"Another Op'nin, Another Show"

Cole Porter, known for his profound lyrics, was “en pointe” with this particular song relating to our recent reopening of the restaurant. I have familiarity with this song title from the Broadway show Kiss Me, Kate. The show, roughly based on Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, is also somewhat “en pointe” because, on a rough night in the kitchen, Daniel can be shrewish. Porter’s lyrics reverberated in my brain all evening during our recent reopening.

The new reduced hours and reduced menu, both of which result from our reduced staff, should have been reduced stress. But Daniel, always the overachiever, wound up working as hard and as many hours as when we had the full menu.

Luckily, the Friday opening was an easy crowd. Our patrons were local, and all, but one, were people we knew. It’s always easier to “play” to a forgiving public on opening night.

Our new menu is a prix fixe menu with six courses. The only option on the set menu is one of two choices of entrée. A format that could have proven to be a little risky. But so far, a success!

I’ve been around long enough to anticipate glitches on opening night, especially with a new menu and format. And, of course, there were.

Glitches do not roll off Daniel’s back. He went into his stress mode while I debated running out the door, calling 911, or just having a tantrum in the corner. But, in the end, it was a good night. The customers enjoyed themselves, devoured the food, and made reservations to come back next week, even without knowing the menu.

We will continue to offer Take & Bake options for pick up on Friday and Saturday and offer a prix fixe menu for dining in on those nights as well. We will continue to have stress in our lives, but hopefully, it will subside as we groove to our new rhythm of fewer hours, fewer days open, and a set menu.

With the snow melting, I am starting to dream about sitting on the deck basking in the sun, leisurely drinking coffee, and reading a book. However, I am still reading the weather app on my phone to see if I need to worry about freezing pipes. I just received my electric bill from our recent heating deluge to defrost the pipes! I do not want to see that number again, EVER!

This morning I filled one of our bird feeders; I want to be ready for the onslaught of birds returning after their winter hiatus at whatever beach they deserted us for. Meanwhile, I ordered more seeds. I feel Spring will come earlier if I have more seeds to plant.

The winter weather made a mess of all my windows and screens. I decided to hire someone to wash the windows in preparation for a springtime view! I am way too clumsy to get up on a ladder to clean the upstairs windows. If I’m injured, that means one-half of our entire restaurant staff is out!