Wrap Up for 2010

What a year it was.  It started out fairly normal but how did it change.  In Omaha there was a new Sunday farmers' market that added to our list.  We almost decided to not do it.  Sunday was kind of our day to take a breath.  But, by this time we were seriously considering to open an Omaha location and we needed the money to get it up and running.  We knew that we wouldn't be able to borrow any more money so we had to do it all on our own and a lot of sweat equity.  As if this wasn't enough, we decided to expand our Lincoln store to add extra seating and production space.  This expansion we didn't do ourselves, thank god.  We're crazy but not that crazy.

Everything went as usual, behind schedule.  We were supposed to open the Omaha store by early September.  That didn't happen until my birthday, October 6, a good birthday present.  I was so exhausted from working on that store I've only been back once, for about ten minutes.

The Omaha store has gone quite well for us.  You can read a little bit about it in the Omaha world herald. Us being in the Top 10 Restaurants, our Food Review and another small blurb.  I feel very blessed have had such a great response to what we do at our bakery.  It has really made me feel that much more commited to our quality and expand our product line.  We have a lot of good ideas but it's hard to find the time to test and then get them into production.  I have to really focus on efficiencies and where it's best to spend my and everyone else's time.

Our Lincoln expansion is actually still in process.  The holidays took a toll on the plans here but now that we are in our slower time of the year we are back up and running on this project.  If you look at my Rondo posts you can see the one major piece of equipment that we are learning how to use.  By the end of next week we should have a new kitchen area ready to go and that will allow us to make new and more breakfast and lunch goodies for our stores.  I just stole one of the new hires, that was going to help as a prep cook, to help me with a line of hamburger buns for a new Omaha client.  I've had the hardest time finding good bakers that stick it out so I get priority when we do find someone.  I'm excited about getting more of the production staff back into one place and see what can happen when we put our heads together.

So this is where we are right now.  A new year with many opportunities to come and hopefully everything goes well and we can take advantage of them. 

Thanks for supporting our bakery and we all hope to see you in 2011!

Le Quartier in Omaha, NE

We have been open for over a week now, almost two by the time I'm getting this post out there, but I have only updated our website a couple of days ago.  I think that we needed a week for a "soft opening".  Call me conservative but, there are always things that you can't predict that need to be worked out before you want a long line at the order counter.  I wasn't there myself, Seth was but, it was a good decision.  We saw different product demands at our second Lincoln store and we knew that it would be the same in Omaha so we wanted to have some time to see what those differences would be.  Surprisingly our pastries aren't selling as well as in Lincoln and lunch is a big success.

Overall, we are very pleased with our first week in Omaha.  Honestly, compared to our Lincoln stores it was a home run.  Maybe it's because we were that much more prepared at opening a store or maybe it's the city.  We have seen a lot of love from Omaha but we are now almost four years old so I thinks it's a combination.

Below are a couple of photos from our training day where we opened the door and some people came in to take a look at what we were up to.  We sampled breads, pastries and cakes and hopefully enticed some people to come back when we were actually open, Tuesday October 11, 2010.

There are a few things that we'd like to add to our bakery in Omaha.  We'd like to have products like olive oils, spreads, anything that would compliment bread and French wine by the bottle.  Our blue cheese loaf and a bottle of Burgundy goes hand in hand (be careful not to finish both in one sitting).



Training day customers, Oct. 9, 2010

 



My mom supervising and Seth in the back helping out a customer



Le Quartier Location in Omaha, NE

It is time, whether we're ready or not, to open a bakery in Omaha.  Along with my brother Seth and our father, we have been working hard to get our new location up and running.  We still have a lot of work yet to do but we are making good progress.  Fortunately for us it was a bakery before so there are some things that we can work with.  Where is it you ask?  92nd and Pacific in Countryside Village surrounded by like tenants and a nice neighborhood.  We are "the neighborhood bakery" after all and this is why we felt that this location would fit us perfectly.  We will bake and serve the same great breads, pastries and cakes that we have at our two Lincoln locations and will have sandwiches, soups and salads to go.

It has been difficult for us to find time to work because on top of our normal baking we attend 4 farmers' markets  We used to get one day off and now that day has become building/moving/painting day.  I hope that all of our hard work will pay off and everyone that visits Le Quartier Omaha will be happy with what we've done, especially our bakery goodies!

When will it open?  Hmmm, good question.  I am hoping to be open sometime in the first half of September, 2010.  Exact date will be coming.

I'd also like to thank:
My Mom
Henry and Elenor Pauls (Aunt and Uncle)
Amy Dishman (designer, wife of one of my bakers)
Sarah Curley Quiring (my brother's wife)