There are many people out there feeling the pinch from the current economic woes that are abound… but it takes on a different feel and favor (pun intended) when it strikes particularly close to home.
On 31 Dec, 2007, Central California Steak and Hogie, here in Bakersfield, closed it’s doors citing a poor summer due to the rise in fuel prices that trickled down to them in the purchase of their food and the fact that they refused to raise their prices to the point that it would drive away their customers.
They had a very good following, including yours truly. I went to this place almost every day for lunch since the day that they opened their doors and considered everyone that worked there to be a good friend.
Alex and Paul, the owners and their employees; Kaylee and Chad, were all great people to be around and the chemistry between them and Alex and Paul, was a working relationship that I truly envied.
When Paul and Alex told me that they were closing, it was like a punch in the gut… I genuinely felt pain for them. I have seen enough of my own dreams fade before they have gotten off the ground, I can only guess how much it hurt them to watch a dream fail, through no fault of their own that I can tell, when it has already bloomed.
I wish all of them the very best of luck in what ever their next efforts are.
