Jenny ([info]jenny_evergreen) wrote,
@ 2009-03-05 07:30:00
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Current mood: crushed
Entry tags:baker's square, everyday, mil, my health, restaurant, tom and work, will

Never so devastated to see a restaurant close...
Oh. My. God! We went to Baker's Square last night and it was CLOSED! Permanently! WTH?! If THAT one can't stay open (it was walking distance from the dorms at NIU), I don't know how any of them can. And, sheesh, a little WARNING would've been nice. We were just there a few weeks ago! They closed on the 25th and couldn't have had more than a couple of weeks warning at best.
We were heartsick. Both Tom and I had tears in our eyes...this has been our family restaurant since Will was four months old. They knew and loved him there, and we were JUST starting to go with Finn...and now it's gone. And there is NO other restaurant anywhere nearby that sells (more than apple or cherry) pie, so Will's beloved chocolate pie dessert is truly gone forever. :(
Fortunately, Will handled it WAY better than we expected. No tears, and he handled the last minute switch to a pizza place just fine. We stopped at Jewel on the way home and bought him a French Silk from their bakery...it's pretty good, actually, but not quite the Baker's Square one he's used to. (And I already checked and they don't ship the pies out or anything.)
Just...what a shock and a sadness. The recession (I really think it's a depression at this point) really hit home last night. We have to find a new place to go...there are some options, but, honestly, nothing even close (being vegetarians makes these things that much more complicated) to what we had. Damn. Here's hoping something REALLY GOOD, like a Denny's, moves in there. (I'm totally writing them a letter!) I cannot adequately express how difficult and sad this is for us, so I'll just stop now. Gah. And I feel so sorry for the staff! Many of them we were very fond of, and they are all out of work now. :(

In other news, yesterday was pretty decent with the MIL, and I imagine today will be the same. Whew. :)

My back brace arrived and the problem is that I have to have it so tight to work that it's like wearing a seriously tight corset, which makes getting up and sitting down hard, and pretty impossible with a baby in my arms. So...I'll be able to wear it, but not all the time. It should help, though, so yay, especially for it arriving so quickly!

Okay, she's out of the shower, time to fly through my flist and then stash LJ safely out of sight!

P.S. With the mindblowing news of last night, I forgot to tell you the mindblowing news of yesterday morning! There were BIG layoffs at work with NO warning. A total of 29 people...they all say this is it, though, through 2010, which is good news for us since Tom, obviously or I'd've been freaking out, wasn't one of the ones laid off. However, his carpool buddy Joe, who is a single-income family like ours, was, so please send lots of good vibes to him and all the other laid off people.
The good thing about Tom is that he's at the bottom of the pay scale for his job (which is why Joe was laid off and not new-guy-just-out-of-school-and-inept in the same department) and he's the only person who does his job...he's not part of a team of engineers or anything, he's IT. So I do feel relatively secure. Still, it's scary and sad. The economy really IS in the crapper. :(


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[info]zen_kitty
2009-03-05 02:20 pm UTC (link)
We have seen so many restaurants and stores close around here it is almost frightening. I keep remembering what happened in Flint after GM shut down a lot of the plants. It became a ghost town.

I had been at a restaurant 5 days prior to it closing. No word. I was stunned too.

It's definitely a sign of the times.

BTW - I giggled at the image of you sneaking in a peak at LJ while your MIL isn't looking. I hope all is going well there.

Big hugs to you.

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[info]jenny_evergreen
2009-03-05 02:30 pm UTC (link)
Yeah. I honestly had my first chill of "things are really bad" last night...I totally forgot to write about the big news of earlier in the day, too! *goes to edit*

*grin* *hugs*

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[info]zen_kitty
2009-03-05 05:02 pm UTC (link)
Whew. I'm so glad you both don't have to worry about layoffs this year. That is such a relief!

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[info]astriana_
2009-03-05 02:23 pm UTC (link)
Since Baker's Square and Village Inn are both owned by VICORP, I can't say I'm horribly surprised. I work at a Village Inn down here, and from what little gossip I hear, the company isn't exactly in the best financial straits. (My understanding is that there was some talk of bankruptcy, but I didn't look too closely.) It bites that your store got closed, though. :( I'd be willing to bet that we have the same pies you have up there; if you'd like, I'll be happy to ship some French Silk your way (and I get an employee discount!). :)

Good deal with the MIL and the brace - some help is better than none. :)

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[info]jenny_evergreen
2009-03-05 02:31 pm UTC (link)
I'm gonna wait and see, but if Will has issues, I will TOTALLY take you up on that, thanks! :)

I really hope the same doesn't happen to your place!

It is. :)

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[info]astriana_
2009-03-05 03:39 pm UTC (link)
Definitely! (You might also want the new European Truffle that just came out... talk about serious CHOCOLATE... ;p )

Me too; although our general manager has made a point of telling us our store isn't going anywhere. (Funnily, that's what I was told not long before my branch of Wells was closed down a couple of years ago.)

*hugs*

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[info]jenny_evergreen
2009-03-05 08:48 pm UTC (link)
Oh, I have! It sure is! But, interestingly, Will didn't care for it! :)

*hugs*

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[info]alfabet126
2009-03-05 03:12 pm UTC (link)
Glad it's going well with MIL.
We weren't as attached to a local pizza place as you all are to Baker's Square, but it was a definite "well, damn" moment when we drove up anticipating the buffet and found a for sale sign in the window. Hope Will accepts the substitute pie.

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[info]acelightning
2009-03-05 03:48 pm UTC (link)
Perkins makes the most delicious French Silk Chocolate Pie i've ever tasted - their Key Lime Pie is also good. they don't have a lot of vegetarian dinner entrees for adults, but kids can get a grilled cheese sandwich or mac'n'cheese. and they serve breakfast items at any time, so you can get an omelet or something. and they're cheap ;-)

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[info]tom_vroom
2009-03-05 06:39 pm UTC (link)
I recall having some good meals at Perkins in Rockford. They had the yummiest blue berry muffins you ever did taste. Good to know the pies are great! I recall it being sort of a cross between IHOP and Dennys with a more upscale decor than both of them.

Unfortunately our nearest one (Rockford) is 35 miles. Hazzard of living in a remote rural city -everything outside of town is like a minimum of 20 miles in any direction.

Me :)

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[info]acelightning
2009-03-06 11:30 am UTC (link)
i'm appalled to find that Denny's no longer serves any kind of pie! (the cheesecake specials look good, though, and i've had the chocolate cake, which is delicious.) i couldn't get the Denny's website to tell me their locations in your state :-(

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[info]jenny_evergreen
2009-03-06 01:48 pm UTC (link)
I know they don't, but they DO have rocket cups, which Will finds insanely cool, of course, and an EXCELLENT veggie burger.

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[info]acelightning
2009-03-06 04:10 pm UTC (link)
i got to poking around on the Denny's website, and i found the page with nutritional and allergen information, and one of the things they list as a potential allergen is garlic! (alas, it confirmed what i found out the hard way the last time i was in a Denny's - the "plain" hamburger patty contains garlic.)

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[info]jenny_evergreen
2009-03-05 08:49 pm UTC (link)
Like Tom said, unfortunately, we don't have one of those close enough, either. I'll send a letter to them, too, though!

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[info]acelightning
2009-03-06 11:31 am UTC (link)
see my reply to Tom...

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[info]dragongoddess
2009-03-05 04:22 pm UTC (link)
Our local paper has a "restaurant recipe" column. Want me to see if I can get their chocolate pie recipe??

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[info]jenny_evergreen
2009-03-05 08:50 pm UTC (link)
I bet I could find it online...but I'm not sure it matters. Even when we bought him a pie from BS and brought it home, it wouldn't get eaten the same way. It was the whole experience for him, I think.

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[info]dragongoddess
2009-03-05 09:07 pm UTC (link)
Ah... we don't have Baker's square here, so that chocolate pie is an experience I've missed out on.

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Bye bye to Baker Square...
[info]tom_vroom
2009-03-05 06:45 pm UTC (link)
I have to echo what Jen said. I never thought I'd have tears in my eyes over a restaraunt closing. Suckage.

I wonder what people thought when "Poppin Fresh Pies" restaraunts went out about twenty years ago? Did all of them become Bakers Square's?

At least the pizza experience went pretty well.

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Re: Bye bye to Baker Square...
[info]jenny_evergreen
2009-03-05 08:51 pm UTC (link)
Probably a few just got closed and the rest were converted.

Yeah. I wish we had a good second choice option! *sigh*

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[info]browngirl
2009-03-05 09:13 pm UTC (link)
Eeek! I'm so glad Tom dodged that bullet. I will hold Joe in my thoughts.

I'm sorry the restaraunt you loved so much closed. Good places to eat are treasures.

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[info]kateri_kachina
2009-03-07 01:28 am UTC (link)
I'll send my local Denny's over. Shame about the Bakers Square, hon. I know it's hard to find a good family place with a decent amount of options...and good pie to boot.

*hugs and love to you all*

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[info]jenny_evergreen
2009-03-07 04:29 am UTC (link)
Thanks. *hugs and love*

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