BEFORE she opened Niecy's, Denise Hampton says, she sat outside the storefront for two days and counted the people going by on Valley Street.
Perhaps it was my imagination, but I thought I saw a look of amusement flit across Clarisse's face as she opened the door, before she turned away.
She was a memorable figure even before she opened her mouth — that sculptured meringue of hair seemed to enter the room before she did — and an unforgettable one when she opened it, as salty wisecracks poured forth like popcorn from a machine.
Before she opened the envelope, Davis made sure she was alone.
I knocked a couple of times before she opened the door, wrapped in a dressing gown.
If they had been talking before she opened the door, they were silent now.
Juliet had a drink of wine before she opened it, then threw it away at once.
Ms. Park works to exhaustion; she said that before she opened the restaurant, she didn't realize how much administrative work she would have.
The droning prologue to her audition was cringe-worthy at best and it was a miracle she wasn't booed off stage before she opened her mouth.
The six months at Nell's were the only professional cooking Rose did before she opened the River Cafe.
