Watkins Landmark’s April 2021 Newsletter
Hello,
I would like to start this newsletter off with some gratitude. We seem to have made it through the back end of the pandemic which claimed 30% of small businesses across the USA. Readers, I have to tell you, if you asked me last April, I would not have given us high odds to survive the year. Fortunately, we have had great clients who decided not to panic but built. Hotel Del is a great example. In March of 2020, we had 6 projects come to a screeching halt. COVID had suddenly hit home. In credit to my staff, we did not quit. We did not throw in the towel. And I am proud to say that all the Watkins Landmark employees who are still with us, put an incredible effort in unison to survive. You want to know what our culture is at WLC? It is Persistence.
Our first article in April’s Newsletter will be about Soapy Joe’s Car Wash. Through our career-long friends at Southern Cross Property Consultants, we have been blessed with four Soapy Joe’s Car Wash projects. I pride myself in doing my homework on our clients. Last week I used Soapy Joes for the first time. Understand before you read on, I am a car person (In other words, I baby the cars I own profusely). I can honestly say I have never been happier with the quality of a car wash. Soapy’s is the best experience I have had in a car wash. It is the mix between a Pink Floyd light show, a College Rave, and a car wash. Please click on Soapy Joe’s Car Wash in Chula Vista to view the video of my experience.
We are entering our 3rd year of work at the Hotel Del Coronado. To say that the ‘Del trusts Watkins Landmark Construction with San Diego’s most iconic structure is as an incredible compliment to our company. Our latest project that is coming to completion is the Retail Area located below the historic main turret. The next two projects up for WLC at the Hotel Del are the Retail Bathrooms and the Sheerwater Patio. We are incredibly proud that the Del continues to use Watkins Landmark for their tenant improvement projects. Being trusted with San Diego’s most iconic landmark is proof of the construction quality that WLC provides.
In our Company Culture section, we feature our longest-term employee. Oscar Iniguez. Senior Superintendent was one of the first 5 employees we hired in 2007. Without any hyperbole, Oscar is the soul of Watkins Landmark. To paraphrase one of my favorite movies 300, “You are good Senior Superintendent, but a better friend, there is none.” While this is a pretty arrogant statement as it puts me as Gerard Butler, nothing could be further from the truth. I look nothing like him. Best case scenario, I resemble a Bouncer in the Temple Bar District in Dublin, Ireland. Not a buffed-out movie star (even though we both have Welsh background). But it still means that Oscar is not only a great foundational employee but a very good friend as well. Happy 14th anniversary Oscar. I look forward to many more years to come.
Thank you for all of your comments and suggestions for our newsletter over the years. We truly try to incorporate the best of the remarks into our periodical. You can always click on my name and email me at Jody James Watkins with any observations or critiques.
Sincerely,
Jody James Watkins
CEO/Founder
WATKINS LANDMARK CONSTRUCTION
San Diego / Inland Empire
Soapy’s Car Wash Facilities
Watkins Landmark is currently working on 4 Soapy Joe’s Car Wash Facilities
Soapy Joe’s Car Wash started off as a one-off project. Within a month, we are working on 4 Soapy Joe’s projects. As I described in a video posted on social media, Soapy Joe’s Car Wash is a combination between a Pink Floyd Laser Show, a College Rave Party, and a Car Wash. Soapy Joe’s has been voted the #1 Car Wash in San Diego County as of 2020. It is more than a car wash, it is a laser light and colored foam experience that leaves you with a sparkling clean car at the end of a car wash done in around a minute wash. I came out the other end incredibly impressed with their service. And people that know me, know I am a guy that baby’s my cars. I am very picky and it met all my high standards.
Soapy Joe’s Car Wash is a family-owned and operated business in San Diego County. They’re dedicated to providing quality service, customer satisfaction, and eco-friendly technology, all at a great value. With multiple locations offering convenient hours, lightning-fast express service, and premium upgrades, we make it easy for everyone to enjoy their ride.
Our Wakins Landmark Team on the Soapy Joe’s Car Wash projects consist of Matt Dolan, Senior Project Manager; Obhi Dewan, Assistant Project Manager; Robert Veague, Superintendent and Miquel Gallardo, Assistant Superintendent and Jesse Nelson. This amazing team is covering 4 Soapy Joe’s Car Wash construction and renovation projects. We could not be prouder of them.
The Latest from our Hotel Del Projects
As we mentioned above, Watkins Landmark Construction is going on our 3rd year working on the Hotel Del Coronado. Words can’t express the pride we have working on San Diego’s most iconic landmark. It is a huge compliment for a company with ‘Landmark’ in its name being trusted with San Diego’s most historic structure. We are currently finishing Retail Phase 2. These shops are located under the main turret of the Hotel Del. Through these projects we found a hidden tunnel under sea level that the former Owner used to use to sneak in the hotel and spontaneously check on his employees. Pictures of Oscar and me in this 100-year-old tunnel are below.
The Hotel Del is full of more interesting history. Since it was built in the late 1800s, there is a coal dump where a horse and carriage would stop by and dump coal into a concrete holding container. The coal was used to fire up the boilers. Around the same time that coal-fired boiler became obsolete, Americans instituted prohibition across the land. The Owner at the time decided to convert the coal dump to a place where they hid liquor and used the area as a Speakeasy. Above you can see a construction worker opening up the coal dump and turning it into retail space. Again, we can’t express enough pride for working at San Diego’s most iconic landmark. We look forward to many more projects to come.
Oscar Iniguez ~ A Great 14 Years and Counting
On March 8th, 2007, Watkins Landmark Construction hired Oscar Iniguez as an Assistant Superintendent for the Heights Project. The Heights is a picturesque custom home development that weaves through the hills above the Maderas Country Club in Poway, California. Since that time Oscar has risen from Assistant Superintendent to our most Senior Superintendent. And to demonstrate things in the construction world go full circle, this was the project he met Geoff Sherman on. Geoff was working as the Owner’s Rep for our client Excel Realty Holdings. Now Geoff works for Watkins Landmark with Oscar on our biggest apartment project to date in Chula Vista called Bonita Glenn.
To say Oscar is a loyal employee does not even scratch the surface. Oscar is the kind of friend and employee who will give you his last dime if you need it. Over the last 15 years, there have been many nights where Oscar and I are alone late in the office working physically and mentally to improve our company. Oscar is not only a great Senior Superintendent, he is family to me. I can’t imagine not having him work at Watkins Landmark Construction. As I have said before, Oscar is the soul of WLC!