A First Friday Report

First Friday in Downtown Chestertown must be quite a scene. I have never actually been, but if the swarms of people who descend on us after their saunter around town are any indication, it has to be a pretty happening event. For us, the only downside really, is that it gives us a later start than usual on Friday night. Last night was the worst - not one customer showed their face in our door until 20 minutes after 6. That was rough. We were pacing around like foxhounds before the chase. As soon as the horn sounded though, we were off and running. Of course not everyone was arriving from a tour of First Friday shops and galleries. The photo below shows some of our younger guests, about to enjoy their sublime grilled cheese sandwiches and pasta with butter. The oldest, Emily in the far back right, was "in charge". They walked in with their respective parents as an 8 top, and the only option available was two tables, with the kids all together in their own booth. They were terrific. At one point the little boy, as he was slathering butter on the hot bread, said to Emily "You have to be eight to butter the bread, don't you? That's why we're doing it for them." He then passed the first slice to his little sister.

The second photo shows the only other negative side to a night like last night - a blurry shot of the 7 tickets that came into the kitchen printer at the peak of the rush to either order or fire dinners for the hungry hordes. It did cause a delay for some, and I spoke to one or two tables to encourage them to relax and enjoy their evening with their "date", being sure they had plenty of bread to munch on in the interim. Most people have a salad or other first course, which helps make the pace of the meal more even, but those who don't often seem to have an interminable wait for dinner. When you have nothing to eat while your main course is being prepared, and you are not the first order that the kitchen has in the window, you will seem to have a very long wait for your meal. It's almost psychological - the people next to you who ordered at about the same time are sipping their soup or crunching on their spring rolls while you wait...and wait...and finally when your entree arrives, you notice that theirs comes at the same time. You feel like you waited forever and they feel like they hardly waited at all...

Anyway, we certainly appreciate the extra business that comes our way after the DCA sponsored event. We may not be "downtown" - why, everyone knows we are "UpHi" - but that doesn't seem to interfere with our "First Friday" customers, whether they came from gallery hopping or not!