We are OPEN!!

It has been quite a while since I updated this site, but I wanted to reach out and touch base with all of you. The past few weeks have been incredibly exciting. Business is going well, and we are visited by quite a few of you on a weekly basis!

One bit of exciting news is that we are now open from 12 NOON to 4 AM everyday! Please swing by & say hello to Christine, Jon & Jason, our daytime bartenders... Just a few more weeks, and we will be serving food, as well!

I do hope to see you soon!

And, sincerely, thank you, for all of your support thus far...


jlk

The Time is... NIGH!!

After a "super-soft" trial run this evening, The Richardson will officially open its doors tomorrow!
Friday, August 15, 5pm

We do hope you will join us (if not this weekend, sometime soon)!

Thank you so much for following our journey...

I cannot wait to serve you drinks!

jlk

Finishing Touches...

The blinds have gone up & the chairs have arrived...




and there is not that much left to do...

WALLPAPER!!

Things are coming together now, as the wallpaper - that we chose nearly 6 months ago! - goes up, and we can finally see our work tie together. We have been making all color decisions based on a 12"x12" square of this pattern, and it is a relief to see everything together... Finally! (the paper was hung by Carmine Falco, wall coverer exxtraordonaire!)

Fear Not...

I cannot give you an official DATE...
BUT, i can say that The Richardson WILL be opeing in mid-August.

I Have NOT Forgotten!...

Reflecting on the past 8 very intense weeks, as a very busy man, I realize I began to put off updating the blog. I thought no one was really looking at it anyway. I saw it as an extra-curricular activity that I really did not have time for anymore. And so, as hobbies have a tendency to do, the blog began to fall off of the priority list - it fell fast, too. There has not been an update since May 7?!?!

Then, messages began to pour in, via email, phone calls, conversation & the grapevine, that folks were missing the photos. "What was going on?" People were concerned that maybe work had stopped for some reason. Messages came from far off places like Ireland, Seattle, Holland, Oregon, France, Massachusetts, and even Manhattan. One concerned email read, "The Richardson. Is that still happening?"

YES! YES! YES! The Richardson is SOOOOO Still Happening! And so much has happened since May 5! Now that i know there are actually people out there reading this, i must apologize for leaving you hanging, without information or photos, for so long.

And so... The past Eight Weeks in photos:

the owner of the building stucco'd the building:


Big Kev & Cujo built and installed the largest solid-wood back bartop anyone has ever seen:


Then they began to frame out the back bar:



Mirrors for the back bar were patina'd:



And then they were installed:


Now the room looks something like this:


And staining, polying & finishing touches ensue:




Big Kev has stucco'd the soffit & columns:


The uglyass rolldown gates have been removed:


And today, Robert & Jason Bell hand painted our logo on the front door:

The BARTOP!

and the communal table, too!

Peff's Kitchen

Brother Paul started with the World's Smallest Closet

Then he moved on to single handedly build & claim the walk-in

Then he grew dreadlocks



And now, he is BACK in the closet!



Brother Paul - "Medium Peff" - has now finished FRPing & Tiling the kitchen, and even took the time to mark his territory.

Staining ensues

one coat of raw sienna...


one coat of some other concoction...

Equipment Arrives

walk-in cooler



cooler compressor & glycol system


ice machine

Stain Bluez

Finishing Woods!

New Storefront

toilets

nuff said

Storefront Bluez

We delicately tore apart the storefront this week





and when it was finally gone, the boys posed for a family photo!




now the NEW storefront is being built




and the view from our storefront slot each morning... Old Glory!

Dread Pirate Brother Paul

Fun continues...

The bar top is mocked up in LDF




The HVAC duct was hung




Wainscoting and door casings are being built





The walk-in cooler is almost complete

'Nuff Said

I now charge the crew money to drink beer at the site... because i legally can.

Moving Along

Kev & Cuj are making the benches... and they look sweet.



Brother Paul and Bobby (John E. Pockets is on tour with The Weight!) are building the walk-in in the basement.



And this masked man showed up today to knock a hole in our wall! RAD!!

LADIES!

I give you... Your Sink...
(thats right. there is a place for your bag.)

Cool Tools of The Richardson

Grouterwear

I am thinking of starting a Grouterwear clothing line, consisting of various Groutfits specifically tailored to the art of grouting. Below is my prototype for Knee-Gloves.

February... and counting

I have been slacking off on the "blogging" posts lately.
the only reason that i can give is that progress is so steady and so apparent on a daily basis, that i dont know what to post!

here are the month's updates:

we found someone to work in that small closet


the ceiling was finished


Jimmy Crane deliverd the HVAC at 5am


Cujo tiled the floors


Kev built banquettes


and Kev & Cuj both taped



while i worked hard checking their work


here is a detail of the bathroom tile + base board


and here is the room, Saturday afternoon, March 1


We have some big things happening in the next few days & weeks, and i promise to be a bit more on top of things with the "blog." Next week we pick up the "magical document," and i will be sure to post a shot of it... check back soon... and vote below, dammit, vote!

The Contest!

Simply click on their names to cast your VOTE
for your FAVORITE BLOG CHARACTER!!

I will update the scores as the votes begin to pour in.

And, the contestants are...



BIG KEV lays floor..........5 votes


CUJO cuts floor..........6 votes


BROTHER PAUL & the world's smallest closet..........2 votes


JOHN E POCKETS smokes


**** barks orders at everyone..........1 vote


EZ plumbs


LESTER THE BX MOLESTER sheds light


CAST YOUR VOTE TODAY!!!

Drawing Board?

My partner, ****, has a certain vision of The Richardson that I cannot really explain.




I think that is supposed to be me in the kitchen.

Floors & Ceilings!

We have hit the ground running in February.

Floors & Ceilings are being laid now... and what a difference it is making!

Red Oak in the main room



Cement Board behind the bar and in kitchen & washrooms


Pine on the ceiling



The main room, 5pm Friday

January Ends...

What progress for the final week of January!
and we only had a four day work week, to celebrate Big Kev's birthday!


The door was finally ripped out. Fantastic news!
sorry there is no shot of Brother Paul shattering the glass with a 2x4



Kevin & Cujo continued to cover up the back bar wall...




I installed the world-famous Leak Diverter in the ceiling!
very nice people over there. i highly suggest doing business with them next time YOUR ceiling springs a leak!



The worlds smallest storage closet was built.



1200sf of red oak flooring was delivered.



And by the end of the week, The back bar wall AND ceiling were fully rocked!! Oh, yeah!




Next week we begin laying floor and ceiling...

Application Fun

Any ideas on what the verb "Perating" means?




The application for the sidewalk permit... is 47 pages long!

The Richardson-s of the world...

We are not affiliated with ANY of these people:

Australia
Texas
Washington
Maryland
Texas (again)
New Mexico

The Bar & The Ceiling

What a week!



Everything is coming together...

The Amazing Soundproofing Green Glue




Jackson PAULlock applies the AmazingSoundProofingGreenGlue to the final layer of ceiling sheet rock.



John-E Pockets gives an ecstatic groan of pain, as he single-handedly lifts Brother Paul's masterpiece to the ceiling.



and the two work together like dancers in the sawdust...


And, in the biggest news of the year, the BAR IS FRAMED OUT!




Short of photoshopping these together in a montage-of-sorts, this is the best shot(s) of the entire framing of the bar.

It is long. It is plywood. It is beautiful...

Partnership

Though we haven't opened yet, something I do know about business is that partnerships take work. To be in a business partnership with others takes confidence, fearlessness, trust, selflessness, money and balls.

Our partners in The Richardson stopped by the space to see the progress, and they were damn impressed (as well as eager to get their faces on this site)!

Introductions...

So, WHO exactly are these people?...




Big KEV is the man with a level for eyeballs - Nothing happens without him... because he is awesome.




Cujo (aka Ryyyan) is his trusted confidant... he has rulers for fingers!!




John-E Pockets is in charge of much more than this trash can...




if you recall, he also helps BrotherPaul hold up the building!
They have both been in charge of putting up that ceiling, and that is a DAMN big job!




That is me, serving plates from the kitchen! (just getting ready)




This is Dudo! aka, THE dudo. Executive Chef. non paid title



There are more folks behind the scenes, but they move so damn fast...
i havent gotten any shots of them yet.
I will be sure to introduce them as I get photos of them...

One More Look.... at that SOFFIT!

Now things are coming together!
and those columns will be straight...

Look at that Soffit!

And soon enough those columns will be 'straight.'
check out the first layer of sheet rock going up on the ceiling, too... oh, yeah!

Seabreeze!...

...knows how to take charge. Here he illustrates:



Great job, Breeze.

So it leans a bit... BIG DEAL!

As the team continues to make the room STRAIGHT, it only accentuates how crooked the building is...


check out the plum line vs. the original building frame!!


Here is a shot of Paul, effortlessly holding the building up. Thanks, Paul.

January is AWESOME!

The crew has been trucking along so swiftly the past few weeks, the rapid change is quite arresting!


The chicago bar ceiling went up...



and walls are being framed...

first layerof ceiling going up...

and it is up!

WORK PERMITS!!

Up until now, we have been operating behind closed doors and tight lips.
But now, we are LEGAL!
Happy New Year!

Taking Shape

The asbestos is gone and the plans are in place.

Kevin is making the floors flatter...


...and Longer!

as we expand into the old loading area.

Today... We insulate.

That is a onesie over my onesie, as i prepare to insulate our ceiling.
Fun, Dirty and Itchy!

Tear Down the Wall!!

Before it was a warehouse, it was a liquor store. Before it was that liquor store, it was another liquor store. That liquor store was Mark Anthony's Liquors. Mark Anthony also owned the building at that time.
These days, Mark Anthony owns a building across the street, where he also lives. He seemed very excited to hear that we were opening a bar and restaurant in his former space (hopefully his tune wont change once we open).

Cujo takes down the wall

I wasn't there when he came by to tell the story, but, apparently, he bricked up our beautiful garage door by order of his wife, after he was robbed one too many times...


and now... the wall is GONE!

the room is bright

and the place is FULL of debris

Let the DEMOLITION begin!!

This week we begin DEMOLITION!!
Walls are coming down, and sledgehammers are swinging...





And how about this stairway to nowhere?! (found it behind a wall!)

Three proud parents

Inside Photos!

Here are some shots from the inside. It used to be a liquor store, with a loading area in the rear. For nearly the past decade it has remained shuttered, as a liquor store warehouse!
view from the front:

...and a view from the loading area

old liquor store security system???::

A Lease is Signed!

After more than one and a half years of real estate shopping...
WE HAVE SIGNED A LEASE!

oh yeah!