“Granny decided that if they confirmed, they’d be treated like a reservation. They didn’t want to turn anyone away, and surprisingly had a few people from the neighborhood show up. I was told they had people taking reservations as early as 4:00 and as late as 10:30. It was crazy all night, but they kept turning the tables.”
“I hope they didn’t run out of food,” I worried.
Planning for two hundred and four showing up could be a problem.
“Mary had it covered. She’d ordered for the week, so she’ll just have to make another order on Monday.”
“I trust Mary has it handled,” I said.
“Well, she did have some help. Her dad came out of retirement and helped her organize the kitchen.”
Her dad had been in the business for many years and owned several restaurants. I was sure Mary was excited to be able to work with him on opening her first restaurant. Tracy would be happy to see her granddad as well.
“What did you learn from the survey?” I asked.
“There were a couple of menu items that weren’t successful, so we’ll be taking them off. There were some good ideas for additions that could take their place or run as specials. One of the busboys was let go because he was stealing.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said.
“No. He was stealing tips from the servers. That was even after he was told he would receive a portion of the tips if he did a good job. We wouldn’t have caught him if it hadn’t been for the surveys. A couple of people noted it.”
“Good to know. We might want to continue to ask for customer feedback, even after the opening.”
“I’ll make a note of it,” Caryn said and wrote it down. “People loved the idea of Our House. They’re tired of having to go to State for a meal and entertainment. Most everyone signed up to be on the list for when we open it.”
I snorted. Of course, they wanted another free meal. I could see their point, though; it would be nice not to have to drive somewhere to see a band.
“I talked to Mary this morning, and they had a big breakfast crowd. Granny was grumbling that her business was off a bit at her other restaurant, but she was happy to see we had paying customers.”
“Good job. Get me a list of who I need to call and congratulate.”
“That’s a great idea. That’s much better than a generic attaboy email or text.”
I’d thought I would call key people, but Caryn declared I needed to call everyone. As soon as she said it, I knew she was right. A personal call would mean more than a mass message. I had Caryn get me a list of names and numbers and something they did well with the opening so it was more personal. Granny and Mary loved the idea, and, with Megan’s help, they sent Caryn what I needed. I spent the rest of the day running up my phone bill.
◊◊◊ Sunday May 22
Sarita met me in the lobby, and we took a cab, with my security following at a distance. We pulled up to
Going to a Catholic church when you understand about every third word was difficult. There was an awful lot of standing and kneeling. Dad would never fall asleep at one of these services.
Afterward, we walked out to the plaza where they had an outdoor restaurant and live music. I was not a fan of the food, but I enjoyed the music. We were able to get something to eat and get to know each other.
“Your brother said I should be wary of girls like you.”
Sarita about choked on her drink.
“He said that girls like you would just be after my money and bleed me dry,” I said with a straight face.
“You did bring cash?” she shot back, bringing a smile to my face.
“I learned to keep some in my shoe so I have enough to get home in case I get robbed or hustled.”
“See, now you’ve made a mistake. You told me where your secret stash is. I’ll have to take that as well. I mean, as your ‘Cuban girlfriend,’ I have expenses.”
“Well, I’d hate to be a financial drain on you,” I admitted, warming to her.
“What else did my idiot brother tell you?”
“That you thought I was hot,” I said in all seriousness.
“Did he? I’m sure he had more.”
“That you were a terrible dancer, and if you asked, I should decline because you’d probably break my foot when you stepped on it.”
