monday, April 4. Malcolm got the POS server and terminals in place and talking to each other (although we do have a minor problem with them seeing the Internet connection). Our coffee machine has been installed and Tyler christened it with a spray of milk on the floor and ceiling. The invites for the preview parties (Fri and Sat) have been perfected by Conor (see image). First food deliveries and smallwares have been ordered and checked in by Mike. Employees are hired and orientation is on Wed from 10-12.

Probably the biggest event has been JB’s obligatory injury. It happens every time. He was trying to rearrange the new Alto-Sham and dropped the corner on his left big toe. There are three big, strapping young men here who could have done the job, but nooooo. As we attempted to walk home tonight we got as far as Provedor (next door) before asking Mikey to drive us home. Of course we won’t be going to the ER, but will opt for self-medication.

And a very public and heart-felt congratulations to our nephew Kyle who is graduating from UNLV. Way to go Biff!

Learning the finer points of coffee 

Easter Brake

Nope, that's not a typo. I do mean brake. Both Good Friday and Easter Monday are national holidays, so the banks and grocery stores are closed and none of the bars open until midnight. It's another one of those cultural nuances we didn't pick up on when planning the restaurant, so we are moving our opening date back to April 11. It will end up being a good thing, however, because we will get in more staff training.

Friday night at midnight there was a huge explosion - sounded like a bomb going off - and then much cheering and yelling coming from the streets below. The bars were open again. Whew! That was a long 24 hours. Kiwis rival the Irish in their love of their pubs.

JB had a slight altercation with a bad gasman (another long story) and now has a really great gasman doing the hookups for equipment. When they turned on the gas the other night, the gas line started leaking because the bad gasman didn't weld the lines correctly. Lenin was filled with gas the next morning. Then the good gasman came and proposed a plan to correct the situation. They will attack the problem on Tuesday (after the holiday). Hopefully they can fix it from Lenin's side and not have to tear our wall out.

Tyler put the employment ad in the NZ Herald on Monday and we have had lots of interest all week. He has been handing out job apps (you can also download from www.mexicalifresh.co.nz), planning the schedule, and will be conducting interviews next week (after the holiday). Even with the lowest unemployment rate in the Western world (3.8%) we have had many really good applicants.

Mike has found a place that makes fresh corn and flour tortillas here in Auckland. The company has a French name and doesn't advertise, which is why we didn't find them right off. They have a great product and will supply us all of the torts we can use.

Conor's signs are AWESOME. He and JB signed off on the paper cutouts last week so they are now in production. He is also working with Insight on development of the menuboard which will be a framed chalkboard. The design looks great. I will put up a jpg so you can all see it.

Last week Conor, Malcolm and I worked with the installer for Micros setting up and training on the point of sale system. Next week all of us (except JB) go to coffee training to learn to make the perfect flat white, long black and latte. After we pass that, we get to go to milk school. Did you know that the ideal milk topping on a flat white should be the consistency of shaving cream?

I found a little bakery who has agreed to do our cinnamon rolls. The only other baker who does that sells theirs exclusively to Starbucks. Our breakfast menu is pretty well set: breakfast burritos, cinnamon rolls, blueberry muffins, croissants, juice and coffee. Since we are in a very heavy tourist area, we will open at 7 and serve breakfast until 11:00.

There are so many little stories to tell - I will try to get the guys to contribute a little more so you don't hear everything from my perspective.

Have a wonderful Easter!

Color My World 

15 days and counting

Well its official, the first day projected for Opening Mexicali Fresh is April 4th 2005. Although there is an incredible amount to be done we think that it is going to happen as planned. The inside is really starting to take shape, the walls are up and the coats of paint are being applied. All of my Mum and I's design work has been behind the scenes until now. We are getting to the stage where the bells and whistles are going up and Mexicali's personality is being seen. Now that the neon signs, menuboards, logos, and murals are scheduled and underway I get to tend to my side project, the media server. We are having a projector installed outside onto one of our walls and I am going to have my own personal window to the world. I plan on showing everything from old movies and personal projects, to advertising for our food and special events. It should be fun having my own personal audience, I have a lot up my sleeve. JB and Mikey (JR)have managed to get most of the cooking equipment in place, this week we should be able to fire up the bar-b and get some food testing underway. I cant wait to start cookin, we have been living off of the samples that the distributors have dropped off for about a month now, cheese and tortillas can only be made so many ways. Its not that we cant afford food just that we have been so busy adapting and working that we hardly have a chance to sit down and enjoy a home cooked meal. Tyler arrived this last weekend and it so happened to be the move in day to our new Villa. So after a month of posh apartment living we have now moved into a beautiful 3 bedroom home just 10 blocks from the restaurant. Its only been a week and we have not spent much time there so I will keep the blog updated how much we truly like it. Mike and I will take some pics and post them on the web....stay tuned! Till next time,
Conor