I wonder what ever happened to Don. Why did his shop close? Maybe people weren’t sure what he sold (although I think health food is a safe guess). Was the food not great enough? The people not nice enough? Were the people too nice?
I bet Don was a fan of the Moosewood Cookbook, the 1977 hippie multiculti cookbook that later became bit controversial because the other people in the coop restaurant that came up with the recipes didn’t think author Molly Katzen gave them enough credit. Then they put out more cookbooks collectively and everybody became nice again.
Were there other seminal hippie cookbooks that I missed? Ours was not an epicurean household.
I’d never heard of Don’s restaurant until today, at his memorial service. Don passed away Thursday, and his friends and family gathered to remember his humor, love, friendship and opinions on food. I hope you enjoyed the restaurant and had the pleasure of meeting Don. Best wishes.
Don decided that he no longer wished to be the sole proprietor of a small business that consumed his every waking hour six days a week. He worked very hard to make a very nice lunch business, selling delicious sandwiches made with quality ingredients; very good home-made soups; and smoothies before they were a craze. And the people, Don in particular, were indeed very nice and helpful. He sold the restaurant, and I don’t know why it closed after that.