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Till the last crumb
Tomorrow, the marching bands will file past, the jets will do their flyover, the baton twirlers will razzle and the cheerleaders dazzle, the inspirational speeches will be made by dignitaries, the ceremonial ribbons will be cut, and the celebration cake will be doled out to all and sundry until the last crumb is eaten. And we will all permit ourselves to feel, however briefly, like we are 24-year-old Joe McKeehen from Philadelphia, who won $7.7 million dollars—US dollars!—in the World Series of Poker playoff last week.
Yes, MacEwen’s gas bar and the C-store convenience store, together with a Tim Hortons, are open for business now and officially open tomorrow. MacEwen. McKeehen. Those two names sound just about the same. There must be some sort of cosmic significance in that.
I made the crosstown pilgrimage to get some gas, filling up even though my tank was already over half full, just because I couldn’t wait to look out over West Lake and say to myself “so this is what it feels like to fill up in your own home town.” Next time, I’m going to play the high stakes angle, and wait until I’ve got so little gas left I can’t make it to Rossmore, Carrying Place or Picton, just so that I can feel that nonchalant thrill of operating without a safety net. “Oh, yes, I guess it is about 1/16th full; but no problem. I’ll just tootle over to the MacEwen’s and fill up. But what the heck, I’ll go via Swamp College Road rather than Main Street and still make it with lots of fuel to spare.” With a slight undertone of panic, of course, as I try to remember what hours the gas bar is open and hope that the pumps haven’t been emptied out by overeager customers doing the same thing as me.
And yes, I have sampled the Tim’s fare, and can report that the bagel, coffee and sour cream glazed donut I tested were on a par with those from Tim Hortons in most other places I’ve tried them. But make no mistake: this is a Tim’s with an abbreviated selection. Just two types of cookies, for example— no peanut butter.
Abbreviation is the watchword for this Tim Hortons experience. Those expecting to use it as a place to shoot the breeze with the boys will be disappointed to discover that there is only one table suitable for four, although there is also a counter with at least four side-by-side high stools. The rest of the tables just seat two. The restaurant’s focus is clearly on the drive-through trade. Well, at least that allows other places in town the opportunity to nab the pole position as ‘community cracker barrel’ spot.
Maybe it’s better for a restaurant to have a design that quietly suggests “You’d better not make yourself too comfortable” than it is to have one of those horrible signs that reads “No loitering. This place is hopping. We’ve had the experts study it and 18 minutes is all you need to finish your meal. Then we’re calling security.” Of course, shooting the breeze can’t really be equated to loitering: breeze-shooting has an important social value; loitering does not. You’d think that if restaurants were really concerned about effiicent turnover they’d install a parking meter at each table. But I’m not putting that problem on the lap of our local Tim’s: it is what it is.
Before I go any further, I must mention ‘the bump.’ You’ll encounter it by using the middle of the three access points. Unless you are in the mufflers and shocks trade, you will want to turn in and out very, very gingerly. Oops, no, even slower than that. Better in retrospect to have gotten lukewarm coffee. I don’t know what the policy on bump-related free refills is. At least you can head back into the CStore and pick up some laundry detergent.
So now we can check a gas bar and a Tim Hortons off our life list, what’s next up for Wellington? Condos along Main Street are in the planning stage. How far behind will be pet salons? Women’s haberdasheries? Gourmet natural food merchandisers? Upscale department stores? Repertory cinemas? Specialty video stores? Yoga paraphenalia? Men’s socks and underwear boutiques?
And just where in Wellington will the downtown core develop? Will it be around the traffic light at the corner of Wharf and Main, where the former variety store sits empty pending an assessment of its seaworthiness? Or will it be at the upstart Belleville and Main, which now has momentum? Or both?
If these are the toughest choices Wellington faces, then perhaps we can all feel like Joe McKeehen. At least till the cake is down to the last crumb.
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