We Are Thankful For: the WWC and the soon to be WWC Jr.

Hi there! Long time no blog!! I know you all have been DYING to hear from us and catch up on the latest. Well, here are the updates on the Whitman Wellness Center and news about our future “WWC Jr.”

The WWC has officially been open for 1.5 months. If you weren’t there or haven’t heard, the Grand Opening was wildly successful. I don’t think any of us were expecting the turnout-- we estimated ~500 people walking through the center doors at some point during the event. The free mini yoga sessions were a hit, sample treatment and massage stations were always occupied, guests raved about the Wellness Café treats and the live band was awesome. Check out photos online @ www.whitmanwellnesscenter.com.

As far as business… it’s going great! There are new people coming in daily asking for tours and/or signing up for classes; massages and facial rejuvenation seem to be the most popular treatments booked; we have established a small group of morning café regulars; the Tuesday night doubleheader yoga classes are the busiest of the week; and with the holidays around the corner, our retail items and gift card sales are growing.

2011 is looking like a great and fruitful year for the WWC… and for this we are very thankful!!! We are also thankful (and hopeful) for our SECOND ENDEAVOR down south!

While Antonia is in MA holding down the fort at the WWC, I’m here in MD researching and visiting possible locations for our next adventure, a.k.a WWC Jr. (official name: TBA). Antonia flew down a couple weeks ago to narrow down our search and is traveling again next week, where we hope to narrow it down even more.

The search for space has been far and wide. So many details, so many variables, so many options… so very scary and exciting all at the same time! OBVIOUSLY we are being very organized and orderly about this process (helloooo, do you not know us?!?). To date, 14 possible locations have been visited. This map (which is, duh, color coded) shows most of the places seen, need to see, biggest competitors, etc.

I’ve been focusing mostly in Maryland, but hope to venture out to Virginia to make sure we aren’t missing any possible opportunities before Antonia’s second visit.

We’ve set a deadline to select our location by December 31^st, 2010. It’s going to be a tough decision, and definitely one of the most important decisions of our lives… no pressure!

Stay tuned for more updates and the official location announcement of our newest baby!

From all of us on the south shore, MA and “the south,” MD (I hate when people refer to Maryland as the south!)… We hope you have a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

-Arlet

Here’s a pic of Antonia and I with the Reflecting Pool/Lincoln Memorial alllll the way in the background. This was followed by happy hour and yummy sushi in our Nation’s Capital. :)

Chew on this!

I can’t believe how far we have come and how fast time has flown since we started this adventure.  Our grand opening is in 1 week… and it’s going to be a busy week!  I’m actually heading back to MD to help work a festival at my church (insert plug here: www.stmaryaac.org/en/food_festival/).  I won’t be back until days before the opening-- I’m freaking out!  Well, less freaking out and more sad about missing anything.  

SO much has happened since our last post.  The highlight was our official tasting for the Wellness Café.  OMG!  We ate SO much delicious, and I mean DE-LI-CIOUS food!  Thanks to the Cappellini Family for hosting (shout out: Cara, Kristi & Scott for your amazing treats and smoothie skills).

We had delectable delights: “morning glory” muffins, blueberry muffins, vegan chocolate w/chocolate fudge muffins, pumpkin chocolate chip cake, pumpkin spice cupcakes w/cream cheese frosting.

pumpkin spice cupcakes

morning glory muffins

vegan chocolate cupcakes

We sampled an AMAZING butternut squash soup and a super tasty vegetable soup (thanks Kristi!).  Then came... of course… the crepes!!  I like to call this pic “Crepes: the morning after”

crepes!

We topped off the tasting with fruit smoothies fresh from the Vitamix 5200-- our new blender that rocks our world!  It was our first real “splurge” for the center and we are 100% satisfied with this impulse buy. 

At the end of the tasting, we were able to confirm our fall menu as well as what we were going to prep for the grand opening shindig.  You will have to come to the WWC to experience these mouth-watering pleasures first hand!

Our menu is set for the cafe and grand opening, construction is coming to a close-- with newly restored floors, lights are wired and hanging, SEVERAL trips to IKEA, restaurant depot for a supply shopping trip, and even a wine and cheese Meet and Greet with our instructors... all checked off the list!

The week wouldn’t be complete without a good cry.  Myself, Antonia, LeeAnn and Cara got a little teary eyed this morning when Antonia and I showed up late to our 9am meeting because we were picking up a special gift for the best bosses in the world!

Arlet

our gift to Cara and LeeAnn

restaurant depot

car full from restaurant depot!

another full car from the ikea trip (I sat like that the whole way home!)

opening: 18 days and counting...

Major updates for this week at the WWC.


We finally determined and picked up all the paint this week.  Many thanks to Dana @ Factory Paint for helping us!  My personal favorite is Birds Egg (Benjamin Moore) for the larger yoga studio.  The majority of the center is going to be Shaker Beige (also Benjamin Moore), its a great color and really compliments our dark brown furniture.   The primer is going on tomorrow, and then we finally get to see the colors on the walls early next week!  

We picked up all our appliances this week too - I've never imagined going to Lowes so many times in my life, it was very overwhelming.  Picking up a freezer and refrigerator was quite the adventure.  Thankfully my cousin Alex came to help us, otherwise nothing would have got back safe!  We had a lot of people help in the Lowes parking lot, it was quite the sight!  Our display case was delivered today and it really completes the place.  Thanks to Jim @ East Coast for all his help in finding our perfect refrigerated display case.  The cabinets are also going in this week, and our custom counter top and bar area are being built.  Check out some photos!  

Alex's full truck @ Lowes!

loving our appliances

wellness cafe!

where the crepe making happens until the cafe opens...

Since the center is being built in the old Commonwealth Shoe Factory that was built in 1900, the floors are beautiful hardwood, but have seen a lot of wear and tear!  We love the feel of the original floors so we're having them buffed up, but you will still be able to see the imperfections of the wood.  Here's a photo of the old shoe factory and the floors being redone.

UPS is having a real hard time delivering to us since our sign isn't complete yet.  After I was told all our packages had "exceptions" I called them and was told they couldn't find the center to deliver without a sign (they refuse to change the delivery address on the package to the realty office), so we made our unofficial / official sign for them.  Dear UPS - please deliver our mail.  

unofficial sign for UPS

We determined our opening date...Saturday, October 9th!  Here's the invite for the open house - spread the word and come by to enjoy all the WWC has to offer.  Check back in for updates on all the opening party details.

And just to make this the longest post EVER...I'll leave you with a photo of Arlet and I from this weekend.  We took some time off from the WWC and I played tour guide - taking Arlet to Boston on Saturday and Plymouth on Sunday.  We took a lovely walking guided tour of Plymouth and it was a beautiful day! 

Thanks for reading such a long post!


-Antonia

Massachusetts is getting colder, but the WWC is HOT HOT HOT!

It was quite an interesting week last week with our PM’s gone (PM = Project Managers, aka Antonia and Arlet). The girls were on vacation leaving Cara and I to hold down the center....Wow! What we learned during this time is how truly grateful we are and so fortunate to have them both here working with us to build the Whitman Wellness Center.

While our Project Managers were gone, Cara and I managed to complete most of our to-do lists. The biggest item on my list was the yoga class and workshop schedules. This was a huge undertaking that I have been working on for weeks!

The schedule has been made for our 42 yoga classes; both heated and unheated, along with Zumba classes.

The workshops have been scheduled for almost every week through December. Therapy Rooms are filling with massage, Reiki and Acupuncture.

The walls are up, paint is ready to go on the walls, appliances are bought, seating bought, crepes still being made and taste-tested every morning!

Cara, Antonia and Arlet went on their first (of many I’m sure) big shopping trips to New York City earlier this week, which resulted in wonderful retail for our Wellness Shop.

Antonia has discovered and is obsessed with a computer program that allows you to map out spaces to scale and in 3-D (see picture below).

Wellness Cafe!

Arlet is obsessed with lists, inventorying and taking care of the details.

Cara is energized with seeing the Café come to life.

As for me… well, I am just glad everyone is back in their places and working on the details… because I’m exhausted!

Simply,

LeeAnn

Check out the new walls! It totally changes the space:

walking in...

reception area

Wellness Cafe

retail area

relaxation room

yoga room 1

yoga room 2

Lights!

Last week was a big week!  We found an amazing refrigerated display case and we're having it delivered this week!  Thanks to Jim @ East Coast Restaurant Supplies (in Whitman!)  for showing us all around his shop and helping us find "the one".  After a little paint job (Thanks to the Cappellinis!) it will fit in perfectly in the Wellness Cafe.  We also got our stove / oven  and sink.  The cafe is finally coming together. 


While the yoga rooms require a lot less space planning, we made some progress and got our lights delivered last week (thanks Sonya!)  Arlet and I had seen them in an NYC studio and tracked them down at Ikea.  They fit our lofty look perfectly!

Arlet and I are on "vacation"  this week (Arlet in MD, me in Mexico) and we've left Cara and Mom/LeeAnn in charge of all the WWC responsibilities.  The top priorities of their list include: making sure the insulation goes in, getting website copy together, and placing the yoga supplies order.  Next Monday we're all reuniting in NYC for our long awaited shopping day.  Stay tuned for a recap of our trip!

Cara and Mom have a lot to accomplish this week but I'm confident they will get everything done!  I promise to keep check in calls / texts from Mexico to a minimum.

-Antonia

Logo'd!

Week Three at the Whitman Wellness Center.  Things are coming along so well, thanks to the entire group working on getting the center up and running.  LeeAnn, Antonia, Arlet and I are a great group all bringing our own talents to the process.

The most exciting part of the week is the Whitman Wellness Center now has a logo!

Erin Alexander created this for us and we are all so happy with it. They say that your sign is the first impression of your business.  It truly is a great representation of the Whitman Wellness Center. 

Official Logo of the Whitman Wellness Center!

This week we also became an official business of the United States. We got our federal tax ID number. So exciting!!!  We're planning a big trip to NYC to put our tax id number to good use at all the amazing wholesale only shops. (be sure to visit the retail area for our NYC goods).

Other big news is that our website is being created as we speak.  Check out www.whitmanwellnesscenter.com for links to our facebook page and feel free to email me at cara@whitmanwellnesscenter.com with any questions about the WWC.

Construction is moving along on time and all the first phase of the electric work has been complete.  Next week is the sheetrock and insulation.  Many thanks to Keith for keeping everything on schedule!

We will be finishing up our menu for the Wellness Cafe. We are still practicing with our crepes but they look beautiful - Antonia and Arlet make a crepe daily, they are working really hard perfecting our recipes!

banana, organic pb, local honey, cinnamon

it didn't last too long!

filled with blueberry jam and topped with locally grown blueberries

Be sure to check back in for more updates!

-Cara

meatballs & more...

Today was the first day that we all officially crossed over to the “what are we doing?!” side.  I think we jinxed ourselves when we said that things were just falling into place and seemed kind of “easy.”  Despite our minor freak-out moments, a lot has happened this week… but of course a lot more needs to happen! 

We started the week on a high note when we took a 3-hour field trip to IKEA to pick out our lighting fixtures and front desk/reception area furniture (which by the way, we are in love with)!  No trip to IKEA is complete without a taste of their swedish meatballs.  It was Cara’s first time and she loved them!

We kept in the decorating theme and also finalized our carpet choice for the smaller yoga studio as well as the relaxation room.  The WWC is proud to announce that Stonehenge 3650 is our official carpet of choice.  Very exciting!!

stonehenge

Other than decorating, we also met with our heating/cooling people and electrician.  Thank goodness there is a HVAC expert in the family.  They definitely speak a different language that we don’t speak.  Heating the HOT yoga rooms are going to be a little bit of a challenge, but we think we figured it out today.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that our monthly heating bill is going to be higher than we estimated… looks like we are going to have keep shopping at IKEA and not Crate and Barrel!  Another money saving bonus is that Keith (our landlord) will be funding our crepe machine… hence ‘Crepe of the Day’ was born!

Here are some pics of the space… it’s coming along!

The contractors are ahead of schedule and all of the framing is up.  Next is electric and plumbing.

Highlight of the day: The carpet man's ringtone was Adam Lambert’s ‘Whataya Want From Me’ haha

-Arlet

reception area

retail area and relaxation room (behind it)

yoga room 1

yoga room 2

massage / treatment room 1

massage / treatment room 2

wellness cafe (think: cupcake of the day!)

Lease is signed!

In just 6 short weeks the Whitman Wellness Center will open its doors.  The WWC will be home to 2 yoga studios (including HOT yoga), massage rooms, a fresh food cafe, smoothie bar, and a retail area that will allow locals to avoid the trip to Derby Street in order to pick up lux goods.


The space is completely raw and since its combining two lots in the building, its being completely built to our liking.  That definitely sounds like an ideal situation - moving into a place that is completely YOURS, but not until this past week did I realize what that actually involved.  I never thought I would need to know this much about duct work, building codes (who knew a massage room needed to be within 50 feet of a handsink?), electricity, power, health codes and X walls (walls that cannot be moved and are part of the structural soundness of a building).  All in all lease signing week worked out in the end.


Pre week set backs:
1) were told we couldn't move the X wall and needed to reconfigure the entire space
2) might still need to move the sink
3) thought we couldn't have a stove due to the restored building codes
4) one sleepless night post lease signing (the "what the heck did I just get myself into?" phase) 


Pre week PROS:
1) X wall got moved
2) massage rooms need to be near sinks, not full bathrooms (phew)
3) electric stove is approved (just not gas!) 
4) project plan is in place - 6 weeks is looking good
5) lease is SIGNED!


Check back in next week to see our progress!


-Antonia

Lee-Ann signing the lease!