There's only one word to describe the opening of The Blue Pig, and that's WOOHOO!! Greg's Grand Opening was last Thursday and the place was full!
Needless to say, the weeks leading up to the opening were madly busy, and those last few days totally insane. On Wednesday afternoon, I sprayed a final coat of varnish on the giant blue pig, made of papier maché by Indira and her crew at entreamigos, painted and glittered by yours truly...
and in the nick of time, up she went!
Her name is Delilah. She told me while I was tickling her pork belly with a paintbrush.
Delilah wasn't the only thing finished in the nick of time. Pam was busy day and night painting the main sign, finishing menus, picking up t-shirts and writing flyers for opening weekend, which she also posted around several nearby towns. We'd both had lots of interested questions that week, from people passing her house as she painted and from people passing the restaurant where I worked on Delilah in the front lobby. Many of whom showed up for the grand opening, by the way!
As for Greg...you can just imagine. Cooking up his famous barbecue sauces, buying ingredients, ordering ribs, finishing the room, mixing batches of potato salad and carrot slaw, advising on the menu, picking up kegs of Negra Modelo and Modelo Especial, zooming back and forth from San Pancho to Vallarta and Bucerias and La Peñita, trying to sleep a few hours now and then.
Bill, his bilingual aide-de-camp, was on the phone constantly with orders and calls to vendors, stove fixers, waiters and everyone else in Mexico. Bill's son, Beau, was running errands and helping out all over the place, fetching the produce guy in his truck, bringing water to the painters and spiffing up the entry.
But it all came together. By Saturday, when the band Deep River came to play, the place was humming...and pretty soon, the joint was a'rockin'!
Platters of fallin' off the bone pork ribs, pulled pork, and moist chicken flew out of the kitchen. Behind the bar, Daniel poured draft beers and mixed drinks. The waiters, all local, slipped among the tables serving up barbecue and libations. And the band rocked out.
They announced a song dedicated to Greg and Pam, who had first heard them in Bucerias some time ago and knew they had to be a part of the Pig. The song was a blues shuffle, maybe the best kind of song in the world to dance to. Greg came out of the kitchen, Pam from behind stacks of orders and receipts, and out they went to the dance floor.
It was Dream Come True night, and that's a fact.
I joined them after a bit and we danced it out. All the elation, all the love for each other and appreciation for the work done, all the thrill of seeing this beautiful vision of Greg's become reality. Woohoo!!
(It's amazing what can happen in five months, which is how long Greg has been in San Pancho.)
When the song ended, Greg went back to the kitchen to plate up piles of his delicious concoctions, cooked with passion...
...which plates invariably come back to the dish washer (yay, Nico!) looking like this:
Busy busy busy. A learning curve, certainly. How much food to buy? How much staff to employ? What best way to do this or accomplish that?
Greg already had a platter for two or three to share called The Big Pig, but after a night or two, he added an even bigger one. It's called Delilah's Delight, of course.
It's no coincidence that the motto above the front door reads Come La Vida Como Puerco, which means "eat life like a pig".
The whole thing's kind of a kick, don't you think?
And the band played on.
The Blue Pig is open every day but Wednesday from 3 to 10 p.m. Live music featuring Deep River is Saturday from 4 to 7.
Looks like my brother hit a home run.
The Blue Pig has a Facebook page, of course:
And here's a link to San Pancho Life and another article on The Blue Pig:
The Blue Pig on San Pancho Life
Come on up, why dontcha? Delilah'd be pleased to make your acquaintance...and your tummy won't regret it, I promise you that.
♥ ♥ ♥
OK....2 weeks since I've been able to read the blog. Congratulations Greg! Looks superb! Looking forward to visiting and eating someday soon! Now about that guy on the cymbals Candice! OMG!
Whats up for Xmas? Is Nina coming?
xoxo
Posted by: Char | December 18, 2011 at 11:17 PM
Wow. Wonderful article, baby sister! It HAS been a dream come true, for a fact. When pigs fly, miracles WILL happen. Thank you to Candice for her unrelenting enthusiasm and support. Thank you all for giving me the chance to make a life-long dream come true!
Posted by: Greg Close | December 18, 2011 at 04:04 PM
¡Felicidades, Greg! And big congrats to everyone who helped get The Pig off the ground! Really look forward to enjoying good food and good times underneath Delilah's wings...and thanks especially for reminding me that pigs can fly. ¡Saludos!
Posted by: Travis | December 16, 2011 at 06:01 PM
All I can do is GASP.... what a wonderful, dream come true, make it work, pig fairy tale come true... It will be famous... not hard to predict that! CONGRATULATIONS to everyone.
Posted by: Gretchen Goodliffe | December 16, 2011 at 05:22 AM