It was January 7th 2022, just a month from now, the old supper club would close forever. The atmosphere this evening was electric with excitement and nostalgia. Patrons were almost like fixtures from long ago welded to the old bar stools for the last time. I could see that some of them were even thinking maybe, just maybe, they won’t close as if they were trying to hold onto memories from the past. This place had been legendary for its hash browns and steaks, and not in that order. Smoky’s was a community all its own for 69 years and this next month would be its final farewell.
As the guests filtered in, they were greeted by the familiar faces of the staff. The waitstaff bustled about, setting the tables, while the cooks worked their magic in the kitchen.
As the night went on, the guests, young and old, laughed and reminisced about all the good times they had at Smoky’s over the years.
But this story is not about Smoky’s closing not at all. It’s about a moment in time, a special memory that will never be forgotten. It was 34 years ago, my first job in Madison, Wisconsin, driving a truck for a meat purveyor. It was a few days before Christmas, leaving Madison at 5 AM and heading to Milwaukee to start my delivery route. In those days, the bill of lading was handwritten egregiously with a barely legible address and restaurant name. The company did issue a well-used map that had a few pages missing. By this time, however, I knew the destinations of all my restaurant deliveries so it wasn’t too difficult. Thirty-four years ago there were no cell phones, no Google maps, no Facebook likes or 140 characters on Twitter. On this day, a storm was heading to Madison. I would zigzag across Milwaukee, West Allis, New Berlin, Waukesha, Sussex, Oconomowoc, Lake Mills, and back to Madison before it got impossible to travel, and if I didn’t deliver people wouldn’t be having dinner. I had reached Madison by 4 o’clock in record time and University Avenue was covered fairly deeply with snow. My last stop was Smoky’s. Tom (Schmock) would usually be there going through the boxes and inspecting each steak. Janet (Schmock) was baking some pies and doing other tasks in the kitchen. As Tom was going through the boxes, Janet insisted that I sit down and have a glass of milk and a piece of pie. I was so hungry that day that I had put off eating to get back to Madison before the storm. I politely said no thank you to Janet and told her I have to try and get back to the warehouse before the roads get too snowy. Janet said “well if you get stuck, I don’t want you to be hungry. Now sit down. I’m getting you a piece of pie and some milk. I obeyed politely. When Janet saw me devour the first piece of her apple pie, she promptly served me a second piece. So, when I think back on that day and all the other days I delivered to Smoky’s, it was always Janet’s eternal kindness, not for what she did but for who she was…
On the road somewhere in #America by #FrankGCaruso #supperclub #restaurant #MadisonWI #hashbrowns #steaks #familybusiness #kindness #applepie #smokysclub #steakhouse #driftlesssocial #EST1953
