All lights off, the door ajar, and a nod from the manager...

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(Edited)

Vacant?

As is my custom, I went to have lunch after running downtown, but the place was shut down due to the current whim of the municipal dictatorship. This same thing happened about sixteen months ago. I had knocked, back then, and a petrified owner came outside and informed me that he would drive my lunch to my house if I wanted to order at the door. Which he had done. I think I had posted about that one.

Illegal Food

The restaurant seats over two hundred, I am not going to divulge one it was, and it was empty today. The lights off. They had tables outside in the brisk 42-degree wind. Normally I walk in and am assaulted by a digital temperature reader and sprayed down with a toxic substance but today, there was no hostess, no body at all in sight.

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The bar tender came out from behind the bar and walked to the door from the back of recdacted. "Are you serving lunch?", I asked. He muttered something and the manager peaked out from around the corner behind the hostess station, and nodded. I was then offere a table upstairs, but only for an hour or so. He explained that it is really cold out. I said, "I know."

There was a policeman out front examining the variety at a magazine stand, his back to us, and I was whisked over to a back stairway.

Upstairs

When I got to the top of the stairs, it was like the bar scene in "The Shining". There was noise, color, and lights and music with waiters jutting between tables. I had never seen anyone seated up there before. You have to go upstairs to find the bathrooms, but it had always been empty. Now the place was every-other full, front to back - end to end. "Hey, this is pretty nice.", I thought as I was given a table right near the big screen TV.

My order was taken, I got my water and caught up on my messages. The service was fast and the food was superb as usual, though I did feel a bit bad for all the stairs they would climb to get to and from the cash register.

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As I ate, more people came up and filled in the empty every-other table as they were freed up. I was just waiting for a South American version of Eliot Ness and his squad of Untouchables to crash in and round everyone up for illegal eating.

There I was among the other rule breakers. We are all dodging the municipal order to cower and shake at home with cold food arriving on a bike or motorcycle. We are the elite. The ones that got the nod of approval as regular customers - trusted patrons. I felt good.

I walked downstairs after paying and ducked behind a column waiting for the another officer to clear the width of the all glass store front. Then with a two finger salute to the manager, I got back outside, looked both ways and was on my way.

Another successful visit to the blind pig - pulled off with finesse.


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Amazing

Imagine if the officers didn't come around, you wouldn't have discovered the upstairs could turn into something so beautiful and welcoming

Nice, really nice

I am glad you enjoyed yourself although


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