$1..

WE HAVE 4 DAYS LEFT TO REACH OUR GOAL!  

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1985798659/the-grillery-foodcart-keep-it-local?ref=live

If you haven't done so already, please support our project on KICKSTARTER...every dollar helps!  If we don't raise our goal of $4,000 by THIS SATURDAY, we don't get ANY of the money donated thus far...EEEEKKKKK!  We really appreciate everyone who has supported us and want to say THANK YOU for all the love we get on a daily basis!  If you can, throw us a dollar and help make our entrepreneurial dreams come true.

Happy Summer from the Grill Fam and Soph.

Progression...

We feel like we're getting there.  The constant saying around the cart is "baby steps."

This was the cart on the first day we got it..

And this, was literally 2 weeks ago...

(not much change)

This is RIGHT after he event in the pearl...

And THIS is as of Saturday...

(please note the green wheels!)

We also added a black stripe all around the bottom where it used to be Dodger Blue...it gave the whole cart a more "finished" look, and we both love it!  What do you think?

Hard Work Pays Off...

...and so does having amazing friends and family!!

Thank you to everyone who came out and supported the 13th & Farm event at w+k...(have i mentioned how awesome the company I work for is?)  The day was a total success...AND SO MUCH FUN!!!

This is what NW 13th looks like on a normal day...

And this is what it looks like when we bring a farmer's market to the Pearl District

My favorite booth, w+k Goodness

The day was so great.  Hectic, but great.  We had so many fabulous vendors there with everything from cheese, herbs, and mushrooms to fresh baked pies, bread and flowers.  It was a great way to celebrate local farmers and the importance of what they do.  Travis and I are excited to support them at our cart with only the freshest ingredients purchased at our local farmer's markets around town.  It's going to be fun!

This was The Grillery's table at the market...pictures showing off all our hard work.

The "before" pictures really surprised people and they were blown away with how far we've come on the cart.  We got to talk to people about the process, our philosophy and what we're going to do with the cart going forward.  People could then look, touch and feel around the cart and see for themselves what all the hype was about.  All throughout the day, however, the BIG thing going on was the actual painting of the outside and transforming the trailer into a FOOD CART.

Hussein prepped the cart for painting by applying a huge layer of masking tape.

Then he went around and highlighted the design and the cut it out with a razor blade

And at last, the (almost) final project!!

We still have more painting to do to finish it up, but we love the "elephant skin" look of the cart.  Hussein did a fabulous job turning our grimy cart into a work of art! Shout out to Brad Simon for the logo design on the door.  

As soon as our kickstarter project gets funded we're off and running with The Grillery!  Stay tuned for more great things to come... 

And if you haven't done so already, please back us with a $1 pledge because time is running out!  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1985798659/the-grillery-foodcart-keep-it-local?ref=live

And...GO!

Crunch time has officially moved to overtime.  Make that double overtime (I kinda like the pressure...)

Travis and I were at the cart until 2 am last night...YUP...you read that right!  2 o'clock in the morning working on all the last little pieces to get the cart ready for tomorrow...omg...TOMORROW!

Had to hit up the Rebuilding Center for trim to clean up all the edges.

(who knew there was this much recycled trim to chose from?)

Why so shy all the sudden?

We had to cut and fit all the trim INSIDE the cart because there were so many tricky angles to work with.  Travis is SUPER good at this sort of thing, which frankly, just drives me nuts!  Luckily we balance each other out!

I decided to tag our fridge with random stickers.

(If you have any cool ones laying around, send them my way!)

We are priming the outside tonight in preparation for the big event tomorrow.  We will be painting it outside of w+k (224 NW 13th Ave Portland, OR 97209) from 10-4.  Hope you can come by and help celebrate our LABOR OF LOVE as well as an appreciation for local farmers and food sources.  13th & Farm is shaping up to be a great event and we'd love to see you there!

http://blog.wk.com/2011/06/farmers-market-fun

http://blog.oregonlive.com/playbooksandprofits/2011/06/wiedenkennedy_to_host_farmers.html

Thanks for all the love!

Until tomorrow...peace out!

xo,

Heath & Trav

Crunch Time

Travis and I have been working our fingers to the bone for 2 straight weeks to get this cart finished for the big reveal. We have come a LONG way and we're almost ready for the final touches!  No rest for the weary....

Kent, our electrician, gets everything dialed in.

Drilling holes in everything to wire the cart

Travis gets acquainted with a new toy...

This may not look like a big deal to you, but trust me, it's a HUGE deal to us!

Electricity was the last MAJOR thing we needed done on the INSIDE of the cart before we tackle the outside.  The outside of this cart is another story completely.  It has never been the prettiest thing, but we honestly have never even sprayed it down with water in the months we've been working on it.  It mostly stays under a tarp (damn rain!) and we work away on the inside.  That being said, adding a coat of paint to this thing is going to be AMAZING!  I have enlisted the help of my amazing and talented friend, Hussein Al-Baiaty to transform this thing into a masterpiece...

In preparation, I spent my weekend SCRAPING the goo off the outside of the cart..

Literally-SCRAPING.

And patching the outside so it's ready for PAINT!!

We have planned a block party outside of Wieden+Kennedy this Wednesday June 22nd from 8am-4pm.  I hope you can come and check it out!  There will also be a mini-farmer's market to celebrate the love of local food and farmers.  Should be a great event!  Tell your friends!

(Poster credit Mirtho Prepont and Aaron Rayburn from W+K)

KICKSTARTER LINK!!

We are in the middle of our final MOST IMPORTANT fundraising push...our campaign on Kickstarter.  This is a site that help "fund the arts"...allowing people to donate to great causes/start-ups/artists/musicians/chefs/writers/etc and help us achieve our dream!

Please go to the link below to view our campaign and watch the video we made to make this whole thing a little more personal (thanks, Jud!)

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1985798659/the-grillery-foodcart-keep-it-local?ref=live

Ummm...this thing still LOOKS LIKE THIS.

...BUT NOT FOR LONG!  We are planning an awesome BLOCK PARTY to paint the outside on June 22nd outside of Wieden+Kennedy on NW 13th...please come and join in on the fun!  I will provide more details in the next week or so!

Thanks again for following the blog...any donation you can give is very much appreciated!

xoxo,

The Grillery Fam

Gettin' Ready

So this is it!  We are getting The Grillery ready for the final stages before the big transformation...ahem... a new paint job....(hoping that makes this thing beautiful!).

We had to take off the ENTIRE trim along the cart and clean out 60 years of dirt & grime...

Then added all new calk rope and screws to weatherize it.

We also put in the new service window and got it secure.  

Travis did an excellent job because this "gently used" window proved to be (like everything else) a total pain in the arse.  He does a really good job of making the best of what we have and figuring out how to salvage our goodies!  I'm thankful for that because every dollar spent counts...

I'm kinda good with the drill now...

We have all these little things we need to do to get the cart ready for paint.  Patching up the entire outside (holes, dents and dings galore...), replacing all the rusty screws, getting the windows exactly right, etc.  The fun never ends!  We are where we want to be with the appliances inside the cart and have made some awesome progress with that!

Our fridge before...

...And after!  We added a couple coats of chalkboard paint to spruce it up.

(makes it look brand new, don't ya think?!)

Next up...electrical.  Whoop-deee-whooop!

WHOA!

Well this thing is starting to look like a kitchen if I do say so myself...and OMMMMGGGosh it's exciting!

After months and months of looking for appliances online and scouring Craigslist, the classifieds, ebay, amazon, local used appliance stores, auctions and yard sales...WE GOT WHAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR! We finally purchased ALL of our appliances (thanks JB)...so this thing is ready to be completed.

The hood was the most annoying thing to find, but the most important appliance in the cart.

We opted for the double basin fryer to regulate the temp on each side.

(basically, our fries are going to be delicious!)

The counters were "custom" fit (like everything else in this little cart) for ease and convenience in the cart.  The front window is where the orders will be taken.

The empty space where the fridge will go...

TA-DAAA!  It took 3 grown men (thanks Joey, Suli and Travis) and me (good job Heathbabes), to get this sucker in through the window because the door was too narrow..  A lot of sweating, but we got it!

Travis and I are both over 6 feet tall, respectively, and we barely fit in this thing!  We've had to get creative with space and material, but doing a good job so far.  Now that the hood is in, it's ready to be secured and then on to electrical.  We have an electrician coming out to help (not gonna wing that part!), and after that, it's on to the finishing touches...

Not going to get that new door on (sad face) so I decided to tile above the existing door.

LOVE IT.

Thanks again for the continued love and support!  We are liking what we see and LOVING how we feel about this project.  Big shout out to Joey for donating the fridge and hooking us up with our electrician.  You're the best!