Come on in, Let me give you a tour...

Welcome! This is supposed to be a blog detailing a restaurant restoration and yet so far I've really only detailed my love for Pinterest and farmers markets. How about I give you all a tour of the location. Excuse our mess!

The town of New Hope is prettier than the towns described as "quaint", it's more fun than the towns described as "hip", and while I've heard cities described as having their own "tempo", New Hope really does run on it's own time.  Ok, I'm biased because I grew up here. But the town is a beautiful little alcove of Bucks County, nestled on the western side of the Delaware river, and a destination for artists. And tourists. Lots of artists and tourists. 

I'm going to get this out of the way right off the bat: My pictures don't do New Hope justice. I will one day do an entire post just on New Hope but this is just a primer.  

The location of the restaurant is 90 Main Street. That's right, you should be taking notes here. Mojito Cuba Caribe, the best Cuban/Caribbean food in the history of mankind, will make it's home 90 Main St. New Hope. We want to see you (and everyone you ever met in your entire life) there!

But not yet. First we need to get the place in order.

This is the outside of the building. It used to be called "Lola", "The Sandbar", and "90 Main". We are hoping to have a bit more staying power than those. But check out those AWESOME windows!

Since I wrote about the planters for the patio, I'll start out tour with the outside. This is the outside bar. I told ya it's a mess!

You can see the wood planters ready for flowers hanging on the wall at left

It gets worse when you go around back. We've been cleaning out for a few days so this is better than it has been. What a nightmare!

On the inside things are not that much better. The picture above is an area the leads out from the kitchen. The kitchen is where the bulk of the cleaning has been focused.

Warning: If you are person easily upset by sad kitchens, neglected and covered in grease, these pictures may prove too much to bear. Viewer discretion advised. 

You have been warned.

This is my brave Dad, power washing some equipment.

That river of black sludge is all grease that no one had bothered to clean in....well, ever.

 It's so gross! A river of grime. Hot, steamy, disgustingly grimy work. 

My brother gets rid of anything that we can't (or don't want to) save.

Mom likes to think she can out elbow-grease everyone. She may be right.

This was a big project so we pulled in some extra help. The gentleman in the black shirt is a German fellow named Mike, he did some work on my parent's bathroom and has basically been doing odd jobs for us ever since. 

Soon these babies will be good as new! Ready to make some delicious Cuban dishes!

This little guy is on the other side of the kitchen (with the clean and ready to work equipment). Can you say "Un cafecito por favor"?

Off the kitchen is the entrance to the basement. I guess I'm trying to get the worst out of the way so that I can woo you all with how cool the main body of the building is. But I must be unflinchingly honest. The basement is pretty bad. This blog is about transformation so I am committed to showing everything. When we are finished with all the projects we will look back and see how much everything changed. Until then: To the basement!

This creepy passage filled with death-trap wires leads to the basement.

This is the first area. There are ice makers and more death-trap wires. I found a bunch of plates left in old boxes and organized them in the back. 

While I was organizing, Dad told me to watch out for live wires hanging down.

When I asked how I knew which ones were live, he just sorta shrugged and walked off. Thanks Dad!

This is the second area. This is where all the beer lines are hooked up.

So when I found boxes of glassware I organized them on shelves in here.

There's also a place for wine and liquor. Yes that a bottle of brown Svedka. Someone tried to infuse the vodka with jalapeno pepper, and then just left it. Totally gross.Cocktails anyone?

Mom bravely attempted to hook up something electronic.

And she ventures into scary beer coolers. My fearless Mother!

Would you feel comfortable hooking up an electronic here?

But its nothing we can't handle! In any case, I've got my pink toolkit so I can do anything!
German Mike calls this my "Tools just for women". That's right, a pink screwdriver won't work for a man!

I needed my pink women tools today. My job was to take apart the sound system so we could clean out the area, untangle the wiring, and move it to a better location.

It's a big job. 

Bigger than I anticipated. I did not complete this task today.

This door is right across from the sound system. The sign makes me so sad. It reminds me that others came before us and tried to build something- something that didn't last. It also motivates me to keep working- this endeavour will be successful because we won't stop working until we make it so. 

Ok. Scary part over. The rest isn't that bad. I actually love the building. For one thing, I love the windows on the main floor.

I also love how the upper level looks over  first floor. 

We are sanding down the wood floors right now, but the space is huge.

Area one has turquoise booths on elevated turquoise carpet. (Ive got nothing against turquoise, its just A LOT of turquoise.)

The second section has a long red couch-like seating area and red chairs. (Red definitely does not go with turquoise, just sayin.)

The ceiling area is decorated with branches. (I actually really like the branches, I just don't like them surrounded by red and turquoise.)  

The bar is a big concrete circle.

And right now it is a total mess.

The stairs make this really cool crisscross. 

The landing open up to look out over the bar, it makes everything open and flowing!

 The second floor is not really a floor at all. There is a small landing with enough room for one long table. Its a great space for a large party. I like the fact that it opens up and looks out over the lower level. I think it's cool to be separated from a crowded area while still in the middle of everything. Very VIP.

A cool spot for a large group of friends.

Or it would be if the ceiling fabric wasn't falling down. 

From the landing, this passage leads to the upstairs bar. 

The upstairs bar is also a cool space. Quiet and private, it feels so separate that I almost think it should have its own name. Something like "Hemingway's spot", or maybe "The Ex-pat" would work. 

I'll have a Mojito and will just sit here writing "The Old man and the Sea", thanks.

More cleaning to be done here!

We will also have to change up the wall paper/ turquoise walls.

I don't know what to do about these ceiling tiles though. I think they are kinda cool. They aren't the real original kind, but they are interesting. We shall see!

That does it for the tour! After a hard day of work we grabbed some pizza next door and ate it in the bar area.

Even after working there all day, it starts to feel weird when the four of us eat around the bar. It's like family dinner- in a gutted New Hope restaurant. We talk about what we got done and what we will do tomorrow. 

Typical family dinner. 

Just a bigger table.

"Put that camera away and eat your pizza before it gets cold!"

I hope you liked seeing more of the place we are trying to revive. These will be our "before" pictures. In the weeks to come I'll document the changes made and work done- can't wait to start uploading some "after" shots!

Follow the blog and you'll get to see all the changes in real time! Hope you are as excited as we are! 

Much love~

Putting down roots

Starting a restaurant is a huge challenge. There are walls to be ripped down, equipment to be installed, and lots and lots cleaning. But there's also a lot of fun stuff to do. We get to put in those personal touches that make a restaurant special and our own work of art.

If you're familiar with the location at 90 Main, you'll remember the outside bar. I love outside bars. There's nothing better than sitting in the sun, soaking up the rays and having a cold one with some friends. And New Hope is an outside bar kind of town! You have the breezes off the river and the best people watching around. In New Hope its fun to guess if the folks strolling the sidewalks are genuine hippies, NY investment bankers experiencing "country life", tourists from all around the world, or tourists from New Jersey. Its a great time if you have the perfect spot to kick back and take it all in. 

But right now, we don't have a perfect spot. It will be great after its all cleaned out, the slate in the patio is fixed, and some nice furniture is brought in. Baby steps. The first thing on the list is to clear out all the overgrown brush around the patio and put in some nice planters. That's right! We're putting down roots in New Hope!

I believe in the power of rituals. This is a new beginning so there is a lot riding on these little plants. We are hoping that they will grow, bloom, and be beautiful- just like the restaurant. We want them to last and become a part of Main St. New Hope, just like us. Obviously, only the perfect plants will do.

So we headed to Rices. 

Oh my! A garden oasis in a sea of knock off purses and infinity scarves! 

I love Rices. Truly, I've never met a flea market or farmer's market I didn't love, and it all started with early morning Saturdays spent at Rices. Sure I have the occasional need for a cheap handbag, a bundle of 15 pairs of socks for $5, or my 57th pair of sunglasses of the summer- but really Rices is all about what you find when you're not looking for anything in particular. 

My beautiful Mom, wondering if we need some wooden stick ducks at Mojito.

And that's why its so much fun.

This is my beautiful Mom deciding we DEFINITELY need hats at Mojito

You never know what you're going to come across.

Like colorful hot air balloons for ants.

Does anyone need a turtle riding a multicolored bike? I know know where you can get one!
(Don't get the cat. The cat is not wearing his helmet. Support safe cycling!)

AMERICA! Land of the free and home of the Privateers!
(Did you know that river pirates used to cause considerable problems for fur traders navigating the Delaware?
And that infamous pirate Blackbeard used to hang out in South Philadelphia? True story.) 

Hi there lil fella! I think you would freak people out after a few Mojitos.

There's so much to see and take in. There's nothing like cooking with fresh ingredients, so we picked up some yummy produce. If you talk to the vendors you'll be able to find some local growers with sustainable farming techniques. Feel good food!

Everything looks so good! We stocked up on cucumbers to put in salads and water, on sandwiches, and for crunchy snacks!

Grilled corn is a summer staple.

These tomatoes were beautiful, but alas- were grown in hot houses. Its still too early for real New Jersey tomatoes.

Beautiful colors!

And then we found my very favorite vendor at Rices. Who doesn't love fresh baked bread?

Gorgeous, crusty, carby bread

Please excuse Moms disembodied arm. I was very focused on the delicious loaves.

And fresh mozzarella, and roasted red peppers in olive oil, and sun dried tomatoes. ::Sigh::

The smell of the bread was incredible. And speaking of smells... "Mom, do you smell cigars?"

We met this friendly gentleman, another Cuban with the hook-up for Cubans. Doesn't he look like the Dos Equis Most Interesting Man in the World?

Right? But don't tell my Dad I said so. He thinks he has cornered the market on the Most Interesting Man  look-a-likes.

"No less than 25 Mexican folk songs have been written about his beard"

Confession time: I don't really like cigars. In college my friends and I would get together to play poker, the guys would smoke cigars on the warm nights. Sometimes I'd try it out. (I don't have a great poker face so my strategy was all about changing the subject.) But I don't only mean that I wouldn't smoke a cigar on my own. I don't really like how they smell at all. Or how they look. I just don't get the cigar appeal.

It's shocking I know.

 It's practically sacrilege for a Cuban to say such things, so we are just not going to mention this confession to my father.

On the other hand, I think cigar boxes are the COOLEST. I love the bright colors, the old world designs and the feel of the wood. Cigar boxes look like the place where your grandfather kept love letters he was sent during a war, or where posh Cuban ladies would hide their smutty paperback novel in the sitting room. Cigar boxes exude mystery and intrigue. Refinement and class. They are awesome. And definitely something we can use to decorate at Mojito.

"Don't open that box! My copy of "Lady Chatterly's Lover" is in that one."

Even the new ones look old and exotic

Eventually we got around to what we actually came for. The flowers are teeming with life and beautiful in bloom. They will be the perfect first addition in our restaurant restoration. It's all about the ritual of planting things when they're small, tending them with care, watching them grow and sharing them with the world.

We made some great selections. I can't wait to share this special project you all. Stay in touch as we go through the entire journey and bring our dreams to life. Happy weekend!!

P.S.

I need to give a shout out to all the precious pooches out in the heat at Rices. So cute. These pups rock.

Maybe one day my Dog will behave well enough to go shopping.....but probably not.

This is Bentley. He took a selfie.

Ahhhh the Dog Days of Summer! Enjoy!