Bo Bistro Restaurant and Westside Laundromat, Hood River, OR
This project began by purchasing a 5000 sq/ft building with 3 apartments on the 2nd floor in Hood River, OR.
There was an existing bar business that served minimal food. The concept was to revamp the entire operation
creating a sports bar, NY style pizza and italian food restaurant and also create a new laundromat.
The concept is known as 'suds n duds' where the laundromat is internally connected to the restaurant thereby
allowing laundry customers to easily get food and beverage while doing wash. With the sports bar and pizza, think
slice of pizza with a beer while watching football or local sports videos instead of whirring tumbling laundry machines.
It took 3 months of remodel to upgrade the restaurant concept and build the laundromat. I was the prime contractor
for 8 subcontractors as well as doing a large amount of construction work myself.
After the opening I managed and worked the entire operation including complete responsibility for 6-15 employees
depending on the season, including payroll; cooking and bartending; all food and liquor management; all advertising
including creating copy; Oregon lottery management; repairs and maintenance to both laundromat and restaurant
equipment; pioneered streaming real time tv content from early internet; landlord for the 2nd floor apartments.
At the time Hood River was dealing with a structural declining lumber industry and loss of other agricultural industry.
However there was the promise of a large new 'industry' of windsurfing and athletic outdoor tourism. The Columbia
River Gorge was dubbed the 'windsurfing capital of the world' due to the fantastic summer winds and waves on that
stretch of the Columbia river. Nearby Mt Hood has 2 famous ski areas and the only year round skiing in the US 48.
