It’s May 4th and in the past two weeks, Aroha has really begun to take shape! We have been so busy with our permits, construction, wine tasting, designing the sign, networking, etc.
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| Tuesday, April 29th (the walls are going up!) |
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| Wednesday, April 30th (the soffits are going up!) |
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| Thursday, May 1st (the pass is up!) |
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| Friday, May 2nd (95% of the soffits are done!) |
Back tracking to last Sunday, Gwith and I went to the commemoration of ANZAC Day in Westwood. For those of you unfamiliar with ANZAC day, its the national day of remembrance for members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought during World War I. After the commemoration, we joined the New Zealand Consulate-General at his residence for drinks and snacks. As luck would have it, we sat down at a table with a number of prominent Kiwis who live in the Westlake Village area. After a couple of very interesting conversations, we are hopeful to have some exciting announcements for our restaurant next year.
Last Monday, we had our wine representative over to our house for a tasting. In four hours, Gwith and I, joined by my parents, my sister, and her fiancee, enjoyed taste testing 26 different, organic, wines. They were incredibly tasty and we are excited to offer the majority of them in our restaurant. Before the tasting, we bought a selection of cheese to keep us (well, me in particular), from falling asleep from all of the wine! Somehow, I managed to make it through the tasting! I’m pretty sure though, that even when you’re just tasting and spitting into a cup, you’re body is absorbing more alcohol than you realize. I definitely felt like I drank two glasses of wine by the end of it. Gwith, on the other hand, did drink the majority of his half glass tasters! My dad drank the first 5 tasters or so, and then disappeared for a nap! Other than Gwith, our family is clearly a bunch of lightweights!
“Back in Westlake Village, former 9021PHO neighbor The Counter: Custom Built Burgers (30990 Russel Ranch Road, Suite B, 818-889-0080) won’t be lonesome for long. Suite C, which has been vacant since the debut more than five years ago of the three-suite center near Pierce Bros. Valley Oaks Memorial Park, has been claimed as the future home of a restaurant specializing in New Zealand and Pacific Rim cuisines. Named for the Maori word for love, Aroha Restaurant is slated
to open this fall. Husband-and-wife owners Gwithyen and Justine Thomas, both in their 20s, are posting construction updates and photos to the restaurant’s website (http://www.aroharestaurant.com/) and Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds. Justine, a singer-songwriter, is also blogging about the experience of opening a restaurant (http://bit.ly/SeFnkt).”
© 2014 Aroha Restaurant.