And today, the owner has bad news. He's talked to the new owners, they'll be closing the restaurant, March 1st, Feb 28th is the last day.
They strung him along, telling him they'd keep the staff, the name, run the business...
They were lying.
I don't care. This couch surfing and perennial homelessness, it's getting a bit much, I only wanted a couple more weeks to pad the wallet, wanted the weather to improve to do some prospecting before I return to BC, but like a whip the entire 2 week long term forecast changed overnight.
"It could change again" I tell myself.
The other staff, immigrants every one of them, papers tying them to the restaurant, this restaurant, they're not so happy. The salad girl tells me she'll miss us, I understand, we've all been through a lot together. The Nephew, he's tossing the idea of travel, he has savings. The waitress, she's panic-stricken, she needs the job, bad, overspends, doesn't budget, she's in deep trouble. The rest, well, plans will divulge themselves over the next week I'm sure.
We've cancelled the reservations for March, April, May, started telling the regulars, some are in tears, there will be more I'm sure, the restaurant's been there 27 years, people proposed in it, brought up their children there, for a lot of people it's a big part of their lives. The staff as well, nowhere in the world could you get dinner and a show for such a reasonable price. But times change, and this is not necessarily a bad thing. A tank of gas, or 4, a few cans of beans and I'll be hitting the creeks for a few weeks before working my way to BC. I have a feeling that it's time now to earn my own fortune,