Italy wins!
Just a couple weeks after we opened the North Beach store, I watched the World Cup final game at Cafe Roma. This was taken when Italy was just one goal away from winning.
The place went crazy at the final goal and people marched through the streets celebrating for the next few hours.
Get open quick…
Allen, our first manager at North Beach didn't believe me when I said we were going to open just a few days after this photo was taken. We did.
a dark hole-in-the-wall…
There was a simple reason the neighborhood association wanted glass walls on both sides of our location and that reason was the Portofino Cafe. For years, 520 Columbus was home to this cafe (actually a bar) which was described as "a dark hole-in-the-wall."
In the early 90's the police raided it because it was operating an illegal gambling parlor with video poker machines. The bar managed to stay open and just one year later it was raided again when it was discovered all new video poker machines were operating. The bar still didn't close but it was raided a third time, one year later, but this time for a different reason. Besides gambling, 520 Columbus had been the center of a massive drug ring selling cocaine and other drugs all over the Bay Area. Twenty people, including the bar owner and his sons were indicted.
When the bar finally closed for good, glass walls were put up on both sides to expose any future nefarious activity.
Making it fit…
Our location was originally going to be a Ben & Jerry's. Here's another tip to future entrepreneurs. Always, always hire a good architect. Dwight Ashdown figured out what the people from Ben & Jerry's could not before they eventually abandoned the space.
Dwight figured out how to get a kitchen and all of its equipment, two showcases, handicapped access to the bathroom, and seating for 14 to fit into the store with out blocking off any of the glass walls, which was a requirement from the neighborhood association.
North Beach
This is our fifth store on opening day, June 12, 2006, located in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco.
Don’t do it…
For future entrepreneurs, a subterranean store on a school campus that is only open on school days and where you can also buy a whole burrito for the same price as the gelato you are trying to sell, is not the best business decision. More importantly, never ever enter into an agreement where students are your landlord.
Something for everyone…
Our lounge could comfortably hold over 125 people. It played host to concerts, readings, open mic events, club meetings, study groups, a standup comedy series, live DJs, and a variety of other student performances.
The Naia Lounge…
Because of a connection we were able to purchase really fancy Italian furniture at cost, direct from Italy, to outfit all of our shops. (Segis, for you furniture nerds.) It's a good thing it was cheap because the Cal students ended up stealing a good deal of it. I am sure these couches are still being slept on by some student somewhere in Berkeley.
Out of control…
Construction at UC Berkeley was difficult to say the least. We weren't allowed to bid out most of the construction. We were required to use the university's plumbing and electrical people. They weren't typical contractors so they couldn't provide us with either a time or dollar estimate of the work. Some nameless office at UC Berkeley simply sent us a bill when it was all done. The bill was enormous.
We were able to make up some of that money when we later learned that only a few circuits where ever hooked up to the meter. Every month we were only billed a small fraction of the electricity we were using. (allegedly)
The Bearcade…
The UC Berkeley location was previously a video arcade called The Bearcade. It had a small but loyal following. After we took over the space a group of angry students got together on an internet message board and made plans to storm the store, vandalize it, and terrorize the staff. Fortunately, their plan was thwarted.
UC Berkeley…
In February of 2006 we opened store #4, the Naia Lounge. Located right on the UC Berkeley campus under Ludwig's Fountain (yes, the ceiling constantly leaked) in Lower Sproul Plaza. We were attracted by an incredibly cheap rent, massive space and captive audience. Unfortunately, this was the one store that didn't work out for us.
Always something going on…
There was always something going on in the Castro. It was a very fun place to work.
The Castro office…
One day while I was standing in front of the Castro store, someone walking by, pointed to our store, and said to their friend, “This used to be a Ben & Jerry’s. There is an office upstairs in the back. I had sex there, twice!”
Open early…
We had the keys to the Castro store but weren't ready to open when our first Pride Weekend rolled around. We quickly put together a little pop-up store out front. Problem was it was so crowded, people had trouble getting to us.
The cleaning begins…
When we started construction of the Casto store it was unbelievably filthy from the previous tenant. I found this photo under a blob of melted and dried out ice cream on the carpeted floor of the office upstairs.
The Castro store…
Our third location was in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco. We opened on August 6th, 2005.
Stupid cone…
We spent a lot of money on this fiberglass gelato cone from Italy for the Walnut Creek store. When it arrived it was painted different than we had asked. It was so ugly. Who has red and yellow whipped cream? I was mad it was so ugly and didn't even want to put it in front of the shop. Eventually, it was knocked over so many times it had to be thrown out.
