Nellie’s Bar Opens on Schedule
After an intense 3 weeks, we opened our bar on schedule December 1st. The endless details of municipal and federal permitting, together with the construction logistics and trying to find simple materials and supplies were an uphill battle. I am very fortunate to have the very best team, including a painter who worked all night and electricians who did all they were asked, even though they did not understand why everything was a priority all at once. Time is money is NOT a concept readily understood here, nor is good marketing and promotions.
Everything has a domino effect and since I have been waiting for over 2 months for my official Mexican corporation papers, including tax number, I was delayed in changing my FM3 to even operate this business. There were liquor licenses to get, agreements with Corona and Coke Cola, varying municipal permits, and of course trying to hire competent hardworking staff.
All week long my workers and team said “Don’t Worry, it will be done tomorrow” and while I quietly stressed it did all come together, albeit at the last possible second. I said I would be open on Friday, December 1st and even that morning it was less than a 50/50 chance. At 2 pm I had no electricity in my office or bar areas, since it had not yet been hooked up from the street. At 3 pm, I had no sink or water in my bar, and at 4:45 pm the liquor still had not been delivered. But our entire team preserved and we were open for full business by 6 pm. This included having 6 of the 8 hotel rooms available for viewing and the office fully furnished.
I have been very fortunate to assemble an amazing team and am privileged to be BOSS. My #1 is Jeanny who manages all of my administration. Jeanny is a lawyer from St. Domingo, Dominican Republic. Next is Yasser who is my Bar Manager. Yasser previously worked at Pachamamas and Mike’s Bar. Juanpaublo is my full time Mexican accountant and worked with AeroMexico for 15 years. Lastly is Andres, who is such a promising young man that I am lucky to be one of his mentors. Also I have just hired a wonderful Rooms Manager named Felicity who did an outstanding job helping clean up the construction mess.
I had a great turnout of supporters, including David Butterfield and Jim Grogan, who separately brought large groups of people. The developers and investors of the Whales Inn, San Clemente, and San Simeon Projects also came to bring good luck. There were Loreto Bay homeowners, local Mexicans, and some tourists who just wandered in off the street. This photo is a group of LBC homeowners from Cluster 1 that are all happily in their homes now and enjoying the camaraderie of Nellie’s Place.
My new best friend Deborah made me this gorgeous floral bouquet out of seashells, palm leaves, and bougainvillea, all salvaged from the San Simeon Beachfront development. It added the beautiful crowning touch to the friendly and comfortable atmosphere.
The bar is well stocked with premium liquors, Cornas, Pacifico and Modelo beers. Next spring we will be serving draft beer and sangria. Yasser is looking very happy here with his new bar. He makes a very good margarita and we will be experimenting with many new drinks in the weeks and months to come. We are also thinking of showcasing Baja vineyards once a month with a special tapas menu.
Even the day before, I was skeptical as December 1st was the inaugural holiday for the new President of Mexico. Although this was a statutory holiday, I had over 20 workers buzzing around the property, doing everything from painting, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, cleaning, and moving furniture. The biggest hurdle I faced was having enough cash on hand to pay everyone. Since the banks would be closed from Thursday evening through to Monday morning, the two ATMs in town ran out of money by early Friday. This meant that the machines would not be replenished for several days. When you have no access to getting cash … life just stops. Tip of the Day: Make sure you always have a good supply of pesos on hand.
Many people have been watching the building progress over the last 6 weeks, and there were several that had visited 2 hours or 2 days before opening that were skeptical that we would be ready in time. I truly believe that our waterfront office is the nicest in all of Loreto. This is Janet Rubenstein, Bob Gionfriddo, George and Sheila Pentz in the Baja BOSS office.
We are now officially open and look forward to welcoming all our friends to visit. The Bar will be open from 2 pm to 10 pm every day except Tuesday. The hotel has some rooms available now, and will be fully operational by December 15. I will be posting hotel room photos to the blog and www.BajaBOSS.com next week.
We only need 2 more yacht memberships and we will be ready to have our 45’ Carver Yacht in Loreto with full time captain by February 2007. Share a membership with two couples and its only $7500 per year each couple for 14 days exclusive use. All insurances, permits, captain and operational fees are covered in the membership fee. Email me at nellie@bajaboss.com for more info.
Thanks to everyone for their support and good wishes! This positive karma means a lot to all of us at Baja BOSS. See you in Loreto!
After an intense 3 weeks, we opened our bar on schedule December 1st. The endless details of municipal and federal permitting, together with the construction logistics and trying to find simple materials and supplies were an uphill battle. I am very fortunate to have the very best team, including a painter who worked all night and electricians who did all they were asked, even though they did not understand why everything was a priority all at once. Time is money is NOT a concept readily understood here, nor is good marketing and promotions. Everything has a domino effect and since I have been waiting for over 2 months for my official Mexican corporation papers, including tax number, I was delayed in changing my FM3 to even operate this business. There were liquor licenses to get, agreements with Corona and Coke Cola, varying municipal permits, and of course trying to hire competent hardworking staff.
All week long my workers and team said “Don’t Worry, it will be done tomorrow” and while I quietly stressed it did all come together, albeit at the last possible second. I said I would be open on Friday, December 1st and even that morning it was less than a 50/50 chance. At 2 pm I had no electricity in my office or bar areas, since it had not yet been hooked up from the street. At 3 pm, I had no sink or water in my bar, and at 4:45 pm the liquor still had not been delivered. But our entire team preserved and we were open for full business by 6 pm. This included having 6 of the 8 hotel rooms available for viewing and the office fully furnished. 
I have been very fortunate to assemble an amazing team and am privileged to be BOSS. My #1 is Jeanny who manages all of my administration. Jeanny is a lawyer from St. Domingo, Dominican Republic. Next is Yasser who is my Bar Manager. Yasser previously worked at Pachamamas and Mike’s Bar. Juanpaublo is my full time Mexican accountant and worked with AeroMexico for 15 years. Lastly is Andres, who is such a promising young man that I am lucky to be one of his mentors. Also I have just hired a wonderful Rooms Manager named Felicity who did an outstanding job helping clean up the construction mess. 
I had a great turnout of supporters, including David Butterfield and Jim Grogan, who separately brought large groups of people. The developers and investors of the Whales Inn, San Clemente, and San Simeon Projects also came to bring good luck. There were Loreto Bay homeowners, local Mexicans, and some tourists who just wandered in off the street. This photo is a group of LBC homeowners from Cluster 1 that are all happily in their homes now and enjoying the camaraderie of Nellie’s Place. 
My new best friend Deborah made me this gorgeous floral bouquet out of seashells, palm leaves, and bougainvillea, all salvaged from the San Simeon Beachfront development. It added the beautiful crowning touch to the friendly and comfortable atmosphere. 
The bar is well stocked with premium liquors, Cornas, Pacifico and Modelo beers. Next spring we will be serving draft beer and sangria. Yasser is looking very happy here with his new bar. He makes a very good margarita and we will be experimenting with many new drinks in the weeks and months to come. We are also thinking of showcasing Baja vineyards once a month with a special tapas menu. Even the day before, I was skeptical as December 1st was the inaugural holiday for the new President of Mexico. Although this was a statutory holiday, I had over 20 workers buzzing around the property, doing everything from painting, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, cleaning, and moving furniture. The biggest hurdle I faced was having enough cash on hand to pay everyone. Since the banks would be closed from Thursday evening through to Monday morning, the two ATMs in town ran out of money by early Friday. This meant that the machines would not be replenished for several days. When you have no access to getting cash … life just stops. Tip of the Day: Make sure you always have a good supply of pesos on hand.
Many people have been watching the building progress over the last 6 weeks, and there were several that had visited 2 hours or 2 days before opening that were skeptical that we would be ready in time. I truly believe that our waterfront office is the nicest in all of Loreto. This is Janet Rubenstein, Bob Gionfriddo, George and Sheila Pentz in the Baja BOSS office. 
We are now officially open and look forward to welcoming all our friends to visit. The Bar will be open from 2 pm to 10 pm every day except Tuesday. The hotel has some rooms available now, and will be fully operational by December 15. I will be posting hotel room photos to the blog and www.BajaBOSS.com next week. 
We only need 2 more yacht memberships and we will be ready to have our 45’ Carver Yacht in Loreto with full time captain by February 2007. Share a membership with two couples and its only $7500 per year each couple for 14 days exclusive use. All insurances, permits, captain and operational fees are covered in the membership fee. Email me at nellie@bajaboss.com for more info. Thanks to everyone for their support and good wishes! This positive karma means a lot to all of us at Baja BOSS. See you in Loreto!
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