tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35929666.post-43964245546715535602007-07-10T18:28:00.000-07:002007-07-10T19:12:15.429-07:00hey, everyone --<br /><br />yes, it's july. yes, we're open. this is the first time i've had to really sit & compose my thoughts enough to write.<br /><br />first off, we're busy. that's for damn sure. one of my long-time regulars, upon getting turned away the other day, said he was happy that even though we're now 3 times the size (he was off a bit) the wait is still the same. it seems that bigger restaurant = more phone calls, on an exponential level. just like the old days, if you show up at 11:30 without a reservation we're gonna tell you you can get in at 1:15 or so. <br /><br />second, we're not really all there yet (on many levels) -- we're waiting for shelving that was on order weeks ago but doesn't seem to really exist (my kitchen staff refers to it as the "shelving of mass destruction" -- we've got a cooler that freezes & a freezer that only cools, all brand new of course. the website still said we were closed for almost 2 weeks after we had reopened because tom, my bar guy & computer tech, happenened to be in jamaica on his honeymoon. todd's in india for the whole month.<br /><br />otherwise -- hey, what the hell -- it's a restaurant again. <br /><br />we're doing great numbers, we put together a dy-no-mite new staff of fun & cool people & we like each other & we don't really care so much if you enjoy the place or not. <br /><br />no -- really, we tried as hard as we could to make this place seem as much like matt's as possible & i think we got at least a good deal of it right. if you think <strong>you're</strong> disoriented when you come in here, take just a moment & consider how it feels to <strong>me</strong>. i cooked on the line with the guys a couple of nights ago & i can barely keep up with the salads.i'm used to facing north when i work. i've made a full-time job of cleaning & reorganizing the office. you should see how much linen we get every couple of days.<br /><br /><br />it's good to be back. almost unanimously you people have welcomed our return openly, with friendship & genuine affection & i've missed pretty much all of you -- <br /><br />well, maybe not you, peter --<br /><br />it's good to be back. thank you.<br /><br /><br /> mattmatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498167625752230609noreply@blogger.com