"Morris could use another restaurant"

My primary contact person at UMM said to me a while back, "I think this town could use another restaurant." Things have not gotten any better. I seek to be pro-active pointing out things like this in my writing space. Not that people would appreciate it. There is an attitude around town, how to describe? "Head in the sand" or "see no evil." 

Maybe the attitude is just "accept life as it is" or "let's not examine our naval." "Tomorrow is just another day, let's just get through it." 

Constructive conversation ought not be uncomfortable. It never has been for me. 

What do we mean when we say "restaurant?" We appear to be in good shape when it comes to high-end dining places. Just one example: Old No. 1. These are definitely attributes. Is the old Sunwood Inn going to open its doors for diners? 

When I think of "restaurant" - this is how my UMM friend meant it too - it's more along the lines of a place people can go for breakfast. We lost a prime example of such a place when "Ardelle's" went out of business. Before that it was called "Kelly's" and before that it was "Del Monico." The restaurant was located where Riverwood is now. Riverwood expanded into the space. 

A considerable amount of real estate along Atlantic Avenue is occupied by banks. Banks for a long time were places you could go and start a savings account that would pay you microscopic interest. That is changing now, slower than it should be. You can supplement your Social Security with a bank CD now. It makes a difference. But people are bemoaning higher interest rates I guess. Two sides to the coin. 

I happen to be one who appreciates getting paid some interest. I tend to be an outlier with my lifestyle and values. So I do not even have my refrigerator and freezer running in my home. Some people might be shocked at that. But I live alone. I disconnected it all, right after my mom passed away. 

My most important meal is in the morning: a nice hot breakfast, very often at DeToy's. DeToy's is an undervalued business in the community. You will not find many people talking it up, and some will go the other way with their comments. Easy to criticize any food service. While it may not be an award-winner, look at the business they do: reliable, brisk, consistent. An award should maybe have been bestowed them for being open on Easter Sunday with a buffet. Who else did this on Easter? Anybody? 

People were stretched out beyond the entrance, waiting to be seated. I shook my head, went to one of the quite limited alternatives: "Casey's." Got a cold turkey sandwich to get me through the rest of the day. Remember the words of my UMM friend: "I think the town could use another restaurant." 

Nothing has come along to take the place of Ardelle's as a beehive sort of common dining establishment: popular for breakfast, no alcohol, normal lighting, a nice salad bar, middle class prices. It had a meeting room with piano. I covered many events there when I was with the newspaper. Then it's gone, disappeared. Replaced by a bank expansion. 

We heard during the coverage of the Moscow, Idaho, quadruple murders that Moscow was such a small place, challenged with amenities. Holy cow, if that description was valid for Moscow, what words could possibly describe Morris? Edge of the Earth type of place? Not right at the edge but you can see the dragons and waterfalls from here? 

Moscow, a college town like us, has a true entertainment district. Someone took us through it with a video camera. Bagel shops and a vegan restaurant to name two examples. I could cite the "food truck" but I would have to preface that with "notorious." There was the notorious food truck video showing the murder victims hours before their death: the classic totally foolish fooling around by college students. But there was a food truck to cater to the demand. 

What kind of demands are put forth in our Morris? We really wouldn't want another "diner" like Ardelle's? I would suggest otherwise. I could cite the overflow crowd at DeToy's for Easter Sunday. 

Don's Cafe: terrific but small

I could cite another example from just this past Saturday. I was in Don's Cafe which is a wonderful local resource of course - a treasure. But it is small. It gets filled up. I sat at a table at mid-morning, then became aware that the place was filling up. I told a waitress - excuse me, it's "server" now - that I might move to the counter. The counter space is limited too, and I sense post-covid that people do not want to sit shoulder-to-shoulder anywhere. 

The server said I need not move. For a short time there was at least one table open, then it all got filled up. People were eager to enter the place, not eager to leave. Bless them. Finally I saw a dude enter, look around, notice there was no place to sit, and then leave. I told the server about it as I left. 

I should mention that I require a nice hot breakfast in the morning because I take a diabetes pill that needs to be taken with food. Take it without food and you're prone to side effects. So I dine out in the morning, then I pick up my Meals on Wheels lunch at about 10:15 a.m. On many days I really don't need to eat any more. I am not employed, do not burn up a lot of energy. 

I always have some small containers of Musselman's unsweetened applesauce at home. I need a little bit of food with which to take my evening pill. Bananas are handy. 

What about restaurants? I believe the old Sunwood has offered breakfast in the past. Maybe this could return? Hopefully with a reasonable or middle class price? You could argue that the U.S. middle class has been evaporating. There is something to that. The original great U.S. middle class was created in the immediate post-WWII years. The circumstances that led to that are no longer in effect. The GI Bill was such a boon. "The Professor" on "Gilligan's Island" learned to become an actor thanks to the GI Bill. 

The middle class was a blessing - my, I'm using the past tense - but why did we need to fight a horrific war first? Could we fight wars with just rubber bullets? 

Caribou Coffee in Morris is a nice alternative for getting breakfast sandwiches but with one drawback: they run out of these sandwiches so often. I recently inquired about my top three sandwich preferences there but was told they were out of all three. I have since noted this with good ol' Jay Nelson. 

I also told Jay that I was concerned about the Willie's deli because they insist you have to order a two-piece chicken dinner special. I was told that if I wanted a third piece, it would have to be counted as a "side." I can be reminded of the movie "Five Easy Pieces" where Jack Nicholson blew a gasket because he couldn't order breakfast just the way he wanted it. The movie scene became iconic though I'm not sure it was really all that special. I guess it was symbolic for the times: questioning society's rules. Today's young people would know nothing about that. 

Today's young people are taught to respect authority across the board and they accept it. But these are different times: no more military conscription (the draft). 

So, could Morris use another restaurant? I feel it's obvious: "yes." A friend of mine at DeToy's commented to me: "You don't save any money getting your food at the grocery store." At the store you succumb to impulse purchases - you buy more than you need. You bring it home and then it's a temptation. I know the feeling. Grab a 12-pack of Mountain Dew. Except now I have eliminated all soft drinks, successfully, from my diet. Sometimes things do go right. 

Now I have to pray that my diabetes does not do me in. But we get older and the issues mount. I thank the good Lord every morning I can get up and feel good. Go to DeToy's for their ham and cheese omelette and toast. Remember to take my pill! It's 1000 MG of Metformin. Do a Hail Mary I guess. It's a wonderful day today - that's all I can think about.

 

Addendum: I wrote the first draft for this post Monday. Am publishing shortly, now on Tuesday morning. I'll insert some new thoughts. The standard restaurants we have are not good for being open in the evening, for one's evening meal. That's one-third of the meals we need in a day. DeToy's stopped being open in the evening completely a couple years ago. They once had a Tuesday "senior night" special where you could enter a drawing to win a chicken dinner. It was popular. 

Don's Cafe is largely closed in the evening but there's an exception for Fridays and Saturdays. Let's give them credit for that. The two restaurants I mention here were once open for the notorious "bar rush." Our culture has changed, become more mature and responsible. Sheesh. 

DeToy's will be offering a Mother's Day buffet this coming Sunday. I asked this morning about the starting time and I got the estimate of 10:30 a.m. It might be helpful to arrive right away, because a crowd will most certainly materialize. That's what happened on Easter Sunday of course. Can't anyone else join in with these offerings? 

Our U of M-Morris has to get defensive with its promotional efforts in order to counter the image of Morris being a pretty sleepy place. We see slogans seeking to counter that. I guess the year-round residents, what the UMM students once called "townies," just shrug and accept Morris as it is. "See no evil" or whatever. Ignore the media that might want to call us "Petticoat Junction." Look that up. One thing for sure: We are bright red Trump country. Grab women by the whatever.

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com