...........so instead of continuing to my new home in Kapahulu, I decided to stop by and admired the sign. I still clearly remember the feeling I felt when the sign was first put up. We were excited, happy, proud, and I was in tear. After 7 months of waiting, our sign was finally up for the world to see. The interior of our restaurant was far from finished but Jimmy and I were both very excited that the sign were up. How could we not be excited when we signed our lease 7 months ago and nothing was in place except for this sign. It was the only "real" thing of our restaurant at the moment.
The wait for the permit to rebuild the place was long and dreadful. We were so worried that it would never be approved and we would just pay rent for the next three years. There were nights I couldn't sleep thinking our restaurant would never be open. The debt was building up and the place was vacant and nothing can be done to it. Our permit finally got approved after 6 months and our construction crew started with the place right away. They worked days and nights. After two months, our sign was up and things started to fall into places. Final inspections came and we were approved for opening. We were beyond excitement. The night before our soft opening - family and friends stayed with us until 3 A.M. to help set up. Some were peeling off labels from our brand new dishes and washing them. Some were scrubbing the floor. Some were trying to help us divide up ingredients on plates. It was a crazy night but I couldn't sleep after.
The first day we opened for only family and friends. Oh man, we were missing so many things. No working table - we used a wooden table brought from home that is only knee high. We had neither folk nor straw. Everyone enjoyed the meal together then were grilled for suggestions. Oh, I forgot to mentioned that Jimmy's cousin, Alan, was rushed to the emergency room because he cut his hand while helping us with the dishes and received 8 stitches!
Saturday June 19, 2010 - first day of our soft opening week! I worked during the day and rushed back to UH-Manoa as I was dorming with 42 high schoolers. Jimmy worked at Foodland during the day and rushed back to run the restaurant at night. Nightly, Jimmy would bring the dirty rags to me so I could wash and bring them back the next morning. I don't know where we got the energy to go on then but we did this for the first two months......
It has been 1 year and 3 months now since our restaurant is in business ... With the help of family and friends, we both able to keep our full time job and the restaurant runs fine. As I was looking at the sign tonight, all the memories rushed back. I am grateful for my husband, Jimmy Tran, (then boyfriend :) for working so hard and for being so patience with me. I am grateful for the love and support from our parents, sisters, and everyone who supported us - family, friends, and customers. Please continue to support us because without you - WE ARE NOTHING!
