Big changes are now beginning at Aroha. During the week, our final permit was checked off, giving us the go ahead to continue and finish all of the construction! As of next week, we will be ordering our equipment.
Before the rest of the walls go up, we stopped by the restaurant with my parents and wrote our names on the inside of the wall, along with an “In loving memory…” for my grandpa and Gwith’s mom. It’s nice to know this will always be there, inside our restaurant. We are so grateful for all that Pa and Janet did for us and we know they would be proud. On another note, check out our beautiful artwork! Stick figure smiley faces and heart faces have been a long standing tradition in my family since as long as I can remember. It seemed only natural to draw them on the wall as well…and of course, we couldn’t help but draw Willow too!
It’s amazing how fast time has flown by. In just a few months, the place has gone from an empty space, to full framework, to plasterboards and soon enough, it will all be complete. It’s crazy how in just a few days, the rest of the walls and the ceiling will be covered! Once it’s finished, I will be posting photos of each of the steps!
This past week, Gwith and I finalized each of the menus and we are excited about our unique twists on a few Kiwi classics! We want to keep you guessing and in suspense until the restaurant opens, so we can’t give anymore details beyond that. All I can say is though, the menu sounds delicious. We’ve also worked on plating styles (YES! I said we!). I’m still very excited that some of my styles will be at the restaurant. Honestly, since I’m not a chef, I didn’t expect that. However, I sat down next to Gwith and started drawing some styles and he really liked them!
Other exciting news happened to us this week but we can’t talk about it for another few weeks. It’s incredible though and we are beyond flabbergasted about this opportunity!
Next week, Westlake Magazine hits local stores, offices, and hotels with our cover story! We can’t wait to see what it looks like! If you live in an area that receives Westlake Magazine, be sure to check it out. If not, I think they also have an online version to view.
Time is moving fast now and in just a blink of an eye, we’ll be opening. We are still expecting the first week of September but we’ll officially announce a date as we get closer.
Switching topics from the restaurant, I’ll give a short update too on one of our leisurely activities of the week! At the end of last week, my sister’s fiancee, Miles, hosted an incredibly fun interactive murder mystery party! We searched the house for clues, trying to regain our memories, and figure out which one of us was the killer. The best part, however, had to be when Gwith, our friend Ben, and I were running around the backyard trying to escape being chased by a crazy person (aka my sister). When we heard a noise, Gwith ducked to the side of the house, hiding in the shadows, while Ben and I hid under a tree. Suddenly, we saw my dad walking by. Oddly, he looked straight at Ben and I, didn’t see us, and continued to almost walk past Gwith too. Gwith, being the silly guy he is though, decided to jump out and scare my dad. Little did he know my dad was actually the killer of the evening! My dad taps Gwith, walks off, and Gwith sits on the ground. Ben and I came over to grab him, when he looks at us and says “I’m dead.” Whoops. The rest of the evening, every time my dad tried to lure us away, we’d eye him and shake our heads. He had no idea we saw the whole thing go down! It was hilarious and way too much fun! Miles plans to eventually sell some of his murder mystery games. I will keep everyone updated on their availability in the future. They are great for parties and we may even host one at the restaurant someday!
Anyways, that’s it for this week’s update! Next week, the news and updates will be flowing as Aroha really begins to take shape! Tomorrow, I will be releasing Part 3 of my European Adventure blog, so please check it out when you get the chance!
