diff --git a/custom.Makefile b/custom.Makefile
index c4e4b771d..065f29747 100644
--- a/custom.Makefile
+++ b/custom.Makefile
@@ -116,20 +116,20 @@ jhu_up: jhu_generate-secrets
 	$(MAKE) starter-init ENVIRONMENT=starter_dev
 	if [ ! -z "$$(ls -A $(QUOTED_CURDIR)/codebase)" ]; then \
 		echo "codebase/ directory is empty, cloning it"; \
+		mkdir -p $(CURDIR)/codebase; \
 		docker container run --rm -v $(CURDIR)/codebase:/home/root $(REPOSITORY)/nginx:$(TAG) with-contenv bash -lc 'git clone -b main https://github.com/jhu-idc/idc-codebase /home/root;'; \
 	fi
 	$(MAKE) set-codebase-owner
-	$(MAKE) set-files-owner SRC=$(CURDIR)/codebase ENVIRONMENT=starter_dev
 	docker-compose up -d --remove-orphans
 	# The rest of this should be moved into another function.
-	@echo "Wait for the /var/www/drupal directory to be available"
+	@echo "Wait for the /var/www/drupal/composer.json file to be available"
 	while ! docker compose exec -T drupal with-contenv bash -lc 'test -f /var/www/drupal/composer.json'; do \
-		echo "Waiting for /var/www/drupal directory to be available..."; \
+		echo "Waiting for /var/www/drupal/composer.json file to be available..."; \
 		sleep 2; \
 	done
-	docker-compose exec -T drupal with-contenv bash -lc 'git config --global --add safe.directory /var/www/drupal/web/modules/contrib/islandora_fits'
 	docker-compose exec -T drupal with-contenv bash -lc 'rm -rf vendor/ web/modules/contrib/* web/themes/contrib/*'
 	docker compose exec -T drupal with-contenv bash -lc 'chown -R nginx:nginx /var/www/drupal/ && su nginx -s /bin/bash -c "composer install"'
+	docker-compose exec -T drupal with-contenv bash -lc 'git config --global --add safe.directory /var/www/drupal/web/modules/contrib/islandora_fits'
 	$(MAKE) set-codebase-owner
 	docker-compose exec -T drupal with-contenv bash -lc 'chown -R nginx:nginx .'
 	$(MAKE) drupal-database update-settings-php