If only winter could be two days long like it was last week. Today, though, winter is a memory, as the sun beams down its resplendence onto Richmond Street. We come into the bookshop today primed for the season. We have ideas. We want to paint the front of the shop. We want to sweep the sidewalks. We want to hang blood red plants in our front vestibule. We are Mr. Hooper from Sesame Street (before he died). In aspirational desire, Jason has actually worn a sport jacket to work and has even tucked in his shirt. Have the magnetic poles shifted? Has the world ended? No. It is simply a nice day downtown.
Our shop holds our attention, sure, but there is another, more important, piece of news we need to share with you. A DINER IS OPENING UP NEXT DOOR! Rob Noel, the original owner of Prince Al’s Diner, is opening a restaurant again, this time called NEPTUNE. It will be a vintage style space-themed diner with all the old booths, a jukebox, milkshakes (spiked!) and stalwart diner foods for our bellys. This block has been SAD since Prince Al’s closed and we can’t express enough how much a townie diner is needed on this corner. Instead of renting the space out to a franchise, Rob has doubled down on his diner love and is creating something new and amazing, which is our bag baby. He’s given us a sneak peek and it looks awesome.
He’s over there now renovating the space. We hear drilling. The drilling does not bother us because BURGERS ARE RETURNING and we are very food motivated. We love snacks and cuddling with dogs and now this bookshop will be a dog-cuddling, snack-heavy heaven again. NEPTUNE DINER! SPACE THEME! Have the 90s returned to London, Ontario? Next thing Frilly Lizard and Layman House will open again. PLEASE make that happen! Let’s resurrect the downtown rat life of Jason and Vanessa who smoked ciggies on D&R before heading into Dr. Disc to not buy anything. We had a guy in the shop yesterday who read us a poem he wrote for his girlfriend. HE didn’t buy anything, but he did read us a poem, which wasn’t bad. It will surely get him smooches.
There are so many ways to make a neighbourhood thrive. Love songs, picking up your damned garbage, weird shops, affordable housing, roses along the sidewalk, and space themed diners. A soft opening is planned for May and we can’t wait. Now our dogs can be driven crazy again by the smell of breakfast being cooked wafting through the brick walls. Or is that us driven crazy? Happy and crazy.
Much love,
Jason and Vanessa
