Finally, A Sign

"Are you getting a sign?"
"When are you getting a sign?" "You guys need to get a sign."

Okay, yes we know. We hadn't decided what kind of sign we wanted but as of yesterday, we've plunked down a deposit to get ourselves a sign. It'll definitely be up by the time of our grand opening sometime in early / mid September (maybe even before then).

I think we were getting a bit comfortable not having one since, for the most part, people have been finding us without the benefit of one. However, it will go a long way in helping beautifying and illuminating the block in addition to improving the overall aesthetics of this patch of 5th Avenue. Thus, a sign is coming. A number of people have commented on how they've passed us by and gone on to eat elsewhere because they couldn't find us. Now, with a sign, those lost customers will no longer be lost but found.

It's Mad Busy...

It's 8:35 pm right now..Friday. I'd love to write more but it's mad busy upstairs on the dining room floor.

I love it. Gotta run and get back to my customers.

P.S. I also have a group of my former co-workers eating here at Bogota for the first time in addition to a party for a friend for whom they've brought in a male stripper (PG-13 rated I hope).

More later!

Kickin' Ass

They say that August is traditionally a slow month for restaurants especially in the beginning of the month which is when people pay rent.

Tonight, August 4, 2004, just one month into when we first opened up, Bogota is kickin' ass. We are very very busy tonight. I love it. From the looks of it, so do our customers. Something very interesting tonight also: a good percentage of our customers tonight are African American. This makes me very happy too.

Zagat Restaurant Review: Bogota Pan Latin Bistro / Restaurant

Zagat Restaurant Review:

New! Bogota Latin Bistro
Park Slope141 Fifth Ave.(bet. Lincoln & St. John's Pls.) Brooklyn, NY 11217718-230-3805
www.bogotabistro.com

Review It took two years for this Park Slope Pan-Latin to go from blog material (its owners chronicled its creation) to bistro, but it’s finally a reality, offering Colombian, Costa Rican and other dishes in a colorful setting with whirling fans and tropical plants; the back patio, with its big, vibrant mural, is a fine place to savor a pitcher of coconut mojitos.

It's A Restaurant Life

Owning your own business means you take on many new hats and play so many different roles to many different people. One role that's new is being an employer and boss. Today I could have fired someone. It would have been my first. I won't go into the details of it but, more or less, an employee did something that pretty much said about his employment here, "Fuck this job."

He called today with the details and asked me if he still had his job here. I decided to give this guy one chance -- only one chance and I told him so. I'm going to have a talk with him when he gets in to explain the gravity of his screwup and what my expectations are of every employee who works here.

Again, owning your own business means you get to wear many new hats.