I didn't wake this morning with a burning need to write. I woke still exhausted from too little, too shallow sleep. I spoke briefly with a good friend. It was then that, layer upon layer, very literal road upon road, I journeyed to a not so distant place and time. A time that parts of me miss and other parts are simply grateful for the memories and experiences that paved the way to the person and place I am now.
It was the casual mention of a friend's late night shift.
Once upon a time, I too worked the overnight shift. What does one eat when they come home from working those hours? It's an instant smile and question that all those who have worked a graveyard know well. Is it time for breakfast or dinner?
I often stopped, on my short walk home from work, at a certain hole in the wall diner in Boston. It was the kind of place where regulars didn't have to order. I was intimidated at first, but they made the best breakfast in the world. It was amazing stuff. Horribly unhealthy. 100% worth it. I would sit at the bar by myself and never feel lonely. It was my safe haven, my home cooked meal when I lived alone for the first time...
So this morning I googled the place. I had, in the decade since, forgotten what it was called.
I saw the familiar pictures. All the memories came back so strongly. Followed by utter devastation at the news that it has since closed down. It closed for good June 28th, 2014.
I swallowed a cry.
And then I set out to learn everything I could about this place that had been so quietly special to me. I was not that surprised to learn that it had been a special place to many.
From Wikipedia
"Charlie's Sandwich Shoppe is a restaurant located in Boston's South End that is known for serving African-American jazz musicians during the era of segregated hotels. The walls of the diner are adorned with pictures of customers ranging from Sammy Davis, Jr. to Vice President Al Gore, former Red Sox Manager Bobby Valentine to Governor Deval Patrick. As a child, Sammy Davis, Jr used to tap dance in front of the restaurant for change.
Charlie's has been described as "equal parts old-school diner and neighborhood coffee shop" but among the locals, it is known for its breakfasts. It has been open since 1927 and has no bathrooms. There are only 32 seats, 13 of which lie along a counter across from wooden refrigerators purchased in 1927, used. Charlie's was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 32 straight years. When Charlie's finally decided to close on Sundays, nobody had a key, and one needed to be made.
Charlies's Sandwich Shoppe has won numerous awards over the years, culminating in the reception of a James Beard Award in 2005 in the category of Southern Wine & Spirits of NY America's Classics.
There is now a web-project history of the restaurant entitled Where Hash Rules. The story was written by George Aaron Cuddy; original photographs were taken by Brooke T. Wolin.
On May 12, 2014 Charlie's Sandwich shop announced that it was closing at the end of June 2014, ending its 87-year run."
I googled "Where Hash Rules." It's an eBook now. I ordered it immediately, though disappointed that it wasn't an ink and paper book (which I could more easily share with my children).
So here I am, eating a late breakfast with a cup of coffee and my diner. I look through the hundreds of photos. I feel it. I almost smell it. And though I know it won't be as important to others as it is to me, I share. And I recall those morning walks, the people, the air, the sidewalks, and my little Back Bay studio apartment… it's still there. Above a corner UPS store. A brownstone. Mine.
