A fond farewell to Bay Leaf Cafe

[Guest guest]

Today was the last day that Bay Leaf Cafe was open and serving food.

You can't really say they were " open for business " because all the

food was free due to the generous spirit of the owners, Cindi and

Ravi. This concludes 4 years of very hard work for Cindy and Ravi and

all the employees and I will now have to find a new favorite

vegetarian restaurant.

 

One reason times of transition can be hard is that often people are

focused on the future, which is not always clear. But what other

people see when they are looking at someone is not the future, but

everything that they have done and the path that they left behind. In

this case, Ravi and Cindi have left behind 4 years of taking very good

care of the vegetarian community. They have always been exemplary

hosts, like the time I cycled up to Palo Alto on a Monday, not knowing

that they were closed Mondays, and Ravi let me in anyways and started

testing new drinks on me. And they have always served the very best

vegan organic food that you could find.

 

It was very nice to get to eat there one last time and visit with all

the south bay veggies that I haven't seen in a really long time. We

took a couple of group photo's that I will try and forward to Chris

and Ravi, so maybe they will make it online somewhere. To Ravi and

Cindi I would like to say THANK YOU!!! For all the people who enjoyed

your restaurant over the years. We all wish you the best of luck.

 

-sean

[Guest guest]

I would like to add to what Sean said and comment that what I really enjoyed about Bay Leaf was the owners obvious commitment to the vegetarian community and the food. The restaurant business is one of the most difficult to compete & survive in, and as a vegetarian restaurant -- as a vegan restaurant -- it is testimony to their hard work and dedication that BayLeaf served the veg community so well for four years. And, in true style, they hosted a farewell party for their customers on their last day, offering free food and drink.

Bay Area Vegetarians has had a monthly dinner at BayLeaf Cafe since Feb 2004. Sean originated and hosted it until he turned it over to Lena in fall of 2005, with Melissa taking charge in January of this year. We've also hosted Letter Writing Parties at BayLeaf Cafe, too. As an organization, as individuals, we'll miss BayLeaf Cafe. While there's 30-something vegetarian restaurant in the South Bay, there's now only two in the entire Peninsula region.

Sean, sorry to have missed you at the farewell! We were there mid-day and also took some photos, please send us your's and we'll put them up together.

Cheers,Tammy

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