after hours

Rarely do I head into town as part of my early AM walk however, I made a little deal with myself this past Saturday. If I wanted to have an iced grande decaf caramel macchiato, I had to walk farther than around the corner to get my treat! And so I did and when I got there, it was like a ghost town. Cars were scarce, very few people were out and about, the streets and sidewalks were practically all mine. Grand stillness illuminated the empty restaurants, their vacant chairs stacked in windows teasing my imagination. What exactly happens after closing time when the tables are wiped down and set for the next day…

…or made to hold chairs piled on top of them… 

…when the kitchen that closed at 11:30PM stands in wait for 11:30AM to get all fired up again…

…when the bar is poised as if last call never happened…

Seeing the restaurants in quiet repose allowed me to appreciate the diversity of interior spaces that occupy the same block appealing to a variety of tastes both for the palette and in décor. To get a new view of the places that feed mouths in frenzied high volume or low toned civility for hours on end Saturday to Saturday sometimes all year long.

And then I just had to wonder if those chairs count down the hours before they have to stop their table dancing and get to work!

keep your peepers open!®