PUBLISHED AUGUST 22, 2020
A whole month later…
Since my last post we have had:
Summertime at Detroit Street, which means a busy patio and sidewalk full of guests eating, drinking and enjoying themselves -- surrounded by plants and flowers. It means sangria and gazpacho and grilled corn and watermelon. There has been live music on most Friday nights, when Mr. B and Pete Siers set up the piano bike and drum kit across the street and regale us with the finest boogie-woogie and blues in the land.
Social action, which means campaigns highlighting the need to fund coronavirus testing and the USPS, selling Black Lives Matter shirts and masks and sending proceeds to Peace Neighborhood Center, and providing voter registration forms and absentee ballots at the restaurant. Vote!
Big decisions, namely regarding The Lunch Room Diner in Kerrytown. Yes, we have turned the space over to Eat -- a carryout and catering operation in need of a dining room and downtown presence. And we have shrunk from three locations to two in a bid to conserve resources and survive this period. More details below.
Staffing stability, with a few changes. The majority of employees are continuing to work and hone their professional skills, making the restaurant function like a well-oiled machine. A handful of staff members have left town and terrific new folks have come in to replace them.
A growing realization that our pandemic business model will probably be in place for another six months or so. We will not offer indoor dining until the situation has drastically improved, which likely means operating as a carryout and delivery operation through the cold months.
An increased sense of anxiety about what may happen in the months leading up to and directly following the election, coupled with a growing acceptance that chaos and uncertainty are inevitable.
A LUNCH ROOM POSTMORTEM
As you may know, this business started out as a food cart. My then business partner and next-door-neighbor Joel Panozzo and myself launched our vegan food business in 2011 in a 6’ x 10’ hand-built wooden cart, operating out of a now-defunct food cart courtyard on the west side of downtown. We named it “The Lunch Room.”
After two successful seasons, we scouted out a brick-and-mortar location and found it in Kerrytown in February 2013. The space we leased was completely barren at the time -- just four walls, an exhaust hood, and a toilet (not a functioning toilet; just a toilet). Everything had been removed in order to install new code-compliant systems: electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. Even the floor was rubble. There was a trench down the middle of the floor, where the sewer line had to be re-connected.
Joel and I were part of a crew that constructed that space over a six month period. We painted, plastered, ground, hammered, caulked, bled, sweated and cried. We went over-budget in money and time.
Our food cart patrons helped out by buying gift cards. Friends contributed their labor. We took the wooden marquis from the food cart and affixed it to the outside of the building. Finally that August of 2013, short on sleep and experience and long on chutzpah, we opened our doors.
In a short time, The Lunch Room found its stride. We got a liquor license in 2014, which expanded our offerings and customer base. We opened our Bakery & Cafe in 2015 because we needed more space to prepare breads and pastries. And we opened Detroit Street Filling Station in 2017 because The Lunch Room constantly had lines out the door and was unable to meet the growing demand. And now, with the pandemic, we have shrunk back to two locations.
I’m not sure how or when The Lunch Room became an Ann Arbor must-visit place or attained cult-status following. It’s hard, when you are somewhere day-in and day-out ,to see changes that an outsider would notice. But there was something about that little space that just screamed “community.” I had countless conversations with guests at the counter and on the floor. Some were quick and superficial but an impressive number were deep and meaningful. I made close friendships there with staff and customers. And maybe it was because the tiny tables were so close together, but one could daily witness interactions between tables. We hosted first dates and wedding anniversaries, small weddings, friend reunions, Halloween parties, scavenger hunts, music nights, and fundraisers. We gave away thousands of dollars to local organizations helping vulnerable populations. We took stands for social justice. We advocated for worker rights and prisoner rights and immigrant rights. And we served up really good food.
There is so much more to write. Who out there has Lunch Room stories to share? Please send them in. We are in a period that does not leave much space for sentimentality, but the closing of The Lunch Room deserves sentimentality. That little space saw so much love.
It helps that Detroit Street Filling Station is in the same neighborhood, has many of the same dishes and staff members as The Lunch Room. Even The Lunch Room’s neon sign is now displayed in the lounge at Detroit Street. RIP The Lunch Room. Your spirit lives on!