Even though it was “birthday” week, it felt like one of the longest weeks in quite awhile. My actual birthday seems like it was already a year ago. There was just so much going on at work – it all added to the overwhelming feeling.
I had a wonderful birthday – thank you to everyone who made it special. Mike flew into town the weekend before and we had so much fun.
Last Saturday night, I suggested we head downtown and check out Church Street Station. There’s been many stories in the news lately of how Cheyenne Saloon reopened this summer so I thought it would be fun to go see it.
Back in the day (I’m trying to avoid sounding like an old-timer here) Church Street was “the” place to be. It was always jam-packed every weekend. They would shut down the road to traffic and the street was wall-to-wall people. Rosie
O’Grady’s brought in the tourists, Phineas
Fogg attracted the locals with nickel beer, Cheyenne Saloon was gorgeous and so popular, and Lilly Marlene’s was the “date” night restaurant of the city. That’s how I remember Church Street.
Last weekend – wow, what a different story. You could have rolled a bowling ball down the street and not hit a soul. There was a brand new, unoccupied, multi-story
condominium building sitting right in the heart of Church Street. It was gorgeous, but empty.
(The 55 West condo project at Church Street Station)
A comedy club now occupies what was Phineas
Fogg’s and Rosie
O’Grady’s sits empty. Lilly Marlene’s is now a tapas restaurant. (
Ceviche) We had a fine dinner there and it was doing an “okay” business. It was still a beautiful restaurant. The new owners kept all the gorgeous woodwork and art that made the original restaurant so special.
After dinner, we strolled down Church Street, past all the bars which I used to go to in my younger days and then we walked down Orange Ave. It was also like a ghost town – on a Saturday night at 9:30pm. I never would have believed it had I not seen it myself. We meandered back towards Cheyenne Saloon and went in for a quick drink.
Me at Cheyenne Saloon
The good news is Bob Snow did a remarkable job in restoring the place. What a beautiful venue. The bad news – it was EMPTY. Just a handful of people inside milling around. I asked the bartender (who, by the way, could have used a lesson in Disney guest service) about live entertainment. He said there was none on the weekends, only on Tuesday nights. What? It was sad. Such a waste of everything. I hope for Orlando’s sake, that the economy turns around soon, the condos start getting some occupants, and the people start returning to Church Street.
Mike, me – on my birthday.
This weekend, I’ve got a lot of reading to do for work. Better get to it.
