Our Progress to Date
My buddy, Mark Sanders of Ninth Ward Nursery and me.
“Diamonds are nothing more than chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs.”
I thought I’d write a note to let y’all know where we’re at in our progress of building out the store. It’s been a long wait to find the ideal location for We Bite, including throughout the last year that our previous store was open. It was important to keep the business close to where our roots began, which was in the Marigny. We tried the Healing Center, a few locations on St. Claude and even at the shopping center where Robert is on Elysian Fields. The rents were either too high or they wanted us to have a ton of money to finish the physical buildout of the store, including paying for the laying of concrete on a dirt floor. The interiors of two locations was infested with black mold, which would have required more knowledge than I had to remediate it. But here we are now, two years later with just the right sunny spot on Franklin Avenue and St. Claude.
The walls are painted although they’ll require some touching up this weekend. The shelving needs to be constructed and then all of the final touches of what I’m calling “Phase 1” will be added closer to the finish line. With more funding “Phase 2” will be more extensive and will fill in the character of the store that I’ve been dreaming of for many years. The intention is to eventually create a space that will look like the baby of a tiki bar and the Addams Family (fellow Puerto Rican Raul Julia’s era). “Phase 1” will likely be our functional phase — get the place looking decent and ready to house hundreds of plants, including a grow space for the harder to acquire carnivorous plants. But maybe a miracle will happen and somehow we’ll be able to fund a version of “Phase 2” during “Phase 1”.
There is so much to consider when building a store and every day something new gets added. At some point, I have to focus on marketing so that folks know that we exist after our day one opening on March 2. I’m also in the process of raising funds to ensure we can add things like additional shelving, fog machines, decor, hanging grates so that plants can live just above you while browsing, t-shirts, stickers, more plants, employees and more. I’ll have to contract workers to do things that I have no experience doing. And then, of course, is signage, artwork for the walls, artificial creeping vines…the list goes on. As of now, this project has only one person, myself doing it all with only a month and a half to spare.
My stress is under control due to my excitement and determination to get this done. There’s nothing like the need to provide for my family to fuel any arduous and worthy endeavor. Aside from my family, I want y’all to know that you’re always on my mind every step, every nail, every screw, every cut along the way because I want to make this place worthy of our city and exceed your expectations. It may take a while to fulfill my vision but it’s coming no matter what.
I also want to share that we are doing a crowdfund for our space. With more funds, we can get to the finish line with a space that more closely resembles my “Phase 2” plans and hire some folks to help me out. We can use every dime we can get to make this dream a reality. Either way, I thank you for taking the time to learn our progress and hope to see you soon.
Big hugs,
Carlos
You are a saint. This helps us acquire so many things that will be needed at the store. Bless ya!
Limited to 5
Opening Day Access: Shop from 9am - 10am prior to the shop opening to the public.
$250 We Bite Gift Card, Redeemable In-Shop Only
Special Thank You Gift
We Bite T-Shirt
Free Plant 2” pot (we’ll make it a good one) - Available In-Shop
We Bite Gift Card will be emailed to you after purchase and will be redeemable in shop only. Thank You Gift, We Bite T-Shirt and Free Plant in 2” Pot will be available for pick up at the shop.