The History Behind Tapas Teatro, Pen & Quill [Karzai & Friedman]

The Story of Karzai and His Station North Restaurants

Qayum Karzai owns many restaurants, but some of the most prominent restaurants he owns are located right in the center of Baltimore’s, Station North Arts and Entertainment District. Less than a year ago he opened his newest addition to his group of restaurants, Pen & Quill. Pen & Quill is located at the corner of Charles and Lanvale Street, at 1701 North Charles Street, and just north of Penn Station. Interestingly, it is located right next door to another one of his own restaurants, Tapas Teatro. Unlike Pen & Quill, which was only opened this past July, Tapas Teatro opened up in 2001. Ever since it’s opening has had much success. Tapas Teatro located right next to the famous Charles Theatre, allows many to go from a watching a great movie to grabbing something delicious to eat. When opening Pen & Quill, Karzai continued to use his initial staff, the manager of Tapas Teatro, Jared Cozart was involved in the project, also his kids were in the project. Helmand Karzai, who was working at his fathers’ restaurants and helping to run it with his mom, Patricia, was also working on the Pen & Quill Project. Both Helmand and Patricia help to run the restaurants.

Karzai’s restaurant career might have flourished with restaurants like Tapas Teatro, but he started out average.  In 2001, Tapas Teatro was not the start of Karzais restaurant career. Qayum had worked as a busboy and waiter in a restaurant prior to opening his own restaurant. He learned the in’s and out of the restaurant business while working in them. He had opened up his first restaurant, many miles away, in Chicago with one of his brothers. The restaurant was a success from day one. However his wife and kids were here, so eventually he decided to come back. His decision on returning never really did end his life in the restaurant business; in 1989 Qayum opened up an Afghan restaurant, called The Helmand, at 806 North Charles Street. From there he began his journey in the restaurant business. Since he was already a politician, and his brother was Afghanistan’s president, he did have to go back and forth between Afghanistan and here, but that did not stop him or his family from continuing to have a success in the restaurant business and continue to open up new restaurants all through Baltimore. Tapas Teatro was the second restaurant he opened in 2001.  The restaurant went well so in 2003, Karzai opened up a Bolton Hill Bistro. Now in 2014, he opened up Pen & Quill, his most recent entrepreneurial endeavor. He never offered similar cuisine in any of his restaurants, therefore engulfing different cultural experiences for people trying food from all three. The Helmand serves Afghani cuisine, while Tapas Teatro serves Spanish cuisine and the Pen & Quill serves Maryland cuisine. All of his establishments are different, and all a success since everyone gets some different type of cuisine at each of his restaurants.  There is more to these establishments than just their success that we may know of; there is a history to them, especially Pen & Quill located at Station North.

If you lived in Baltimore your entire life, then you may have heard of the Chesapeake Restaurant. The restaurant that served with great success for about 50 years, was located where Pen & Quill has now opened, that location being historic has left its mark on many peoples memory even today. Prior to the 1900s, 1701-1709 North Charles Street had five brownstone buildings on it.  It used to be a living space where several tenants could live.  In the early 1900s Hasslinger’s, who changed its name to Walker Hasslinger and Mariner’s Nook Bar opened, opened up at this location. Then in 1913, Morris Friedman had come to America and opened a storefront type grocery store. It was a new idea at the time, but finally five years later, he purchased the location (1701-09 North Charles Street).   Then starting in 1933 this location got its fame. 

           

In 1933, Friedman decided to open up the Chesapeake Restaurant, serving seafood. This restaurant became a success in no time, especially after Morris’s son, Sidney, took over and ran the business. Sidney Friedman had taken a trip to Chicago and tasted steak that he thought was very tasty, so he learned how to make it and brought the recipe back to the Chesapeake Restaurant. He made it such a success, that the restaurant got many awards, and much business. Philip Friedman (son of Morris) was young at the time, but he always watched Sidney at the restaurant and would help out in the restaurant, and according to him “Sidney was a second father to him.” The rest of Morris’s family (son Norman, and Richard (Norman’s son) came and joined the business. Philip and Philip’s son Donald were already helping in the business. Donald had expanded, opening up another restaurant in Baltimore, while Philip continued to work at the Chesapeake. A business that was running so well, many people coming to it, in a great location, no one would think that one day a fire would begin and destroy parts of the restaurant. It took a lot of money/loans to repair however, in 1983, nine years after that fire, loans were still not paid, Sidney was growing old, and Norman was losing interest, so the restaurant was set up for auctioning. Philip and Donald Friedman bought it from the rest of his family, did some repairs, and then reopened the restaurant, this time calling it The Original Chesapeake Restaurant. Only a few years of remaining open, the restaurant was forced to apply for bankruptcy since loans were not being paid off fast enough. The Friedman’s said that even though the restaurant was bringing in a profit they were forced to close. In 1986, this forced bankruptcy closed down the restaurant and it was auctioned off to a Baltimore Attorney, Robert Sapero. He tried to reopen the restaurant, but after failing he kept the restaurant closed for 25 years!!!

In 2008, Robert Sapero had to sell the property to the city, since he never reopened it or sold it.  The historic site was sold for $2.5 million using the Baltimore Development Corporation! In 2010, the property was sold once again for $2.5 million to Ernst Valery. Valery and Michael Shecter decided to remodel it and reopen a restaurant, called The Chesapeake Restaurant. According to the contract they signed they were not allowed to remodel anything until $1.5 million was paid. Qayum Karzai was supposedly also in the deal, except he backed down just before signing, which led the restaurant to be managed by Valery and his family. The restaurant did not go as well and within less than a year of opening it closed. From there it went into the hands of Qayum Karzai, this time leaving the name of Chesapeake behind. Karzai renovated the restaurant all together, including changing the name, but he still left clues of the Chesapeake Restaurant origins. The name of the bar in the Chesapeake Restaurant was Pen & Quill, hence the name of the new restaurant opened, Pen & Quill. A site that even today is famous for the Chesapeake Restaurant that people still talk about it when eating at Tapas Teatro, Helmand Karzai said.  It was about a century ago this location was run by the owners of the famous Chesapeake, and a century later the Karzai family is now running it.  The location and restaurant was a success then under the Friedman Family, and it has a successful start now under the Karzai family.

Final Reflective Blog

May 11, 2015

Wow, I can't believe the semesters coming to an end. There has been so much that has happened and so much that still can be done. This was such a busy but fun semester. I really enjoyed this class and I learned so much. In class when we were discussing with Marc what we got out, there were many things that came to mind. Like Rachel, the most important I thought was the idea of going from just learning about it to actually doing it. It is a class that teaches more to just learn about something and then reiterating on the test, it made you actually apply certain aspects you learned in the class, but also you had to be able to be willing to do it. This class did require a lot of participation and contribution, but I feel that is actually the beauty of the class. It was a way for you to actually feel what it is like in the real world. We go to class, listen to whats going on, and then be able to memorize it for either a test or write a paper about it, however it is a whole other thing to be able to have a little piece of the real world. In reality, when we gradate and move on, we will have to be able to think on our feet, do things we may not like or be used to, and deal with it. There will probably be a whole lot more work involved as well. It may be just you and maybe a few other people going out and doing a project like this, who knows. This class just gave me a piece of what the real world is like.

I feel my strongest contribution in this project was interviewing people. I had never thought that I would be able to do as many interviews as I had done. It was a great learning experience, I had never taken an interview for anyone before, but then also being able to ask questions in such a way where the conversation continues. I did help in themes as well as transcribing, and the themes groups a whole but it wasn't as big a contribution as conducting the interviews.  In the end, I will say that I learned a lot in this class, it gave me a real view of the real world, as well as, it let me learn how to do things I wasn't able to do before. I just wish I had taken this class before my last semester in my bachelors, because I would take another class like this.

Adventure Photos

Below are all the pictures I took in Station North during my adventures to the city.

Adventure Blog 4

April 15, 2015 and April 22, 2015

I can't believe this would be my fourth time in Station North on April 15, 2015. I ended up going there for awhile, mainly for interviews however, since I had a little time before hand I got to see the place a little more. This time I got to go to Outtakes. I had never been there before. Honestly, I probably would not have been able to find it as easily if I had not seen the door on my last adventure to the city. I went in and also got a nice cozy feeling from it. It was small, but you know it's like that saying no place is small as long as you take care of it and you feel happy, nothing is small. Meeting the people there, you definitely got that feeling. The people working there and coming there both cared for each other. You could tell the way people entered and the way they left happy and satisfied, but not only that the way the person working there was smiling and seemed to love what he was doing was great. I would definitely say I would go there again just because he had such a caring and happy attitude. It wasn't just then I noticed it, when we went back later that day, I got that same attitude again, and also the way kids were happy to see him and be there.

Outtakes was the only place I saw that day. However I got to go back on April 22, 2015. We first went to the Community Center on Barclay St. It was really nice, it was big and it had a huge space for members of the community to have. I got to walk through their community park, which really consisted of benches with chess boards on attached to them, and then we got to see the marble benches that were made from old steps that used to be in the community. On there were also chess boards. Not only that but we also got to see the community garden. I thought it was really amazing that there was so many activities that the community members could do. They tried to pertain to all different age groups, it didn't matter who you were they had activities for all. Next we went to Sofi's Crepes, and then from there we went to Charles Theatre. Charles Theatre was nice, it was a little dark, but I think thats what gives it there look. I never saw a movie there, but sitting there the smell of popcorn in the lobby and the places to sit. It had a lot of signs for movies, I had never heard of, but that was another beauty of the Charles Theatre. It was getting late, and I had to go. I never thought that maybe the last time I was going to go before the riots.

Adventure Blog 3

April 11, 2015

My third time in Station North, it was a new day, and a whole lot more that I could see. It was nice out, much nicer than it had been on Thursday at the field trip. It was early Saturday that I had got there.I started out at Sofi's Crepes, even though I had been there twice before. There were several things you notice when you are sitting there and there is not many other things going on. The streets were quiet, the few people that were walking on the streets going or coming from cafes. People were enjoying themselves, either eating, or having a nice walk. It was actually nice to see how people were calm, relax, satisfied, everyone was happy and to themselves. Since Sofi's wasn't open we had to go to SNAC, but then once finally we were able to go to Sofi's we went there. Since there weren't many people at Sofi's I was able to see the wall of keys. It was a nice piece of work, really creative. It can connect with anyone, since, there are many opportunities in life, you have to pick a way (a key) and if one door closes, you will find another open. After Sofi's we ended up going to Seoul Rice Cakes. It was the first time I had been there. I can say it was different then I had thought. It was more empty. Maybe for the Pop Up Korea Town exhibition. There was a lot of open space, nice artwork, and also had some greenery. There as a lot of things I thought were interesting here. I guess overall the one thing I really thought was different from other places I had been to was the way that anyone who comes to the door can't come inside unless if the owner/employee doesn't let you in the first time. At first I had thought the store was closed, but then I noticed any time anyone would come that happens. If there was no one there to open the door, then they just had to ring the bell and they would be clicked in. I really thought that was interesting. I really liked about Pop Up Korea Town was the artwork. Each piece had some kind of meaning to it, especially the pots. Each pot had the person who created it story. It was a creative way to get sentiment and stories in. Just by reading the little descriptions next to each picture, made me look at the picture through the artists eyes. Seouls Rice Cakes was the end of my trip to Station North.

Adventure Blog 2

April 9, 2015

My second trip to Station North was an interesting one. I must say, it started out well, but I got to see much more then I had expected. We had started out meeting at the shuttle. Even the shuttle ride down was interesting, in the fact that we got to see how to get down there but also people who hadn't taken the bus or been to Baltimore before were able to go. Once we got to the stop, we walked to Lexington Market. We walked in, and I will say it smelled like fish. There was a lot of people in the market, a lot more than I was expecting. We got to stop there for a little bit and buy whatever we wanted to. I went with a few people and walked around. We stopped by a crab cake store that is world famous for there crab cakes. Once we got that we met up with everyone else outside of the Market. As we took a small break there we got to see a disguised cop van and many things occurring which at the time I did not have any clue was occurring until Shawn came and told us. Moving on from there we ended up walking to Pratt Library. At the Pratt Library, I was able to make a library card before we left. We got to walk from there to Station North. It was a long house we got to see Washington Monument, and then passed through Mt. Vernon, and finally reached Station North. We walked through Station North, walking past the Montessori School through Lanvale and seeing the Copy Cat, through Greenmount West. Along the way I saw some cats walking around the streets. Finally we got back to Charles Street. We got to go walk around and do what we want. First, most of us actually went to Sofi's Crepes. However, from there a group of us went to go find Joes Squared for there very well known pizza. Unfortunately, we were running short on time and we hadn't found Joes Squared yet and before we got to the end of the street there was a random guy yelling so we decided we would go into the McDonalds. We went there, ordered food and then we were going to leave. We got to see an ID of a another random guy sitting next to us, talking to the people across the store. Once we were all there, we got to leave. We ended up going to Red Emma's to see how it was there. It was different, it was defiantly not the vibe I got from SNAC when I had gone there on my first adventure. Red Emma's had a whole different rhythm. It smelled and looked a lot more like a normal cafe. It was nice to see that they had a book area on one side and then a place where you could actually sit on another side. It was a good place to discuss as a group, with a great lobby. Also, it really impressed me that even in the riots last week they gave out free lunches to students. It made me have a lot more respect for them. We ended up going back to the Chicken Box to meet up with the rest of our class. We caught the circulator back, and waited a long time for the UMBC bus. Finally, once it came after a long day, and a lot of walking it was nice to take the bus back. I wasn't able to go for our next adventure on Saturday, but that was all good because I knew I would be back the next Wednesday. Fortunately, it was a really fun and interesting field trip. I got to see a lot of new places, walked around a lot, and also got to see some things I probably would not have thought of seeing. I got home that day and I had a lot to tell that was for sure.

Adventure Blog 1

April 4, 2015

My first visit into Station North was a calm one, not to exciting. I had never actually been down there before. At least not that I had realized. I went down initially to do an interview, however that plan ended up failing. We ended up meeting at Station North Arts Cafe (SNAC). As I entered, I saw Kevin Brown standing at the entrance. I probably wouldn't have even thought that much about it, but because we had discussed about him in class before, it was kind of cool actually seeing what or who you were talking about rather than just talking about them. I went into SNAC thinking it would be much different than it really was. It had a different vibe, different feel, different environment than I was expecting. I got a much more cozier,  more like a home feeling or vibe. The colors (green, yellow, white) really lit the place up, and the way the kitchen was set made it give that home feeling which was nice since you don't get that feeling often. It wasn't too big nor too small, it was the perfect size cafe. Even the employees there were welcoming and nice. As we waited for the interviewee to show up, we began talking to the person sitting right next to us, Sylvester Shorts. at first he seemed to us like a professor, however he was really one person who was trying to do something for his community. He had a lot to say and a lot he wanted to do. So, by the end we had a lot of information and contacts to call to get some interviews lined up. After sitting at SNAC for so long, and no interviewee showing up, Adam and I ended up leaving, we didn't want to take up more space than we had to. We ended up walking down to the Chicken Box to see if we could use that as our back-up space for interviews, however when we got there it was being occupied by a singing group. So, then we walked down the street to see the Seoul Rice Cakes' father painting that Alethia had just been discussing in class. It was kind of cool looking at that since, we had just heard about it from Alethia and then just seeing it made a big difference. It was definitely one thing learning or discussing about it, but then a whole other expierence seeing it after talking about it. We walked back past the SNAC and in front of Sofi's Crepes. From there we went to Metro Gallery to see if that could be used as a back up space, however to our luck it was closed. From there we went back to Sofi's and split up, I ended up going into Sofi's Crepes to wait for my ride. Since I had heard so much about crepes and I had never had one. The employee at Sofi's totally got that and he was the one who asked would you want something sweet or a different flavor. I went with the sweet. So, then he told me many people either get the banana crepe or the apple frit crepe. I went with the apple, while I was waiting, I actually got to discuss about our project and he agreed to an interview. Once I got my crepe, I ended up sharing it with my parents. We drove past Red Emma's and Joe Squared. I figured out exactly where I want to go next. I really liked going and seeing Station North. I felt even though I wasn't connected to the place, there was some connection since we discussed it in class, it made a different feeling.  Maybe it was that, that made me go there again and talk to so many people, make so many interviews, because I wanted to here what they had to say.   It was the end of my first adventure in Station North and looking back, it so was not my last.

Station North project update 6

May 4, 2015

Week of  April 24, 2015 to May 4, 2015

Okay so this week it went by really fast. There was much to go over, but so little time. Basically my week really statrted out listening to the Baltimore Riots. It was interesting to see that how we atarted the semester was almost the way we ended. We started by talking about the MLK riots of 1968 and we ended by talkibg agout the Freddie Gray riots. History really did repeat itself. Listening to all that was going on from the beginning of the semester at firs it seemed that things may have changed just a little but really it hadn't. People weree standing at the same place people wee so many years ago, there was still separation, still riots, and still complaints. Time moved on however the situation is still there. Hopefully that does change. It is ironic that a this semester we were talking about change, and discussing about it, and if it was considered good or bad in the eyes of people. Now we may see a little bit of society that hasn't changed from before. It would be interesting talking to people to see what their viewpoint was after the riots, especially those we had already talked to. More about this in my reflection. Right now I'll just give you an update on what I have done.

So, before Tuesday, I listened to some of the interview I was supposed to pull out themes for. We discussed it in class on Tuesday. I also learned a new way to transcribe by Carrie called transcribe, which I used Wednesday. It was really good, because I didn't have to paused every time to write a time stamp, and i could slow the voice down. Fortunately, by Wednesday, I finished pulling out the themes. In class on Thursday when we split up Randi, Gaby, Nailah, and I worked on the final list of transcribing. We found that Adam had done some more interviews, so we assigned transcriptions to people in the voices group. On Thursday night I was able to finish listening/doing to the transcription assigned to me,  and also able to pull out themes on it.

I continued through the week to listen to what was going on in Baltimore, the riots, commotion, and what would be decided. I had never thought 2 weeks ago, when I walked through the city as a class, but even just when I was taking interviews, that there would be so much commotion there in the near future.

Station North Update 5

April 27, 2015

April 21, 2015- April 27, 2015

So, I must say this past week wasn't as busy as the last few weeks. There weren't as many interviews that had to be scheduled, there weren't as many interviews that I needed to conduct. I can't say it was completely empty, it was busy, but not as busy as the past few weeks. However, thinking back to what I did last week, feels like it was so long and I can't really remember much. So, on Monday I had confirmed the two interviews we had for Wednesday. Tuesday we had Marc Steiner in class. We had some audio edited together by Dan, Adam, and Scott, which was pretty good listening to it, even though there is still more to add. Wednesday, was really the busy day.

On Wednesday, I had two interviews scheduled, the first one with Tarahn Harris, and then the second one with Sofi's Crepes owner, Ann Costlow. Both went fairly well. Fortunately, we had no technical errors and scheduling conflicts, so overall it was pretty smooth. Tarahn was first, he was Sylvester's business partner. We got to see interview in their office [community center], the center was really nice, but then also we were allowed to go out to their community park and garden. The interview probably lasted about an hour. Then we went to meet Ann. At first, we thought we might have gotten the wrong Sofi's since the employee working said she wasn't coming there today, but thankfully she did come to the Sofi's at Station North. We ended up doing the interview at Charles Theatre. Her interview also went well. No problems, it overall went pretty smoothly. Other than that on Wednesday I did not do much more. Ann did give us a Mike Shecters contact, he owns most of the buildings on Charles St. such as Sofi's Crepes and the Charles Theater.

Thursday in class while groups got together to go over their listening assignment. Randi and I started discussing what interviews have been conducted, what interviews have been transcribed, and what still need to be. We ended up making up a google doc to see what/who has done what. In the end, we assigned people in the voices group to transcribe. We also tried setting a due date for May 7 for all transcriptions to be in by, but stated half of the transcriptions should be completed by April 30. In the end, I emailed the entire voices group, so that everyone knew what they had to do and where they could find it even if they weren't here. Randi sent the email to Dr. King, so she would know as well, and also we sent updated list of interviews.

That was basically the end of my week. I will listen to the Tarahns interview now to try pulling out the themes. Other than that, I don't think there was much more.

Station North Update 4

April 20, 2015

April 14-April 20

I would love to say this week went smoother then the last, but I really don't think I can. This past week was so hectic. It started out with just the update we had to give the class and from there it got busy. So, when I updated you last, I had completed some interviews, but I had 4 more scheduled for Wednesday. Before Tuesday, we had to get our update all together. However, I felt there was more confusion on what the update was supposed to be about. Some said it was supposed to be a presentation, discussing individual roles, while we thought it was just supposed to be updating where the voices group was on a broad sense and show them more audio, and what we have done. Unlike the mapping group, I felt we weren't as prepared, since everyone had a different idea, and there wasn't much unison. The entire group was texting amongst each other, to try to keep unison, but it didn't really form the way we wanted. Those are just my thoughts. Also, going up there Tuesday and presenting really made me see how behind we were. I mean yes, we were scheduling, and interviewing, but we had not even started transcribing interviews, and nor had we started picking out themes. Having conducted some interviews, it gave somewhat of an idea, but not having to listen to them again, and not having themes picked out was kind of difficult to make sure we can keep certain themes going. It really gave us a task. Luckily, we got to use the mapping group to help us do that. Each person in the class signed up for an interview to listen to and take notes on the themes in Tuesdays class. After class, Naomi and I went and typed up the list. We ended up having to change 1 or 2 people around to make sure each interview had at least 3 people on it, but then also had 1 voices member on it, so that if they had any questions they could ask them. We ended up adding that on the drive. I had an idea, of transcribing while we theme out. So, if the voices member that were bolded, would evenly distribute a section of the interview they had to each member to transcribe we would have something all the interviews transcribed and themed out by Thursday. Adam and I had interviews lined up on Wednesday getting us not to have to do that, but that didn't mean we had it easy.

As Wednesday, came around 1 of the interviews I had scheduled I was not able to go to, fortunately, Nailah was willing to go. You know what after listening to it, I am really glad she did. I felt that interview had a lot in it. Our interviews started at 11:30, and continued for the rest of the day. My first one was supposed to start at 12:30, however it got started late. I think that happened from the first one. The 12:30 interview with Jonathan A. Greene was good overall. He had a lot to say about art, rather than Station North. The interview started around 1 and ended around 2. I must say, the one thing I really felt was that I was getting used to the feeling of interviewing. Yeah, there were points where I hesitated, but it felt more comfortable. Our next interview was with Sylvester Shorts. He had also invited his business partner, Tarahn Harris. Not only did the interview start late, however, I wasn't expecting his business partner, so I was down a few consent forms, which made us start even later. However, once we finally got it figured out that we would just print it at the next place. We got them to sign and started the interview. Both Sylvester and Tarahn had a lot to say. Sylvester more along the lines of what he does, and Tarahn had a lot of thought on change. It was probably an hour or so later when the interview ended. It was then, Adam realized the recording didn't go off and none of it recorded. We spend an hour plus doing an interview and none of it was there. The only problem now was we had to get to the next interview in 30 minutes and it takes about 30 to get there. We were running really late. So, we decided that we could meet up with Sylvester later, and Tarahn if he could make it. I wasn't sure if I would be able to go, since my parents had driven me, and they had already waited there since 12:30, but if not Adam said he could go. He did take the list of questions, however this time the one thing I really liked about doing this interview was that I really didn't go off my list of questions. It felt more natural. We finally got to our next interview, I think it was right on time. They were nice enough to print off the consents there since I had given my last ones to the interview before.

This interview I must say was amazing. I can't say Adam and I did much. The interview was done with the owners of the Chesapeake Restaurant, Philip and Donald Friedman. Now, Philip lives down in Florida, and Donald lives here in Maryland. After finding Donald's number, and contacting him, he told me that he was going down to Florida for his fathers 90th birthday and they would be willing to talk to us. He even said that we would be able to do at least 3 projects on Station North. Fortunately, his dad and he were coming back up this past week to celebrate his birthday. So, I ended up scheduling a time to meet them in person. Philip (everyone calls him Penny), had a wealth of knowledge on Station North and its history. He had been there since 1918, and grew up there. He could name the streets, name locations, buildings, and told you the history on it. The really nice thing about the interview was that Penny and Don both were having a basic conversation on Station North, letting us know what changed, and how it developed. An hour flew by just sitting there. We really wished we had more time, however Penny was going back. Now, Penny and Don did say we could give him a call to discuss more, if we wanted to. As we winded up that interview, we called Sylvester to see if he was willing to meet. I did end up going back to interview. This time, Tarahn and Sylvester were separated. We met with Sylvester, and this time we were able to talk about Station North and his role in the community. We ended up just deciding, we had done a really long pre-interview. However, we were glad that Sylvester and Tarahn both understood and were willing to meet with us one more time. I ended up getting back later than I expected. In the end, I figured that I would try to listen to one of the interviews we had conducted that day, to either transcribe or pick out themes. However, that did not happen, they weren't up and I understood that too, since it was such a hectic day, in just one word I would say it was exhaustive. If I learned one thing other than make sure it is recording that day, it was too give more time than just a few minutes between interviews, even if it is the same location because delays can totally happen. In class when I asked Adam if he was cool with that, he said, lets separate an hour between each interview.

The next day, groups had themes picked out from interviews. Although there was not much transcribed we had a general idea. During class time, since I wasn't in a group I decided to listen to some of the recordings. Now that they were all up, I could even listen to the ones we had done the day before. I ended up also scheduling 2 more interviews: Tarahns' redo interview as well, the owner of Sofi's Crepes. I knew Scott had someone he wanted to contact from Red Emma's he hadn't contacted yet, so we ended up starting a draft. Then we found out James knew someone at Red Emma's so we gave him the contact. Other than that, I spoke to James to see if I were to contact someone which group they be from. He gave the idea of trying to contact maybe a police officer in Station North, since that was one of the themes that came up. I couldn't find much in it, however if I can I would definitely like to see what they have to say, especially after listening to Dusty's interview. Once class was over, I ended up going back and transcribing one of the interviews done on Wednesday. I figured, better to have one interview completely transcribed than none. I did the one that Nailah had interviewed, since I really wanted to see what he had to say, but also because Adam and Nailah said really good about it. While listening to it, I ended up transcribing the whole thing, finishing it Thursday night and then posting it, so the class has it, if they need it especially the people editing the audio. I wasn't able to look at the themes, but I did have a general idea. On Friday and Saturday, I was able to highlight the themes, and right what I thought the general idea was on the side. I ended up posting it today, after double checking the themes I got from it. The week was hectic, and we got a lot of stuff done, but we still have a lot more to do.

I have 2 interviews to do this Wednesday, again. I know there are 2 or 3 additional interviews scheduled. I think this is the last week we planned on interviewing. After that we really do need to end up transcribing and pulling out themes, from the recent interviews, that weren't done as a class. There is still editing the audio to do, and putting things together to get the final project. As we get closer to the end, it is getting more stressful, but I hope we do make a great final piece.

Station North Project Update 3

Week of April 7 to April 13

I must say this week was much more hectic than the last, going from scheduling, to interviewing and then just visiting Station North. So, on Tuesday, we started out going over discussing our planned adventure to Station North. Once we split up into groups we got more of things that needed to be done and things to be scheduled. I ended up calling a contact (employee at Sofi's Crepes) that I had gotten on Saturday, April 4, 2015. It took awhile since he was not picking up before then, but then I decided to go ahead and call off Scotts phone, and he answered. Finally, I was able to schedule him for Saturday, April 11, 2015.

Thursday April 9, 2015, I ended up going to Station North with the class. It turned out to be an interesting trip, however I will end up speaking more about that in my adventure blog. I do know that when we split up in Station North we were able to get a few contacts of people who were willing to be interviewed. The good thing is I was able to get some photos of the area. I will probably end up putting them up on our drive so that the whole class can view them with the other photos that were taken, hopefully by tonight. After getting back from there, I knew the next time I would be able to go was Saturday. Friday night, Nailah had texted asking if anyone was able to go interview Alethia. Since, I was already going down I decided I would end up doing that one. Nailah had everything ready, even some potential interview questions to ask. It really turned out to be helpful, since it gave me somewhere to start.

Saturday was finally here, it was the day that I was hopefully going to get my first interview. Even though, I had been to Station North the week before, the interview Adam had scheduled turned out to be a no show. When I got there on Saturday, Adam and I met in front of Sofi's Crepes since that was where the interview was. However, it was time for the interview and no interviewee had shown, so I ended up giving him a call, leaving a voicemail. Adam and I decided to go to SNAC, hoping he would the Sofi's Crepes employee would be there later. When we got to SNAC, Adam ordered his breakfast and someone there started talking to Adam about his shoes. This all led him to talk about what he does. As Adam was talking to another person, we contacted for an interview, I started telling him about our project, he seemed really interested. Adam suggested trying to do it now, however since he was leaving we couldn't, so instead he gave a card with our contact information, and I took his down so I could contact him later. As we were waiting at SNAC our interviewee at Sofi's called stating he was late and we could meet him there now. So, we ended up heading back to Sofi's. At Sofi's I was finally able to get my first interview. I must say I was nervous at first, since I didn't know if I would ask right questions, but it turned out better than I thought. As we were going through the interview, I did have to pause for a few moments since I didn't know what to ask, but I learned that once you get started, and don't think about the list of questions in front of you, it feels less planned, and more doable. I liked the questions there as a guide, but I felt that when I was looking at the questions it would be rude to the person we were interviewing. So, instead, I took the general ideas of the questions. The one thing that was difficult, in this interview in particular, was the interviewee kept going off of the topic of Station North. He would talk more about the nation as a whole. It was kind of difficult of getting him back on track. I must say it really interested me to hear some of the ideas he had. Our time was almost up, and so we asked if there was anyone else we should contact. He did have a contact of a member of a person he knew that would come by Sofi's, unfortunately the person he was talking about did not have any contact, but he did end up giving us a description of the person so we could spot him on the street.

We ended up going to our next interview, Alethia at Seoul Rice Cakes. She had a lot of artwork up and pots around Seoul Rice Cakes. At first we spent time looking at the artwork and pots, since Alethia was showing around the art work to one of the Greenmount Seniors. Overall, I think the interview went well. For this one, I spend more time going off the list of questions that Nailah had made, since I know she wanted to ask those questions. However, I was able to ask more questions based off her answers to those questions. Midway thorough the interview I was able to get her to explain the pots that were created by the Seniors at the Greenmount Senior Center. Towards the end I was able to get some of the artwork explained. Overall, I really enjoyed doing the interview, you got to see something different, but also the artwork she had set up was amazing, so in depth, and intricate. One thing I really learned about interviews, is that you really are seeing what the interviewee wants you to see, so basically you are looking at their community through their eyes.

When I got home Saturday, I ended up updating our scheduling interview list. I first strike out any interview that I knew was definitely completed. Then I ended up combining the contact list made by the voices group and the map group. The general idea of the spreadsheet was made, all I had to add a section where we could write if they were contacted and who contacted them, and combine the two lists in to one. The only issue is we don't have many people contacted, and if they have been then we don't really know since no one typed it into the drive. That will probably be one of the points that will be discussed tomorrow, during class. I ended up contacting the interviews I had scheduled for this week, to confirm a time or location. In total I ended up scheduling 4 interviews for this Wednesday. They are back to back from each other, but hopefully they will all show-up and be worthwhile. I know one of them I will not be able to go to, but Nailah was willing to fill in. However the other 3 I will end up going down to and interviewing. 2 of the 3 were contacts that Adam and I had gotten going down to Station North while trying to get interviews. The last interview for this upcoming Wednesday is a 2 in 1 interview, since there will be both the son and father we will interview at the same time. The last thing I contributed in this past week was the powerpoint presentation that laid out an update of the voices group for our group discussion in class tomorrow.

Need to discuss Next Class: Figuring out if anyone else has contacted on the list, if we go ahead and contact does that mean we have to go to the interview. Since, I go contact a few more people on the list, but I may or may not be able to go. If the interviewers go ahead and schedule, can we base off the availabilities schedule, as long as a recorder and interviewer is available then, can we schedule. Also, if we really have to schedule an interview, and it turns out they are only available during our class time can we, and not get penalized. I know, some people I tried contacting really wanted around that time.

Upcoming: Interviewing, Scheduling more, Transcribing, Editing, and Bringing it all together.

Hopefully this week, is not as hectic and we get things more in control. 

Station North Project Update 2

Week of March 30 to April 6

So, this was a week from figuring out what we would do next to trying to conduct interviews. The week started out with us just going over the schedule and what we were going to do next. We got the tentative dates down, but don't have it set in stone. I think it became difficult when everyone has something else they are trying to discuss and only a few people work on the schedule. However we had broken down our group into smaller groups. Our group finalized the ASK and it was ready for sending out to people. Now, Nailah and I discussed how we would script an email and telephone conversations, since we cannot just send an attachment and not write in the email. So, in the end we decided, that I would get out a script of what could be sent out to potential interviewees. I had completed that by late Tuesday, so that people could get contacting the interviewees.We also decided on Tuesday, who would be contacting people, and when would we do it by. Before spring break, we had decided that each person had to find 3 contacts and we would put our names next to them. So, on Tuesday we decided that we would contact the people we wrote. I went ahead and contacted them on Wednesday. I got positive response from 1 and somewhat a response from the second, since I only was able to speak to the receptionist. For the third contact, I left a voicemail, but still never heard anything back. I will probably wait 1 more day before contacting all 3 again, since none of them scheduled, even though the one said they would be willing to do it. Later that night I also found a contact list the Mapping Group shared with us. I looked at the names and bolded which ones were listed twice and then asked the group if we wanted to contact them. Since there was positive response, I went ahead and posted the list on the drive and will start contacting more people on this list since, I wasn't able to get much positive response.

By Thursday, Adam had several interviews scheduled with a group of people who were making a music video. I decided I would go with him to interview on Saturday. When I got to Station North Arts Cafe, Adam was already waiting for me. He filled me in on the interview with Nailah that they had the wrong date for and told me the last interview was a no show. We hoped that this interviewee would show up, but unfortunately it was also a no show. We did wait for the interviewee for awhile before we called it quits. Not to lose the chance, Adam started a conversation with the man across from us. He had a knowledge on the area and had a similar plan in mind to get people to see the voices of the unheard but for certain people. When he heard about our project, he helped us out a lot by giving more people he suggested we interview. He introduced us to one of the people he thought we should interview, we got to speak to him for a few minutes, until he had to go, fortunately he was willing to do an interview. So, hopefully soon we will be able to schedule interviews for the names we just got and get out and try once again for interviews and hopefully they show up. After that I was able to see a little bit of Station North, thanks to Adam showing me around a little bit, (more in adventure blog). The main thing is when we split I went to Sophies Crepes, ended up buying a crepe, and started talking to them about my project. They were willing to do an interview, even at that time, but since Adam had gone and my ride was here we couldn't do it. I was able to get their contact information. They said I could try calling them to schedule. I have texted, and emailed them and today I even called them, however no response. I think this week I will go down again and try to just meet with them there to see if they would be willing to do it.

One thing I wish to know: How many times should one call before calling it quits. I really don't want to harass people, but if they said they would do it, I feel like I can call them.

One thing I learned: We really need a back up space to interview in, if they don't want to choose a space because doing it in someone else' business can make the owner upset even if you purchase something. Adam and I had looked at the ChickenBox and Metro Gallery. So, if there is a way to get those spaces it would be better than recording in someone else's place.

I never thought how stressful this could be, contacting people, not showing up, building relationship, however now I know. I just hope I can find someone willing to give us an interviews scheduled.

One thing I really think we need to complete: Get everyone contacted on both lists, since many people may not respond or show up, at least if we have interviews scheduled we may be able to get something done. We need to make a schedule that everyone can follow by, and start interviewing. Hope this week will run smoother and we get some interviews scheduled, as well as, they show up.

Station North Project Update

Update: Spring Break to March 30


In AMST 380 we are doing a project on a specific community in Baltimore, Station North Arts and Entertainment District. Before Spring Break we were divided into 2 groups: Mapping Station and Voices of Station North. I am in the Voices of Station North group. Once we divided, we took on tasks, first we decided what we wanted to do in the group: such as interviewing, recording, photography, editing. If we were interviewing we decided on what types of people we needed to interview. I wanted to focus on interviewing, especially business owners. It did not have to only be business owners who are running business in SNAE right now, but also those who left. The next thing we got down was our entire groups information, so that we can discuss things if needed and break into even smaller groups.

My job over spring break and in this past week was to list 3 contacts, theme, do the CITI Training, and then also once the ask group creates the ask go back and confirm everything looks alright. I listed 3 contacts on the list and described where and who they were, what information I could find on him, where and what he/she does. On March 16, we started a GroupMe chat, within the Themes Group and decided what day we would meet to discuss our overall theme for the project. On March 18, we met through GroupMe and decided the theme of the project. It did take a few hours but in the end I and the rest of the Themes group decided on what would be the major theme: a behind the scenes look like in the movies. We ended up deciding on The Voices Behind Station North. After we had made up the theme we decided who or which types of people we were going to try to interview. The last thing that we ended up discussing was the types of questions we were going to ask. With the theme, people, and questions discussed we ended our discussion there and decided we would bring it back to the Voices group in our next class. On March 24, we joined other members from the Voices group into our GroupMe conversation, so that they had an idea of what was discussed. Once the Ask group was added they went ahead and made the Ask. After the Ask was completed we were sent the Ask, so that we could contribute our thoughts and ideas to it.

On March 26, we met as an entire Voices group again and split up, some scheduling, others discussing the Ask, and some discussing recording. I was discussing the Ask with a few people, I had seen it the night before and discussed some of the things that we thought should be edited with others, and then the Ask was finalized. The last aspect we discussed in our small group that day was times we were available to interview, record, photograph. So, that once we send out the Ask to potential interviewees we can decide if one person is not available who else can go. I ended up starting a sheet of paper to start the availabilities. In the end, once everyone else filled their times out we gave it to our notetaker to put it online for everyone to view. In the end, the only thing we decided to complete as a group was what we were going to try doing in the coming weeks. On March 29, I completed all of the CITI Training that was required for me to go interview people. I completed the Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research Course 1--Stage 1 Basic Course (Responsible Conduct of Research), Social/Behavioral Research Course--Stage 1 Basic Course (Human Research), and Health Information Security--Stage 1 HIPS (Information Privacy and Security).

UPCOMING PLAN: Hopefully by the end of this week, I will have sent out the ask to all potential interviewees I had listed, but also to the list of contacts I found doing the small assignment. Our goal is we get some interviews scheduled, so that now we can go out to the field.

References:

Image From:

"NYC Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito Announces New Resources and New Decision-Making Power for NYC Housing Authority Residents." Community Voices Heard. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. <http://www.cvhaction.org/>.