And business grinds to a halt. Tonight, not a single table, 1 reservation at 8:00 PM (8:00 PM!!), they call back later to cancel...
We get almost as many cancellations as we do reservations.
...by 7:00 we close. The Nephew has spent the entire night on his phone, showing me amusing videos. Amusing, a relative term, amusing to him...
Our suppliers, they're dying as well, the bakery, the grocer, the generic grocery supply company, none of them are doing well, it's a matter of time...
Friday night, dead, all tables gone by 7:30, we have to wait until 8:00 for the next reservation. A deuce, in an empty restaurant, they stay, dine alone, surreal in a sense, I buy them a drink and apologize...
And Saturday much the same, a single table of 4 by 8:30, they stay until 10:30, a promotional gift certificate, 4 hours they spent ...
We're dying. The city is dying, this mono-economy of oil and gas, boom or bust, we're busting now hard.
The Nephew, it suits his work ethic, he spends his time sitting down at the bar looking at facebook posts, inane videos...he's found one he has to share. A monkey and a goat. You can figure out the rest. It's sick, he's seriously deranged, but he's loving it...
"You're parents, I presume" is the best I can do when he shows me. He shows the hostess, 17 year old S***, Seduction, Italian Style, she'll be the goat...
The owner, pacing, these nights he's losing money. There's not enough coming in to pay the staff, let alone himself...or his $20,000/month child support. And he's never seen it that slow. Nobody has. It's never been that slow. This is the beginning of the end.
A*****, the other "A*****", he's concerned, the dollar has dropped so much, his transfers of money home to Italy, they're nothing, he'd be better off working in Mexico, ... "It's temporary" I assure him, but he's not budgeted for temporary, and he's committed to sending money home every month at the current exchange, he's doomed...
The nephew entertains us with his views on Hitler (in favor of), on immigration (opposed), his opinions, offensive, inane, stupid, but amusing...
"...For every 100 Rods sleeping on your couch, with your wife, eating your food and doing your cocaine there is maybe 1 A*****..." The A*****, that's him, the good immigrant.
And on his "long" shifts at work - decided, insisted upon by him...
"...make the poor immigrant work all day..."
On his newly acquired work permit:
"...I can get welfare now! I am a Canadian immigrant..."
On his time in Berlin:
"...Berlin nightclubs, they are much more liberal to gay and lesbians, I want to try once with a guy..."
And here the the other A***** nod and a wink, we're pretty sure he has already..., he's given this game away...
I have a grim view of the future. Maybe not so grim, but a future without the restaurant. All around the city restaurants are closing, he's the advantage of no rent, but the other bills, staff, tax, food costs, they're not being covered. This is an institution that might soon be disappearing...Not a bad thing, but I need to prepare...at the moment I'm very unprepared...the rent is barely paid and the cheques grow smaller and smaller. Tighten your belts, at least I still have a job...
I speak to my father, in Edmonton, things are still good. Restaurants are busy on the weekend, life is normal. This is definitely a Calgary thing...
On Saturday after work we all meet up at the Hop In Brew on 12th. It's the JC lookalike contest, they have them every night. And as I'm not drinking it's pretty dismal, I gotta say. But it was busy, which in Calgary at the moment is something...