Sad farewell to Café Lafayette
As you read this, many of you are likely learning for the first time that one of Seal Beach’s longest standing “local” eating establishments has closed its doors for good.
Café Lafayette, which occupied a space on Main Street and a special place in the hearts of many Seal Beach residents for nearly three decades served its last meal Monday. Tim Liggett, who bought Café Lafayette from its original owner over a year ago, poured his heart and a lot of his savings into the establishment, determined to see it succeed.
One couple who courted here often joked that Café Lafayette was their equivalent of “Cheers,” a place where “everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came.”
You could drop in anytime for a bite and virtually be assured of seeing a friend or a neighbor.
There was a good chance too you’d get a hug from Tim and a sincere “how’ve you been” from the wait staff, who knew without asking you didn’t want tomatoes on your house salad. The food was tasty, but not gimmicky; and at a time when restaurants brag about “buzz,” the sound level was sane enough to carry on an honest to goodness conversation.
It was where we dined with old friends and made new ones. Sadly, now that era is over. To Tim and the entire staff at Café Lafayette, we extend our heartfelt gratitude for being part of our lives and giving your all to make a go of it. We’ve not only lost a fine restaurant, it feels as though we’ve lost a dear friend. Thanks for the memories, au revoir Café Lafayette.
Bob Yinger and
Virginia Kice,
Bruce Boehm,
Tom and Josi Greeley,
Rob and Silvia Faris,
Ron and Kathy Smith
No safety net in future
Thank you for running the Opinion article written by Jody Williams, entitled “One Life Matters.”
This article reflects the best that is possible in each of us.
Too often, it seems lately, the homeless are lumped into a group that consists of alcohol and substance abusers and criminals. They are looked upon as a problem in our community that the police need to take care of.
Homelessness is a problem that our society as a whole must face up to. In an era of budget cuts for all sorts of safety net programs, those with the least resources and the least life skills are the ones that fall through the cracks.
The safety net of the future will consist of people, each of us as individuals reaching out to a real person to learn their story. Just what Jody did with Thomas. Only when we really know an individual are we able to establish enough trust that will allow that person to accept a helping hand.
Otherwise, we will keep sweeping the dirt under the carpet and pretending things are fixed.
Greg Fellers,
Seal Beach
The legacy of volunteering
I find volunteering a very rewarding experience. Sharing some of my precious time helps uplift my spirit. When I was a director I was fortunate to have eight Building Captains (now Good Neighbor Ambassadors). It’s not that easy to recruit captains since most of the shareholders I spoke to were not interested. When I started to recruit a good neighbor, he willingly accepted it on condition he has a partner just in case he needed help. I told him to pick one of his choice. He did and was fortunate to volunteer and have help.
My early morning walk around my neighborhood helped a lot, because I met many good neighbors.
I was ready to listen and help with their existing problems. Dealing with some enthusiastic shareholders could be fun, however, there are a few shareholders who are not easy to deal with. Volunteers surely need a mountain of patience.
I’m thankful to my wonderful parents, who encouraged their children to volunteer when we were growing up.
They were also volunteers and loved to help. It’s surely an awesome legacy I will always treasure.
Lisa A. Dickson
Leisure World -Mutual 1
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