Never Judge a Man by His T-Shirt

"I found a place in OB that might be perfect for you guys,"  Robert told Kate over the phone.  "It's right off of Newport on Cable next to a bus stop." 

The rent & size of the space seemed doable so Kate pressed on.  

"Can we take a look at it?" she asked.

"Yeah, well there's a tenant still in there but can you meet me there today at two?" 

It was a Monday, so Kate & I were at home so we walked over to 1909 Cable Street.  The place had large windows that faced the street & one of the busiest bus stops in OB- the one people got on & off for Newport Avenue.  It had always been some sort of retail shop as long as I could remember & now it was called, "Loan Ranger Pawn."  I was checking out a $40 Coleman camping tent when Robert came in.

"Hey guys, thanks for meeting me on such short notice," he said.  There was another slightly taller guy wearing a T-shirt that depicted Abraham Lincoln smoking a bong on it.  I thought maybe he was Robert's son or relative.  He turned to him & us to give the rundown.

"So, these guys are three months behind on rent so Eli wants them out of here by the end of April," he said.  "It's 1,150 square foot & there is alley access."

"Does it have gas hookups?" the guy with the bong T-shirt asked.

"I'm not sure, we can go outside & look," Robert said.  We followed him down a narrow driveway & around back. 

"Well, I don't see any gas pipes," the guy said.  I stepped up closer & saw something.

"There.  What about those?  I think they filled them in," I said.

"Yeah, we definitely would need gas," the guy said.

"You could always put in your own lines.  I'm not sure how much that would cost to build-out," Robert said.  "But, he's only asking $2650 per month, so it's a pretty good deal."

"When's it available?" Kate asked.

"If everything goes as planned, May 1st."

But, we'd all soon find out that nothing really ever goes as planned.  Hell, we didn't even know we weren't the only ones checking out this space.  

"What kind of restaurant are you looking to open?" Kate asked the guy outside on the sidewalk afterwards.

"We do Italian-food, Sicilian actually," the guy said.  "It's my wife's grandma's old recipes.  How bout you?"

"Grilled cheese," I said.

"Nice, I think I've seen you guys at the Wednesday market," the guy said.  "We just moved here a couple months ago.  I'm Nicolai."  We each shook his hand & introduced ourselves. 

The next time we saw him was at the Scripps Ranch market & then at the OB market, serving pasta in a bread bowl with his wife, Cessarina.  

Years later, they did find a spot for their restaurant, over the hill on Voltaire Street, named after her.  It's one of the most popular Italian restaurants in all of San Diego.