RESTAURANTS AND DR. SUESS' ADMONITION

In the 70s, many small family owned and operated restaurants opened in cities and towns across the country.  Some restaurants revitalized blighted areas. They offered eclectic menus. Locally- grown American fare was served along with dishes from around the world. The ambiance was often one that included music, poetry readings and wall hangings by local artists.

These restaurants became places to meet neighbors and people with like-minded interests. Politics, sports, the trials and tribulations of raising children, and  the complexity of human relationships all could be heard at tables or in booths sometimes placed close together.

Such a restaurant was Duff's which was opened in 1972.  Family owned and operated, it soon became the "in" place no matter the weather. In wintertime, the interior was plain and warmed by the sun as it streamed through the restaurant's stained glass front windows.  In the summers, outside tables and chairs were hard to get. Year round, writers and authors held readings and once in a while a violin could be heard.

Many restaurants here and throughout the country that were established in the years since the 70s no longer exist .  Now, this ever popular St. Louis spot  closed its doors too on June 21.  It will have its final literary reading on June 22nd.

Above Duff's front door hangs a quote from Dr. Seuss:

              "Don't cry because it's over... Smile because it happened."