We try to remain optimistic while experiencing challenge after challenge in building out Mozzeria. We had wanted to announce the opening date but are still not confident yet.


Historic Building
Janet Campbell, our architect submitted final drawings to the City’s Department of Planning and to our surprise, we might have to change the exterior facade in order to be consistent with neighbor restaurant, Crazy Sushi. We had originally planned not to change anything except paint the wood frame in black. The building had just been listed as a historical place over the summer. It is going to cost a fortune to take out the existing windows, and build the bottom wood frame up to 25 inches. Not only that, we must install full glass frame with sliders. I called several window shops and they said its measurements were not standard and that we needed to place a special order which takes several weeks for delivery. Gulp! Janet has met with everyone in Historic Preservation Planning, and she is trying to argue that the exterior facade had been there all that time before we took over the space. We will see if we can keep the existing facade.


Proper Ventilation for Stefano Ferrara Oven
This is our biggest challenge to date. The pizza oven from Italy is due to arrive sometime this week. We talked to several mechanical engineers, and none of their answers are the same. The city officials have their own opinion on the chimney pipe. The Stefano Ferrara oven has the Type II hood built in which was one of the main reasons why we went ahead with that oven. When we announced we were going to install a wood burning oven, we knew that it needed proper ventilation, and had researched extensively, and even got Michael Fairholme, the consultant on wood burning pizzas, to back up our findings.


The city officials, however, disagreed with our findings and said we needed to install a Type 1 hood above the pizza oven, even though it is already hooked to Type II. This didn’t make sense as we went to Una Pizza Napolenta and they have an even bigger Stefano Ferrara oven hooked up with just chimney pipe and without the Type 1 hood. That is how it is supposed to be. We have hired a mechanical engineer to research further and make recommendations. We hope to resolve the ventilation issue very soon so we can complete the pizza oven project.

I keep telling myself to continue to fight and overcome obstacles as we move towards the Opening Day. Go Mozzeria!!

 

 

Here we are… doing the HAPPY DANCE!  What's up with the address in the headline? That is our new address for Mozzeria!! Whoo Hoo!! Yep, after a long search for home base, and seeing many different properties, we couldn't believe our luck in finding this location.

I had mentioned that we made the offer on a previous property and we were so GLAD that that deal fell apart because that led us to 3228 16th Street!

3228 16th Street is located in Mission Dolores! Mission District is one of my top choices and, as I mentioned in a previous post, Mission District is known for diversity and offers a wide variety of cuisines at reasonable prices. What's even more interesting is that no Bay Area or San Francisco neighborhood has more Zagat-rated eateries than Mission District. It is definitely a foodie zone with some of the best dining experiences.

What lured us to that specific address? Other than the fact that it is located in Mission District, the restaurant space didn't need a major renovation. It does have few areas that are not currently up to codes like the ADA bathroom and ADA ramp. One of the key factors is the landlord. Our seller/landlord, Max Wang who runs Crazy Sushi next door, is really a nice guy and having a relationship with the landlord is important. Unlike the other property where I would have had to deal through the landlord’s property manager and waiting for responses, a complicated communication channel... I didn't want that. We are so relieved that Max isn't like the other guy.

We couldn't believe how fast the process took, and it took us about 2 weeks from making the first offer to closing the deal. We were even able to squeeze in a meeting with Tenants in Common (TIC), and I'm telling you that we are so blessed with having wonderful tenants!


Now that we have found a home for Mozzeria, we are gonna be super busy with getting the renovations started. Sign Up at Mozzeria.com to receive the latest on our progress... all the way to our OPENING DAY! Thank you for your amazing support!