I was trying to raise some cash to open back up when a good friend and customer of my mother's reached into his pocket and handed me $5,000 in cash. Doesn't seem like much in the scope of what I have just gone through these last two years at Bove, but it was going to get me open.
However, that wasn't the end of it, my life is never that simple! I had everything packed up in the truck and was on my way to Maine. As I traveled from Rutland over Killington Mountain and into Maine, I decided to make a stop for one last Vermont cocktail. I stopped at a legendary watering hole with one of the top bartenders on the mountain. The Back Behind Saloon was a great spot and very popular with locals and tourist alike. There was a bartender there by the name of JD. As I enjoyed my beverage and chatted with JD, one thing led to another, and JD left his shift that night to go home and tell his wife he was my new partner and we were heading to Maine...that night! She was ok with it and a new era began. I sent the money back to the other guy, said thanks but no thanks, and off we went. Of course there was no paperwork, just a handshake, the good old days!
JD was struck by the beauty of the spot when we arrived after a 3 hour drive from his house in Killington. When we opened, we were THE hot spot, we were just crushing it, we had to hire police just to maintain decorum in our parking lot, we had valet parking and Lord have Mercy!... let the party begin! We served mostly Italian food for dinner then turned into a disco at 10 p.m. Customers were hanging from the rafters until the wee hours of the morning and we would watch the sunrise many a morning like vampires.
Still sitting at the corner booth, as they were my whole first year, was the gang from Boston with no shortage of dubious credit cards and "ask no questions" looks. JD was none too sure about these guys and they were pretty clear about wanting to deal just with me - they didn't much care for new people. JD tolerated it because they spent so much money.
It was an incredible summer: only 10 short weeks so nobody got rich, but we were young and it was all about the journey in those days. We worked all night, slept until late morning, and went out to eat as much lobster as we possibly could every day at lunch. One of our favorite places, when not eating lobster, was The Shack and their famous Junk Burger with everything on it except the kitchen sink. A famous customer was George H.W. Bush, then Vice President of the United States. He would come to The Shack via his beautiful Chris Craft wooden boat, making his way from his home in Kennebunkport just up the water a piece. There would usually be 4 or 5 of the exact same boats tied up at the dock so you never knew which boat was George's. Rumor had it he had a thing for those Junk burgers!
We would spend another summer in Maine before my wife, Linda, became pregnant with my first son, Peter. The decision was then made to not return to Maine but to settle down at my mother's restaurant in Vermont. Peter, Jr. was born at the end of our third August in Maine and another chapter began to unfold.
We had been home for about six months when I approached my mother, for the hundredth time, about expanding the restaurant. We were only 55 seats and were turning away more business than we were accepting. My mother liked to control me so she paid me just enough cash to pay my mortgage and she tried to provide for all our other needs - car, food, etc. Linda worked a few nights waiting on tables, really just to get out of the house; she was great at it and made pretty good money.
It finally came to pass that I had to threaten to leave before my mother would take the restaurant expansion seriously. I had one child already, another one coming, and couldn't live on "nothing" like my mother could. This tension would bring about a day I will never forget as long as I live. Sitting at the back room table, my mother finally broke and said ok to the expansion. The restaurant was our home, a duplex home, and the expansion would basically consist of opening the wall from the main dining room which would double the size of the restaurant to 100 plus seats. Nobody used these rooms anyway and there were 11 bedrooms on the upper two floors.
My mother had always lived as though she didn't have a nickel, never spent 5 cents on herself. The property was paid for so there was no debt, and my mother had never borrowed a dime in her life. She didn't trust banks, lawyers, doctors or much of anybody for that matter. She was sure that if we purchased cheese pre-grated, it would be cut with something we didn't want to know about. She always made me grate it by hand - 40 lb. wheels! She just didn't like the way the machine did it!
As we sat at the table and I laid out my plans for the expansion, she reluctantly listened, and with a shiver in her voice said, "I have some money put away for you and your sister for when I die. I will give you yours now to do what you want". She was always playing the "It's my time" card with me! Italian mothers wrote the book on guilt, especially for their sons.
My mouth hung open when she indicated she was going to GO GET THE MONEY UPSTAIRS! By the way, this was 1980-81, the peanut farmer was in the White House and the banks were paying 16% on CD'S. However my mother's life savings from 35 years of literally working over a hot stove WAS IN HER CLOSET!! Unfortunately "was" is the key word here. I will never forget the sound she made from that upstairs closet!
God rest her soul. She, and we, were never the same again.
More next time...
price. Take this opportunity to try something new!
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