rewarded with magic
I sent out a newsletter for love lane kitchen declaring something to the few thousand people who subscribe: That I, in fact, do not like valentines day.
If a hundred people read those newsletters I would be surprised
But in any case, I do get some feedback from people who say they enjoy them.
I send them irregularly and inconsistently, usually when we are promoting or changing something.
In this case, it was valentines day and I declared, in a bit of a cheeky way, that I am not a fan.
People wait last minute to make plans, call at 4:45 the night of for a reservation and are surprised when we are booked. Or worse, come in at 7pm the night of and are annoyed when they are told we don’t have a table.
I did get decent feedback about the email. People got the jest. The frustration that the holiday puts on a small restaurant when people have unrealistic expectations mixed with very poor planning.
As expected, we were booked solid save for a table or two available at 5pm or 8:45pm. We had some awesome specials and some fun drinks, regular customers, it was looking like it would be a good night.
It turned out it wasn’t a good night, it was fantastic.
I absolutely loved the night.
Weaving among the tight packed tables when the dining room is full, the lights are low, the candles are lit and peoples spirits are up is the kind of moments that feed me.
When the pace is perfect, the food is fucking fantastic, the kitchen is cranking it out and the staff is in sync- you feel it. People were so happy and I was reminded why I fell in love with this place and this work.
I’ve always said that LLK has a mind of its own. It possess this fifth element born from The restaurant itself.
You need good food, great service, a good location and duh, customers. But then there is this fifth element that exists in the sum of those parts and it can only come from LLK itself. It can’t be credited to any one element or any one person or dish or event. No one can own it or claim it or even really quite put their finger on it. It’s a feeling, a pulse, a current, that I can only explain as, well, magic.
An incredible amount of work and effort and planning and training and freakin money and time and problem solving goes into making that restaurant function on even the most basic of levels-
So when you are rewarded with a night where LLK shines at its brightest, it’s almost like you can absorb some of that energy back. And I do. I’ve learned to I let it fill me to the brim, because trust me, it is fleeting.
On a night like that,
when Love Lane Kitchen, the living, breathing, pulsing restaurant, rewards you with that kind of energy, you damn well better soak it up.
Like- holy shit, this is actually working and people are loving it and the staff is happy and the food is awesome and we are totally fucking killing it. The vibrations are so positive that they leave you energized.
And then, it’s over. The crowd leaves behind their empty cappuccino mugs, smudgy wine glasses, iced cubes melting at the bottom of their glasses, crumpled up napkins and whipped cream streaked plates.
The kitchen starts the work of cleaning up the chaos, supplies are stocked, candles are blown out, the drawer is counted, the floor is mopped, tips distributed and the magic turns off with the lock of the door as we leave in the cold for the night.
I try to harness the energy of what I thought was a night I didn’t like.
Turns out, it was a night that reminded me of why I do this- to absorb some of the very energy that vibrates from all the work that it takes to create it, for joy and for purpose, and most of all, for the moments of magic.
