Born this day:
Wes Anderson
Joseph Heller
John Woo
Juraj Hatrick
Joy Harmon
Shirley Horn
Kate Smith
Mother Jones
Calamity Jane
the Kingdom of Scotland
Citizen Kane
The Marriage of Figaro
Empire State Building
Batman
Mr. Potato Head
SpongeBob SquarePants
Feast
Dear Feastlings,
Twenty-three years ago today, in a space a quarter the size that Feast is now, we hung out our shingle and started feeding people. It hadn’t occurred to me that we’d still be doing this in 2024, but you kind people have managed to keep us varying degrees of occupied, afloat and downright busy.
I’m not much for birthdays myself, and on my own birthday I’m inclined to work that day and ignore what bells and whistles other people seem to enjoy on each lap they take around the sun, and I’m not a parent of a human, but I’m finding myself surprisingly introspective today, on this 23rd birthday of my restaurant child. I still want to protect it when bullies are mean to it, and I’m still proud of it when it does good things for its community, and when it gives four dozen people a way to make a living (regardless of the fact that many of those 48 aren’t the same 48 that they were six months ago.) I still love it even though it drives me crazy, and even though we don’t always agree. Sometimes I still get to be in charge and tell it what to do, but more and more it’s come into its own and it dictates to me what it wants and needs.
I imagine I have a lot of the same feelings that a parent might have about a 23-year-old child: a cautious mix of pride and good wishes with an occasional cringe or disappointed eye roll. But it’s a child I’m glad to have, and I’m happy that the village it evidently takes to raise a child has chosen to support my little slugger. Thank you for that, each of you. You’re the very best.
Still, being less of a birthday guy than most, there’ll be no noisemakers or streamers in the restaurant today, and the only candles will be on the desserts of people who share our birthday. Like me, Feast is getting to be more like its father each day, which means it’ll just be doing its job today, letting you know about this Saturday’s wine tasting
and the special dishes we’ll be offering when we open up on another Sunday for Mother’s Day,
and set about putting together what changes we have in store for the May menu, which won’t begin until the first Tuesday of the month, so you’ll see that early next week.
All that said, the 48 of us who make our living here have you all to thank for getting us to the beginning of our 24th lap around the sun, so thank you, each and all of you, from each and all of us at Feast.
Love,
Your pals at Feast