The Making of Zahav

It's been chilly in the Zahav space, and it's not a matter of economics.

Going into the project, partners Steven Cook and Michael Solomonov knew that the restaurant's heating and air conditioning systems were essentially shot. So they dug deep -- more than $20,000 deep -- and bought new, zoned systems.

On my visit Thursday 1/3/08, they were awaiting PGW to inspect the work and switch it on. The air-conditioning will face its big test this spring, hopefully after Zahav's opening.

They're still saying April, and I'm starting to come around to agree with this timetable (wince!), which is essentially 90 days off. Construction guy Ofer, who oversaw work at both Osteria and Gayle in recent years, is a whirling dervish, and seems to have a handle on logistics -- and keeping his crews happy.

After the wood-burning oven was cleaned out the other day, he threw in some wood and built a fire.

During their breaks, the construction workers toasted bread, warmed bagels and even baked potatoes on the hearth. When I stopped by, the fire was down to embers, and someone left a stray potato. The guys were thinking about cooking fish, but Solomonov thought they may be getting ahead of themselves. (Mike has other fish to fry; read on.)

Since new year's, Ofer and his crews closed up those deep trenches in the concrete floor from the new pipes. They also began studding out the walls; that work is due to be finished Friday 1/4. Electricians next will show up and run the wiring. Then the walls will be done. Floor tiles are due to arrive on Tuesday 1/8, but it will be some time before they're laid.

Now for Solomonov's fish to fry. He's joining Snackbar chef Jonathan McDonald (below) on Monday 1/7 for a $70-a-head tasting at Snackbar, 20th and Rittenhouse. The dinner is not a Zahav menu-sampling, I'm told. Rather, it's a collaboration of Solomonov's Israeli stuff and Johnny Mac's molecular gastronomy,

Here's the menu -- which oughta send you scurrying to the dictionary (or at least my hyperlinks):

1. falafel. tahini. parsley foam.
2. truffled lebneh. malauch. lamb tartar.
3. mackerel. curry preserved banana. chervil puree. lime-vanilla.
4. roulade of ribeye cap and lobster. fennel. mahleb. chorizo cherry consomme.
5. cashel blue quince spheres. white chocolate.
6. havlah souffle. salted toffee. pomegranate. bay leaf powder.

There's an optional $20 beer pairing.
reservations through jam@phillysnackbar.com

If you heard a lot of muttering from the Zahav site on Tuesday (1/8/08), here's why: Gothic Stone Collection in West Conshohocken drove in with the $12,000 worth of limestone tile that will serve as the floor of Zahav.

How much does $12,000 in limestone tile weigh? About 40,000 pounds, says Zahav co-owner Steven Cook -- who apparently did not anticipate that a 40-foot truck would be needed to deliver it. The truck could not make the turn into Society Hill Towers' loading dock.

The crew decided to lower the pallets of tiles from the truck's gate to the ground, where a pallet jack would be used to cart them in. Two of the 12 pallets got down before the lift's battery quit. This sent up a scramble to borrow a forklift. Success. The pallets of tiles are now stacked in what will become the restaurant's upscale-dining room, which will be called The Quarter.

What was at stake here: another $800 delivery charge. If the delivery couldn't be made and the full truck had to return to West Conshy, Zahav would have to pay for it.

Expect another post, with photos, over the weekend.

Restaurateurs, designers and architects like to say they scour the world for furnishings.

Neil Stein told me that he went to France for the chairs for Rouge and he spent $1,200 each for them, in 1998 dollars. (Stein also most likely had one heck of a time in France picking out the chairs.) Artist/entrepreneur J. Seward Johnson built the luxe restaurant Rat's in Hamilton Township, N.J., around the lumber from an old barn he bought in upstate New York.

Steven Cook and Michael Solomonov are playing with a total $700,000 budget, and so must stay close to home. And to reality.

Their 25 or so tables, chairs, bar stools and chef's table have all been sourced locally. They're also using Neil Inverso in Northeast Philly, whose specialty is custom banquettes.

This stuff will be delivered in March; remember that they're still insisting April for the opening. Not only April, but April 1.

We'll see... Ofer the construction dude is out of the country this week, and a crew of electricians is wiring the place.

So they're looking for a lighting fixture to hang over the bar, and maybe a faux window or two for decoration. And architect Elisabeth Knapp got this idea to stitch together Middle Eastern-style rugs to create one large "magic carpet" for Zahav's high-end dining room, which they've dubbed "The Quarter."

A field trip to Material Culture, a warehouse-size furnishings store off the Roosevelt Extension, was in order.

Much of Material Culture's product line is Far Eastern, Cook explained, Perhaps Knapp could find items that might look right.

Cook found a window outside that might do. No price tag.

Then he went up into Material Culture's rug showroom, which was in disarray as many of the rugs were in Atlanta for a trade show.

Cook estimated the floor space at 500 square feet -- not huge.

A saleswoman pointed Cook toward a back room off the rug showtoom, which was filled with smaller pieces of rugs that could be stitched together. She even knew of a craftsman in the western suburbs who could do the work.

Carpet-stitchers, banquette-makers. Telling you: There's no shortage of people in the region whose livelihoods are keyed to the restaurant business. Also, I haven't touched on the staff for Zahav. I have to quiz Cook and Solomonov on who will be in the kitchen and who will run the front of the house.

And I plan to discuss of the financing of the project in another installment. A crucial point in the restaurant's financing is about to come up: The "closing" of the loan. So far, many of the bills have come from the owners' pockets and their credit cards and the goodwill of vendors and suppliers.

Material Culture is at 4700 Wissahickon Ave., 215-849-8030.

As we’ve seen over the last three months, the planning of a restaurant is a complex, delicate dance among many constituencies working together. Most of the time.

More important than the fancy spices, special china, Jerusalem floor tile, or even new plumbing in the bar is the means to pay for all of that.

Zahav means gold. Building a restaurant costs money.

Steven Cook and Michael Solomonov can exhale.

The loan for Zahav closed on Friday 1/18/08.

Cook let me in on some of the financials.

Zahav’s budget is $700,000 — double the budget of their nearby Mexican place, Xochitl.

Of the $700,000, $400,000 comes from a 10-year Small Business Administration Loan, $270,000 comes from private investors (whom Cook declined to name), and $15,000 each comes from Cook and Solomonov.
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Reminds me of a scene from The Producers:
Max: The two cardinal rules of producing. One, Never put your own money in the show.
Leo: And two?
Max: [yelling] Never put your own money in the show!
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Cook says their investors freed up $100,000 at the beginning. The closing of the loan, which cinched the deal, prompted the investors to free up the remaining money. Some deals fall apart at this point; if the loan does not close and investors get edgy, the restaurateurs are left without cash.

All the while, as the investors waited for the closing, Cook and Solomonov have been running up lovely bills on AmEx. Just after the closing, Cook could pay off a $25,000 AmEx bill, though he believes that an additional $25,000 is on the card, floating till next month’s payment date. The frequent-flier miles they now have!

One sobering note: Cook says he and Solomonov have personally guaranteed the SBA loan. “We are on the hook for a lot of money,” Cook says. The 10-year loan has a four-month window, so they pay “only” interest until mid-May. (See why they’re working so hard for a May 1 opening date.)

So far, they’ve spent $30,000 toward the $70,000 liquor licenses. They’ve spent “several thousand” in professional fees, $12,000 for floor tiles, about $100,00 in plumbing, electrical work, framing and demolition, and a $20,000 deposit to the landlord (who is giving them a grace period on rent during construction). There are PECO bills and insurance during construction.

Still to come will be $70,000 to cover furniture and "small wares." There is something in the neighborhood of $50,000 budgeted for kitchen equipment, appliances, pots, pans, shelving, storage containers, utensils, etc. The contractor will be owed a few hundred thousand on the buildout, which includes all the carpentry (two bars -- drinking and chef's counter), server stations, host stand, tiling, lighting and such.

Cook estimates that $10,000 will be needed for china -- $100 a place-setting times 100 seats. A point-of-sale system — those neat electronic gadgets that allow waiters to send their orders to the kitchen and bar and allow them to swipe credit cards -- is budgeted at $18,000. Thousands will be needed for an outdoor sign as well a crane to remove the old one from the brick wall. They’re figuring on $10,000 on a sound system. Plus inventory and a public relations. Thousands to prepare for the health inspection. And capital for the opening.

Then there's the big trip to Israel — six of which the restaurant will subsidize. (The blogger's budget might cover a container of Sabra hummus and a package of pitas from Costco.)
When they return, they will have to pay to train a staff, which requires salaries, all before the doors open.

The partners say they're at the midpoint of construction. The walls are studded out, the electrical wiring is just about done, and the kitchen equipment is on order.

To a layman staring at the blueprints on the wall and seeing all the work that needs to be done, that target date of April 1 looks pretty far off. The tile floor needs to be laid in the main dining room. A subfloor needs to be installed in the private dining room, and a hand-stitched rug must be put down on top of that. They're not doing too much in the back kitchen, which includes a prep area and dishwashing.

While touring the other day, I noticed what looked like Hebrew lettering in the concrete that covers the new plumbing work. "Yes," Ofer the construction chief said, smiling. One of his workers, who does not read or write Hebrew, drew the letters for "Zahav" as the concrete was drying. Of course, this spot will be tiled over and probably never be seen again. You'll notice in the photo a black spot. David Mann, doing the sound system, analyzed the room and painted dots on the floor; the speakers will be installed above.

Ofer just returned from Israel (small town between Tel Aviv and Haifa), where he spent time with his energetic mother, known as a great home cook.

While his workers finished wiring, he bounded in the other day with a box of cream of white, a bag of flour, a package of Turkish yeast, salt, and sugar.

He warmed some water in a pot on the stove, set up a griddle and got to work on making lechuch to sample for chef-owners Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook.

Le-what?

Lechuch -- say it "leh CHOOCH" with much throat action and a bit of spitting -- is a spongy Yemenite bread, a close relative to African injera. It will be served with Yemenite soup at Zahav, and Ofer wanted to give the chefs a lesson.

The batter is thin, much like you'd use for good ol' American pancakes.

It needs to rest for about an hour, and in the cold construction site, the decision was made to cover the pot with a towel and to keep it near the pilot light.

The result was tasty -- very yeasty.