The voice-mail message at Second Breakfast mirrors the sign on the door: 'We will be closing at 4 p.m. until the 15th. Then we will be closed forever! HA!"
Kevin Ries, who opened the culinary fusion restaurant in April in the former Chinese Deli space at 401 Miller Avenue, said they're shutting down due to leasing issues. But, believes it may be a blessing in disguise.
"We're so happy to be out of this location. It's just too hidden," Ries said. "This was a terrible location for us. The high school kids knew about us the day we opened but everyone else still doesn't know we're here."
Hopefully, Ries' message of being "closed forever" will not turn out to be true. He said he has three investors and has been eyeing two potential locations: one down the street on Miller Ave. and one in Cotati. He wants to be up and running by next month.
He's also considering adding a food truck - an idea that's been floating around since before he opened - and intends to do catering and perhaps host a few barbecues or picnics before reopening.
"We're are trying everything we can to get back as soon as possible," Ries said.
In the seven months Second Breakfast has been in business, it's developed a sort of cult following. Featuring menu items like Prime Rib Egg Rolls, Mexican Street Dogs, Sriracha Wings and Bomb Burgers, Ries gets many workers that stop in for lunch, and the spot is particularly popular with high school students.
"I had a kid in here crying the other day," he said. "Literally, he had tears pouring down his face saying 'Where am I gonna go?"
Dramatic? Not if you take a look at the Second Breakfast Facebook page, where many of the 555 followers have expressed their disappointment.
Ries, the former manager at Outback Steakhouse in Marin City and a longtime Almonte resident who grew up in West Marin, said everyday he would have new people coming in who didn't know the restaurant was there. But, there were also hundreds of solid regulars that kept his business strong.
"The majority of my customers come four to five days a week and sometimes three or four times a day. If they don’t I’m calling police stations and hospitals to make sure they’re okay," he joked.
Today, he said, will be his last day in business at 401 Miller Ave. Initially he was thinking about throwing a party, but so many people have been coming in during the last few days that's he doesn't have as much food left as he was expecting.
But even when the doors close, look for him at picnics in the park, or perhaps catering an upcoming birthday party. Ries intends to stay fresh in peoples' minds, and maintain the momentum of his loyal customers for when he does eventually find a new location.
“We’re not," he said, "going fully away.”
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