Yesterday was spectacular. Today was no slouch either but yesterday was the bomb. We scored the deli equivalent of racing’s “Trifecta” by nailing a strong day in the dining room, an incredible delimobile event and Christmas Party catering, wait for it… all at the same time.
This is why I left the Monarch. I knew we had an opportunity to grow beyond being a sandwich shop on the second floor of a legendary bar and do something really special. The best part is that we don’t have to sacrifice quality as we grow. The quality of the meat in the dining room, Thunderin’ Thelma and in the law offices of Derstein Penman was by all accounts: delicious.
Like the Queen’s Park Press Gallery Christmas Party this coming Wednesday, we’ve catered the Derstein Penman Partay three years running. I love showing up and seeing familiar faces. I still love slicing meat. I love watching people enjoy my food for the first time or for the umpteenth.
What’s new is this truck business and the World Championship of Roller Derby going on at Downsview Park. Women on roller skates competing against each other in a physically punishing display that stimulates appetites among competitors and spectators alike? Cue Thinderin’ Thelma. When I was a kid my mother forbade us from watching Skinny Minny Miller and others bash the crap out of each other in televised Roller Derby. We watched anyway. Now I’m earning a living feeding these athletes? Awesome.
This is the stuff of hot cockles: the realisation of dreams long held but not loudly discussed. We did it. Not without difficulty or stress or thoughts of giving up. And against the odds too. Of course, the key is to keep doing it and to never let up. I get that.
The restaurant business is tough. Starting one in a recession? That’s tougher still. Doing it with $4,000 in my pocket? Actually that’s no biggie at all. As Bob said: “When you ain’t got nothin’, ya ain’t got nothin’ to lose, bitches”. I added the ‘bitches’ part.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not over. What’s that other cliche (aphorism really)… ‘not the beginning of the end but the end of the beginning’? The business of Caplansky’s is growing nicely but arrogance and conceit will not grow in the hot cockles of this heart. I’m only as good as my last sandwich. Only as strong as the weakest member of my team. Only as hot as the mustard… okay, I’ll stop now.
I’ll close with the advice of one of my investors: don’t let a few good months go to your head. Thanks, Richard. I won’t.
