Coffee Time!!!!!!
You probably don’t know this, but I have always been into my beans….
You can take that however you want to, but I wanna
take a moment to blog about my new establishment
in Chicago, IL, which caused me to
become Bi-Lakely:
Meaning I am rotating steadily from Lake Travis in Austin
and the friendly confines of Nevaehland Ranch my compound
- View from the gate of Nevaehland Ranch, probably as close as many of you will ever get.
- My beloved Soco on Nevaehland Ranch with Hubert the armadillo another inhabitant of Nevaehland!
to Lake Michigan in Chicago!
Getting the best of two of my favorite cities!
- The view from my 43rd floor Gold Coast apartment. Think I am moving to Bucktown soon though.
It all started with a simple phone call.
A good friend of mine from LA named Lou V. who I knew through
a couple of commercial real estate deals I had done back in 2007
called me to ask me some advice on a making a short film
about some office building BS in Chicago.
Really, he just wanted some names of people who could help him put together promo
videos on Chicago real estate, so I him on a couple of dudes to
help make videos for his site www.theofficediggs.com.
- It all be bagan with a phone call. Topics Co-Founder Lou V!
Then the conversation turned to Lou V. telling me about this little idea he
had for a new coffee shop – work environment.
Immediately, I thought, I am a mobile worker!
Hell I have been considered for a long time the hardest man to get ahold
of in show business, and then the ideas just started flowin’!
I knew at that moment I had to hop on my
Honda Jet Regional
Aircraft and
hit CHI!
- The jet I copped from my hommie and Southern Europe’s sales manager Willie Sturm before they were even available in the USA!
Then the next thing you know I am in Lincoln Park Chicagoland, IL
- Near the location Lou had found in Lincoln Park.
walking the streets with none other
than Mr. Lou V. himself!
- With Lou and some sketchball lurkin’!
After seeing the spot Lou had found and realizing with it’s proximity to DePaul University
and the foot traffic of  young moms, professionals and yoga chicks I was
already in love with the area!
So first thing was first I called up my lawyer and asked him
to review Lou’s subscription agreement to become a partner in the business which we would call TOPICS.
- Our logo by Steven Wasterval of worstofalldesign.com
One thing had to be clear though I was not to be just a silent partner,
I wanted full involvement, but I knew this is Lou’s
baby so I wanted him to have ultimate say so in the project.
The aspect I wanted to deal more with was the design
and a few other little tid bits I will delve into in a moment.
After we got the okay I got behind this project with my wallet & expertise.
I took a trip back down to Austin where I visited some of my
favorite coffee shops to see what worked and didn’t work, while Lou toiled in a sea
of paper work and other things I probably would not want to even begin to touch!
Upon my next trip up Lou & I hired our painters, electricians and other
people to start our remodel of the building we were inheriting.
- 2122 North Halsted the future home of Topics!
- Dario the electrician gets us all lit up!
Once we had all the basic design elements like lighting and color scheme down it was time
for me to drop my big idea on Lou V. Â I asked Lou, what if we made the walls of the
space a gallery and we could then use these walls to actually generate revenue?
What if using my keen eye for art and my celebrity art collection could be a way
to bring in both customers and  and art collectors and make them one in the same?
Lou V. loved the idea.
So I invited one of my favorite artists to come and show us some of his new work.
His name is Jared L. Applegate and these are the heaters he showed Lou V. all while he was in a suit!
- Artist Jared L. Applegate talks about his use of Chalk and Oil in his works.
With that we had our first Topics Gallery Artist of the Month.
Jared’s show will go up in early November with a formal opening in mid-November.
Using our unique position at Topics we plan to give young national artists a place to show
and get their names out to the greater Chicago area, which has one of the best art scenes in the USA!
The last element to our rise to opening the store was our visit to Intelligentsia to taste
and learn about coffee beans!
This was an intense beat you over the head type event that left Lou V. and I with
withdraw from massive amounts of coffee we tasted.
Lou V. and I estimate we had about 20-30 shots of espresso each!
It was brutal, but tasted oh so good!
- Learning Latte Art!
- Me with Jesse of Intelligentsia!
After going through coffee boot camp we still have a ton of work to do,
but we aim to be open by November 1st, 2011.
The next post will be all about the opening, but also stay tuned for my
Top 11 of ‘11 post that will be up for my most special B-Day on 11-11-11
when I will be off to be kidnapped in Cancun!
Yeaaaahhhh Cain, Lou V and Steve!
Makin’ it happen Chi-Town style!
Big Ups!
Damn u. I should be a part of this Chisnitobam.
Love it. Good luck to you guys