Nola is open 7 days a week!

Hola and happy Friday!

I’m back at LAB, two cookies deep, headphones in and back online.

Isn’t it pretty incredible that it’s a Friday and I’m not at the restaurant?

YES.

Yes yes yes.

You know how that happened?  By building the best NOLA team possible.

I am so grateful for Team NOLA.

^ Some of our original players. Otti y Yves, WE MISS YOU.

Without our team I would probably be …. I don’t know, but probably full of rage, underweight and sprouting feathers.

When we first opened Nola and Fran and I were working 14-18 hour days 6 days a week I remember thinking to myself, I can maybe do this for a year.  6 months for sure, I don’t want to, but I can if I have to.  Tuesdays were our only day off and we’d just sleep.  My legs would be in so much pain.

It’s so funny how little we know but we think we’re capable of.  Ignorance is bliss, right?

About 6 months after we opened we discussed our goals for 2015 while vacationing in Chile after we decided to close the restaurant for the new year.  A common goal- open 7 days a week.

This was something we constantly went back and forth with.  Are we being greedy?  Is it smart?  Are we ready?  I mean, getting good workers is so damn hard in Buenos Aires, and we want to give everyone two days a week off, that means we need to hire more people.  More people more problems, that was my experience.

But then with time, patience and effectiveness we found good players.  With our all star team Fran and I finally feel confident enough to open 7 days a week, everyone with a healthy schedule, everyone happy.

That’s what it’s all about, right?  I mean, how can the product be good if the insides are broken?

So we did it!

Starting in October 2015 Nola will be open every day of the week.

It’s so funny because here when you tell Argentines that you’re open every day of the week, they’re like, even Mondays?  And Sundays?

And I’m like YES- EVERY DAMN DAY, ALL DAYS, 7 DAYS, TODOS LOS DIIIIIIAS.

Why would they not assume that Sunday and Monday are not included?  Probably because over 90% of restaurants close on Sundays and Mondays in Argentina.  Well ya know what, not us!

We’re also open for lunch service on the weekends.  This is a true gem.

I absolutely love lunch service at Nola.

Different vibes all around.  Day time music, natural light, day drinking and fried chicken.

Ever since I got back from Costa Rica I’ve been obsessed with all things, black beans, rice, avocado, cilantro, lime and corn.

So we started slinging tacos at Nola on Sunday’s for lunch in addition to our classic menu.

I brought back about 5 kilos of Maseca (Mexican corn flour) from Costa which enabled us to make fresh corn tortillas, a true luxury here in Buenos Aires.  It went fast.

And then something beautiful and unexpected happened- I found Malinche, a new Mexican food company that is hand making tortillas with local ingredients and delivering them to your door.

I’m happy to announce that Malinche is providing Nola with their high quality corn tortillas and have brought me much inspiration to make pozole, a Mexican stew ^ that originally introduced me to the professional kitchen back when I was living in California.

All these connections.

Isn’t life good?

Mission accomplished.  

LizaNola