reading reptile

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Reading Reptile

Kansas City, Missouri » Brookside

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Have you ever walked into a place where you feel magically transported to another wonderful world? That's how you'll feel when walk through the doors of the Reading Reptile. The shop is filled with paper mache children's book characters that will blow your mind. There were a million things to look at, from the little dioramas on the bookshelves to the vintage toys and desks around the shop. They have a cabinet of curiosities filled with trinkets that in a young child's mind are absolute treasures, dragon's tears, medals, nice rocks, tinkly bells and random drawers labeled Surprise! 3 for 10¢. Although it's been around for years, this wasn't a bookstore I frequented (since I don't own any children). But once I walked through the gaping mouth that is their front door, I didn't want to leave. It was such an inspirational and creative space. Best. Bookstore. Ever.

You can read more about their story here or here. Cindy Hoedel at The Kansas City Star wrote a great article about their shop back in January....you can check it out here. Happy Reading!

margot

Margot | Server

Grinders

Years of Industry Service: 10

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This was Margot's very first day at Grinders and that is not her apron. Margot doesn't wear a lot of color, but as part of her uniform, it's an improvement on what she used to wear to work, a white tuxedo shirt with a bow tie. "As trivial as it sounds," she says. "I am excited to wear whatever I want." For her first service industry job, Margot was a fountain girl at Winstead's. She recently came from Garozzo's where she was the head bartender. She said, "I love bartending. I love taking care of people. I love showing people a good time. But it was a very formal atmosphere. This venue suits my personality a lot better."

When Margot isn't working, she likes to cook, she loves having people over and entertaining. Margot is a vegetarian, so there's cheese, fondue, veggies, latkes and a lot of wine involved. Lately, she's been having a "bit of a problem" with on-line shopping, especially shoe shopping.

  Make KC Better » As a non-driver, easier access to mass transit. 

 It would be nice if the bus ran 24 hours a day. 

Belated Friday Fun Day

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Tomato

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Welcome to our new Friday Fun Day feature! Yep, it IS in fact Saturday, but we were playing hooky yesterday, remember? At the end of each week, we'll be posting art that goes with a chosen theme. You're all invited to play along.  This is your chance to make something, to be creative and to play. So make it, then photograph or scan it in and send us a jpeg of your art to employeelounge@gmail.com. You choose the medium, there's no deadline, we'll keep adding images as you send them in. And don't forget to tell us a little bit about your piece. If you're a blogger, send us your link. I'll get us all started!

Next week » MOBILE

"Tomato" by Linh Trieu
Felt, buttons, thread, tulle and poly-fill. Photographed and edited with arms and legs in Photoshop.

Link Love for the Weekend

EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Insanely jealous of this project and trip of a lifetime.
See all three short films here. via The Runcible Spoon
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Awed by a symphony in the sky. Read more about the project here.

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Bad Restaurant Websites.

My personal pet peeves: flash landing pages, videos that create slow

uploads and auto-play music. More important: easy to locate phone number,

menu links, directions and on-line reservations.

via Dave LaCrone on twitter

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Under Consideration has a new menu division, Art of the Menu.

It's gorgeous and so full of great menu graphics. Can't wait to see more.

Check. It. Out.
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How many times can you be rejected before you quit?
An inspiring story about never, ever giving up.
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What a name for a coffeehouse and amazing graphics too.
Same goes for this burger joint.
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A watercolor food blog. Adding to my blogroll right now.
via Halcyon Days
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Have you heard of Polldaddy? Think we're going to start using this for our blog!
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Whether it's called crème caramel, flan or crème brûlée, love it all.
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This national non-profit hosts an outstanding food fundraiser.
Benefits Asian organizations, I'm all for that. :)

Restaurant Graphics: BRGR

This photo provided by Intentio/Tara Pederson.

BRGR Kitchen + Bar by Intentio

Prairie Village, Kansas

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Art Direction, Design & Copywriting by: Tara Pederson

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 ---FONTS & LOGO--- 

"The logo concept is retro, modern feel. Retro with the staggered boxes and modern with the Gotham font (created in 2000). The PMS colors in the logo are 1815 and 497. (For the menu), we used Bodoni bold and poster for section headers and Gotham regular and bold for items and descriptions. The brown and red colors match the colors used in the logo. 

 ---PAPER+PRINTING--- 

We chose French Paper - Speckletone, Oatmeal for the menu paper because of the natural look and feel. More importantly it's 100% recycled paper and French uses hydroelectric power to make the paper. The printing is 4-color digital printed at a local printing company. 

 ---INSIDER INFO--- 

I was responsible for the branding, art direction, design and copy. I have a small studio called Intentio Branding + Design in Colorado, however, I am moving to Kansas in just a few weeks to work for Bread & Butter Concepts, the parent company for BRGR Kitchen + Bar, Urban Table and Gram & Dun. I covered the naming, logo design, branding, messaging themes, advertising, social media, website, public relations, signage, uniforms, packaging, menus, any marketing piece you've seen relating to BRGR. Two things that I love about the BRGR branding project are the bathroom stall names and the kids' menu chalkboards. It's great to work with a restaurant owner that lets you make fun design decisions. Currently, I do all the menu updates from Denver and get them printed locally (in Kansas City). I will be a local very soon and looking forward to it!"

{Tara Pederson} 

 ---AWARDS+ACCOLADES--- 

BRGR Kitchen + Bar was named 2010 "Best New Restaurant" from KC Magazine and both "Best New Restaurant" (readers' choice) and "Best Burger" (editorial choice) in The Pitch's "Best of Kansas City" awards. You can read more press here.

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Interiors by Realm Architecture

zach t.

Zach T. | Sous Chef

715

Years of Industry Service: 13

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Zach wears a pencil behind his ear when he works because "I'm kind of forgetful," he says. He takes lots of notes all the time, produce he has to order, everything has to be written down before it flies away. Zach worked for Chef Mike before, at another restaurant in Lawrence, for about four years. When Mike left, Zach stayed for a while, but soon, he walked away too, and he went straight back to his old boss. Unfortunately, there wasn't a spot available. Not right away anyways. Eventually, he got in and he started with three shifts a week and now he works about 65 hours a week.

Zach was butchering a saddle of lamb, the most difficult cut of meat he's ever worked on because it was only the second time he's ever done it. Working at 715, a smaller restaurant than where he came from, there's more time to work on and learn new things while having the freedom to be more specialized and creative. Zach would much prefer to work for someone, he doesn't have grand plans to open his own restaurant. "Investing your own money is a big deal." Now he works with a group of decent people, not a "cocksucker," and that makes coming to work all the much easier. To which he says, "Mom, you taught me how to swear like that." 

Zach is 27 and single. You can read between the lines about what he does with his free time. 

  Make KC/Lawrence Better » Zach loves both cities, but he wants KC to be more concentrated and for Lawrence to be just a little big bigger. 

the perfect lunch

Pot Pie

Kansas City, Missouri // Westport

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Pot Pie is one of my most favorite restaurants in Kansas City even though I don't get down there as often as I'd like. Tina and I were there right before dinner, but looking at the pictures this morning, this looks like my ideal lunch. A big, welcoming bowl of steaming hot goodness and a cocktail. 

--- {1} ---

Man of War, $6-ish (I think)

Victor was serving that day, but he was behind the bar when we came in. He asked if I knew what I wanted or if I was open to trying whatever he made. You should always be open to trying new things. Then, he asked about the flavors I preferred and moments later, a perfectly un-sweet, not too tart drink landed in my hands. 

Knob Creek Bourbon, lime juice, Dolin Sweet Vermouth, splash of bitters, cherry

--- {2} ---

Pot Pie, $8 at lunch/$12 at dinner

Since I had a late lunch, Tina was the one devouring the pot pie. All I know was that the crust

was beautifully golden and it smelled like heaven. Two options: chicken or beef.

rachel e.

Rachel E. | Retail Manager

Christopher Elbow

Years of Industry Service: 12

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Although Rachel hasn't actually worked in a restaurant, for the past 12 years, she has always worked around food, but on the retail side. Rachel was working the chocolate counter at Dean & Deluca out in Leawood when she met her current boss Christopher Elbow, Chris as she calls him, and she was 17-years-old. Now she manages his storefront on McGee. "People wanting to be in retail is kind of a dying breed," she says. "I want to be around people." Rachel enjoys striking up conversations with her customers, educating them about chocolate, which is a topic that opens to a lot of other conversations. She loves that she can give a little sweet to someone to change the course of their day. When she asks her customers how they are doing, she really cares and wants to know, she's not just paying lip service and going through the motions.

Rachel grew up in Kansas City and is one of five children. In fact, she is "smack dab in the middle" so she had to learn how to speak up. She is a dancer, teaches part-time and has her own dance company, Kansas City Movement. She does mostly modern dance and her company often performs at the Off center Theatre at Crown Center. "Almost everyone in my family is an artist," she says. "It's pretty neat to be part of that. And we're foodies, we love food." Rachel loves to eat sushi but finds it too difficult to make. Her favorite food to cook is any type of Italian. "You can do so much with it and there's lots of variety."
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Full Disclosure: We got two beautiful chocolates each....for free. Hells yes. So good.

  Make KC Better » Make art more accessible and free. 

george d.

George D. | Cook/Greeter

Grinders

Years of Industry Service: 60

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George, his brother and their Hungarian-born parents were "refugees from Hitler," thus his brother was born in Turkey while he was born in Cyprus. He grew up in East Africa, specifically Kenya and his father spoke nine languages. He came to Kansas City in 1954 with a scholarship to The University of Kansas. "I fell in love with the place and here I am." George has no regrets about where his life has taken him. "There are no regrets, you learn a lot," he says. "In the long run, the knowledge you acquire, you cannot buy."

Before George came to Grinders, he had his own place on Main Street for 24 years, George's Cheese and Sausage Shop. All his employees were students from the Kansas City Art Institute and he never had to hire anyone. The seniors brought in their own replacements. "In 24 years, I was never short a nickel," he said. "That was the caliber of the students. Some of the kids still come here (to Grinder's) with their kids." Twelve years ago, he lost the lease to his shop on 4546 Main. That space is now occupied by The Salon. Local Kansas City icon Stretch had asked George to help him open up Grinders, and he said he'd do it on one condition: get a truck and come pick up all the tables and silverware from his former shop. The wooden tables you now eat on and rest your beers upon are all formerly from George's Cheese and Sausage Shop, tables well-loved and well-used for the past 36 years.

George also worked for employee-owned grocery store, Hy-Vee. He was a greeter and won the Legendary Customer Service Award from the company. His face is on their delivery trucks and the gold ring he wears on his left hand represents his years of outstanding service. George says, "In other words, I did a good job for them."

And long before he started his career in the service industry, George was a photographer, shooting with a Leica, and mostly in black and white. Color film was too expensive. These days, he is taking computer classes at Johnson County Community College which is free for senior citizens. He cooks Hungarian food for Grinder's customers on Mondays. The rest of the time, he comes in and is a greeter, talking to customers and keeping active. "It's a lot of fun doing this, working here," he said. "It's better than sitting at home watching Oprah."

  Make KC Better » Keep doing what you're doing, open friendliness.

 This is an asylum for people to come for peace and to make a life. 

craig k.

Craig K. | Bartender

Pot Pie

Years of Industry Service: 15

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Craig got married, bought a house and had a baby in the space of one year, something that he probably didn't foresee happening when he was "going out nine nights a week" and living the bartender bachelor life. His daughter is now 16-months-old and he said, "We ended up buying a house with the biggest yard I've ever seen." With a big yard comes great responsibility. To become the master of his land, Craig is now back in school to learn horticulture, carting around books the size of bibles from the 1800s (massive) and pouring hundreds of dollars into said books.

In addition to bartending, Craig has his own greeting card company, Coffee Stain Cards, that he started ten years ago. As he stood in line at Hallmark, he realized that their cards weren't for him. So he went home and started writing. With some encouragement from a friend, he was able to turn that into a business. His cards are full of naughty "adult" humor along the lines of someecards.com (which he doesn't read lest it influence his own writing). His first sale was to Middlebirds Gift Shop, formerly on Johnson Drive. They bought all 24 of his cards and he thought he was going to be an instant millionaire. He's not quite there yet, but Coffee Stain cards are sold across the United States. You can buy them on-line or locally at Cellar Rat. Even though Craig has quit drinking and is now a dad, he doesn't think his sense of humor has changed. "But my surroundings have changed and it's changed me."

Craig went on a trip to Africa with his mother and brother a few years ago. After their father had passed away, their mom quietly saved money to take her sons on a trip of a lifetime. She had asked Craig what he thought about Africa, but he said no, it wasn't something he could afford to do. She surprised them both by saying that it was pretty much a done deal. "I could basically swing a camera around (my head) and get a good shot," he said. "When I went there, I thought the animals would be the focus, but it was the landscape." One day, Craig would like to be able to take his daughter to Africa.

  Make KC Better » To really compete with other cities, we need light rail. 

 Every time I travel, other cities have this great transportation systems. 

Irish Golf Tourney

 Klein Memorial Golf Tournament

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We sponsored Hole 11 at the Klein Memorial Golf Tournament this past Saturday.

Players were encouraged to dress in their Irish best and we poured shots of

Jameson and Bailey's for everyone. This is our second year hosting the tournament

(our first as The Employee Lounge) and we've lucked out so far with the weather.

It was cool and rainy for the most of the day, it only got hot the last couple of hours!

Cute, little mushrooms dotted the greens everywhere.

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Just a few snapshots of some of the teams who played this year. The Peak Performance

fundraising committee (group with kid) came out to support the Kleins as well.

Our friend, Matt F. of Story and his son/our mascot Grayson are volunteers

and help at the hole. All the ladies loved Grayson. And I do mean all of them.
For more golf pics, check out their facebook page.

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Link Love for the Weekend

Illustration used with permission from Sweet. Bitter. Tart.

This recipe had me craving oysters.
The illustrations on the rest of the blog are really fantastic too.
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I've always respected teachers, but until I lived next door to one, I never really understood the long hours and dedication is takes to be an educator. This excellent commentary discusses the myth of excellent teachers in a stressed education system.
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How much would you pay for a 200-year-old bottle of wine?
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Dogs shaking off water, a wonderful series of pet portraits.
via aigakc on twitter
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"I'm sorry, I'm still kind of new to this." Best brush-off evah!
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We got the tables turned - an interview with The Employee Lounge
over at the House of Georges.
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This looks delicious - watermelon and pineapple slush....with tequila of course.
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Have you ever seen a folding bicycle? So cute!
via frolic
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Little Mac, the link we shared with you last week, became Homeroom.
And they're doing great!
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This food zine is gorgeous, great colors, layering, imagery and the recipes, yum.
via Grace Bonney @designsponge on twitter