MARTY DA VW
northwest
Get Professionally Organized
Have you lost your keys and remote control one
too many times? You’re sure you saw that bill lying
in a pile somewhere, and now you think it’s over
due? Through her new business,
Now We’re Organized, profession
Whether it’s your small-business office or your
craft room that needs attention, Johnson works with
who you are and how you learn. “1 figure out what
a client’s learning style is—most people are visual
learners, so they think they
need to have everything out in
front of them. I help them put
things away but keep reminders
out in front. Some people are
auditory learners, and we work
on ways to create auditory
reminders," said Johnson, who
also considers the way a client moves in world: left to
nght or right to left.
When bringing someone into your home, it’s
important to trust she will have an open mind.
“I was at a national conference in April, and one
person said they were uncom
fortable when they found sex
toys in a client’s closet,” said
Johnson. “If people have some
thing in their home they don’t
want someone to react to,
having an organizer from the
community might feel safer.”
business
watch
al organizer Susan Johnson offers
a helping hand and a skilled eye to
those of us in need.
Johnson, a member of the
Portland Area Business Association
and an enthusiastic Amazons drag
on boat paddler, said she feels best emotionally and
most centered when everything is in its place.
“There’s a misconception about organization—most
people believe that if everything is clean and neat
that it’s organized,” said Johnson. "That’s not neces
sarily true. As long as a per
son can find what they need
when they need it, then
that’s organized.”
No matter what job She
was hired to do, Johnson
found herself organizing the
large and small offices where
she worked. Before opening
Now We’re Organized in
November, she worked as a
payroll clerk who took an
interest in organizing rhe
company’s records. “That led
to my promotion to supervi
sor," said Johnson, who over
saw the records department
As a professional organizer, Susan
Johnson helps you get it together.
for the past nine years.
Southern Soul,
Northwest Heart
“People think a barbecue
place has to be a dive. We
believe that even barbecue
deserves a nice atmosphere,”
said Sharon Senter with a wide
smile, sitting on the patio at
Russell Street Bar-B-Que.
Senter and her partner, Diane
Santucci, mortgaged their home and
started Russell Street Bar-B-Que in
January 2004. “The tables and chairs
were used. Price was a deciding fac
tor in every decision we made. We
did so much of the work ourselves—
the painting—so much of it."
The week that Russell Street
Bar-B-Que opened its doors, one of
Portland’s relentless ice storms
forced them to close for a few days,
Darcelle XV takes in a barbecue lunch with Russell Street
and a year and a half later the
Bar-B-Que co-owner Sharon Senter.
kitchen suffered an electrical fire.
Undaunted, Senter and Santucci got the kitchen
“Everyone thought we were raising prices
running again, and Russell Street Bar-B-Que was
because we were renovating, but we’re not,” Senter
once again open for business.
said. “We just wanted to round out the operations
• In the beginning of this year, they decided it
so we could provide the best dining experience."
was time to remodel the entire space. Some
All the food is cooked from scratch in a small
changes are apparent upon walking into the large,
kitchen with local and all natural ingredients. The
comfortable main dining room: wood paneling,
restaurant is also planning on adding to its rib
a seating station and a bar all made from reclaimed
menu in the coming months.
wood flooring. The second dining room is home to
Russell Street Bar-B-Que strives to have a sirtall
booths designed to seat six or more.
impact on the environment. “That’s what we mean
“This kind of food is family style," Senter said.
by ‘Southern soul, Northwest heart.’ We are
“We wanted space for groups to sit together.”
Southern food, but*we definitely have a healthy
Other changes happened in the back of the
Northwest sensibility about it."
house. Senter’s smile growing even larger. “We put
Senter and Santucci also have a commitment
in a walk-in refrigerator bigger than my bedroom.
to giving to the community. “We donate to many
I love it.”
LGBTQ causes, and we just did a big fund-raiser for
Russell Street Bar-B-Que also obtained a full
the Human Rights Foundation.”
liquor license, enabling it to feature a comprehen
Russell Street Bar-B-Que is at 325 N.E. Russell
sive cocktail menu, and more than doubled its beer
St. and has ample bike parking.
selection. It now features eight kegs, five of which
are from Oregon breweries.
By A lex B aldino and M alka G effen
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MeaDOws Group inc.
1902 SE Morrison • Portland, OR 97314
503-360-6331**
503-338-1700
LOcaLLY owneD & operaTeD
Ä a
32SS SE HAWTHORNE BLVD •
PORTLAND OREGON 97214 • 503 233 3698 • TUES-SUN 11-7