Moving Right Along..

This weekend was very productive...AND FUN!  We figured out the appliance side of the cart and how we want that area to be situated.  It's tricky, because there are rules and regulations that go with having fire and grease in a small area...GO FIGURE.  Apparently, the health inspector and fire department don't want your cart to burn to the ground in the name of good food...I second that!  So we are being very careful about the appliances that go in the cart as well as the size of the hood to make sure it's all GOOD...

I bought this cabinet at the Rebuilding Center for $10 to cover the ugly wheel well underneath.

This is a view from the serving window into the cart...(notice the plumbing dialed in in the back!)

So we got the cabinet and then had to figure how it could be both aesthetic and functional.  Because the grill and fryer we want are both tabletop models, we had to get crafty.  (Also, keeping in mind that they both MUST fit under the hood!)

We custom fit a counter over the cabinet and decided to run it the length of that side.

The stainless steel backsplash allows us to have those appliances on the counter, and not be a fire risk.

So there you have it! After all our appliances are bought and paid for, we should be able to install pretty easily and get the electrical started.  I'm loving how this little cart is shaping up...

That bottle of champagne you see is to celebrate when this thing is finally done!

The Scene

I just wanted to share with everyone what we're going for with this whole food cart thing...

The carts on 10th and Alder

When the sun comes out, so do the people!

We really can't wait to get The Grillery up and running and have people excited to get out of their offices, walk a couple blocks and eat our tasty food. I was kind of discouraged about how long this whole thing was taking, but now that the sun is out (for the moment) and it's easy (and fun!) to work on the cart, I am just getting more and more excited about our opening!  In a short time, I, too, will be the proud owner of a food cart...(wait...what??)

Bring it on!

Let the Plumbing Begin....

Exciting news...

For one thing, the sun came out in Portland...for TWO consecutive days!  Unbelievable right?  It was fleeting, but it happened...and one of those days was Saturday so we got to work on The Grillery in the sunshine!  Awesome...

(yes, those are pennies in my Nike loafers...)

Second thing is that the cart is ready for plumbing.  We got the water heater in the mail, bought huge water tanks online and have our counters, sinks and back of the cart ready!

Assume the position...

Travis getting a "free" tutorial from our buddy at Home Depot

Now that we have all the elements for plumbing, we can get the back space assembled and ready to go.  This is another project that neither of us have ever done before.  Luckily, Travis bought a book and has been asking questions every time we go to Home Depot.  In all seriousness, he really is going to do the whole thing by himself...then we are going to have a REAL plumber (sorry, Trav) come and check his work and make sure everything is properly assembled.

Looks easy enough, right?

It's a start...

After the plumbing is done, we'll move on to electrical.  These two things are super important to the success of our cart.  We will have a REAL electrician (again, sorry Trav) come out and help with this entire process because the last thing we want to do is set our little baby on fire!

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Soph can barely contain her excitement...

oh my gosh...

Some of this stuff we have to do for the cart is SO TEDIOUS!  The wall behind the grill and fryer has to be fire resistant and up to "code" (of course) so we had to cut a huge piece of stainless steel and frame the wall.  OMG...so annoying.  Not only was it super hard to cut (we opted to use tools we already had instead of buying new ones) but we were limited on space and complete amateurs...(but figured it out along the way!)

Fitting the Stainless Steel

So I'll try to do this task justice.  First of all, the cart is not level.  The walls are all different sizes and rounded on the sides.  The windows are different shapes and staggered along the walls.  It felt like a game of Tetris.  The stainless steal is awkward, and SHARP...so cutting it INSIDE the cart and avoiding getting cut was a major task it and of itself.  THEN, we (well, Travis...) had to measure and fit trim along every edge, including the windows, to give it a "finished" look (as well as cover the sharp edges).  WOW!  It was NOT EASY...

Applying trim and FRP

More FRP to fit perfectly

Screwing it into place...

And wouldn't you know it...WE DID IT!  After measuring, and re-measuring, and cutting, trimming, painting, gluing, cleaning and waiting...

TA-DAAAHHHH!!

So proud of this wall!  A lot of work, but all perfectly fitted and ready for appliances...

A Shout Out

I work for the best company around.  We do cool stuff.  Create memorable ads, change perspective, make people think twice, generate smiles, win awards...basically overall awesomeness.

This shirt says it all...

I want to take a second to thank my co-workers who are forever supportive and inquisitive about this project.  Last Friday was Founder's Day (our 29th birthday) and I felt the love at every turn.  It's a big place, so upon introduction I sometimes say, "Heather....you know....the girl who's building the food cart.."  to which their reply is usually, "ohhh....HEATHER...wow!  Nice to meet you (again), how's the cart coming along?!"  It's a good feeling.  You know, being the "girl building a food cart" that has gotten the attention of all of the amazing people who work at wieden+kennedy.

Dan Wieden and David Kennedy addressing the agency.

We had a full day of celebrating, eating, drinking, celebrating some more, singing, dancing, drinking some more, etc....You get the idea.  We basked in our awesomeness.  

Why choose?

Before it went DOWN..

Let the festivities begin!

Chaucer doin' his THANG!

Cheeraz and Ivy making everyone shut up and LISTEN.

The whole day was in fact, epic.  It's a big group of creative, funny, witty, sarcastic, talented, amazing PEOPLE.  I'm proud to be part of the family...can't wait to see what FD30 has in store...

Grrrr....

So, when we started this project, we enlisted the help of many friends to help us along the way.  The idea behind a DIY project is obviously to do everything ourselves, save money and learn many valuable lessons along the way.  Well, check, check and CHECK!

One valuable lesson that I learned the hard way is that you can't simply PAINT over laminate countertops.  Even IF you buy special, expensive LAMINATE paint for COUNTERTOPS...the product just simply doesn't work.  After all my sanding, priming, re-priming, painting and re-painting those bad boys, the paint would just simply scratch off with a fingernail.  ARRRGGGHHH.

The Painted Counters...

Travis and I went to this awesome store called Habitat for Humanity Re-Store.  It's basically all of the leftover building materials from the various Habitat projects.  What's even better, it was just like the Rebuilding Center, but ORGANIZED!  We priced the laminate/formica sheets online and at Home Depot and each sheet was anywhere between $45-$145 for a 4'x8' sheet...totally out of our price range.  So we kept looking.  We weren't able to find anything on Craigslist or at the RBC, so we trekked down to the Habitat store.

JACKPOT!!

Joey cutting the formica.

Along with buying the formica, we also got to use some new power tools....(Cue Trav dancing...).  The formica is not pliable at all and kind of hard to work with, so we had to be very careful.

Travis edging up the sides.

We were able to get 3 counters done, and I must admit, the new surfaces look MUCH more professional.  We have a ways to go, but getting there one step at a time.

HAPPY SPRING FROM PORTLAND, OREGON!

Don't Stop Til You Get Enough..

So we threw another successful event and the feedback I'm getting about these parties is AMAZING!  In addition to raising some much needed funds for the project, people are also having a great time, inviting their friends and dancing the night away with us.  FUN TIMES!

Andrew, Jenn and I.

Again, I couldn't have done this party without the help of my amazing friends.  Katia and Jill held down the front, while Andrew and I mastered the music.  Beside one (major) mishap with the DJ equipment...(ummmm...2 minutes of dead air? No big deal...) the night went off without a hitch!  As a new business owner, I was especially impressed with the "return customers" from the first party...  Word travels FAST!

The front door babes.

A few local celebrities decided to stop by...

Wes Matthews and Greg Oden of the Portland Trailblazers (with me, cheesing in the middle!)

I need to give the people what they want...and apparently that's a rockin' good time, hip hop all night, good looking folks everywhere you turn, lots of champagne and something different from the "norm" here in Portland.  I will be throwing these every 6 weeks or so (until it gets played out) so mark your calendars for MAY 6TH!!

Tanya and her lovely friends

My hoop girls.

Sticks and Stones supporting the movement.

A special thanks to our awesome photographer, Kevin.

THANK YOU!!