No. 59 - Pressure Is A Privilege

When the stakes are high and the heat is palpable

Opening this restaurant might be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. I always knew doing this was going to be hard. People always talk about how hard it is, I’ve already been talking about how hard it’s been! There are shows that devote entire seasons to showing you how hard it is. And yet, it would be truly so difficult to understand it unless you were literally standing in my shoes, right now.

We’re in the final stretch, the last bits before we get to training week, before we have friends & family, before our official opening to the public; that thought is overwhelming on it’s own. Last week, I unlocked this new level of mental chaos. Not only did my job title shift from interior designer to general manager, but this entire project shifted from construction to operations real fast! I dropped that punch list on my clipboard for a pre-opening list in my notebook. My CAD program got swapped out for Resy and Toast. My showroom runs have become beer, wine, and cocktail tastings (which, btw, I’m all kinda allergic to LOL). I’ve never properly learned how to drive a stick shift car, but this sudden transition was, mentally, as smooth as me trying get into first gear from a full stop.