Photos by Bonnee Waldstein

The usual weekend hustle and bustle of folks enjoying a Saturday night in the neighborhood was nowhere to be seen tonight. The village was eerily quiet. The only establishment that seemed to be thriving was Canyon Market, which experienced a surge of shoppers all day and into the evening.

The obvious explanation for the lull was fear of exposure to the Coronavirus. However, it wasn’t possible to verify that with people who didn’t show up for a night out.

At 8:00 p.m., le P’tit Laurent, Manzoni, and Cuppa were shuttered. La Corneta has been closed for remodeling for several weeks.

Other eateries were open but deserted, or almost so. Two tables had diners at Win Garden Chinese restaurant. Tekka sushi restaurant had no customers. Gialina pizzeria was the busiest of the restaurants, but patronage was nowhere near what we’ve come to expect at this popular place.

Andrew Chen, owner of Tekka, was outside his restaurant as they were closing due to lack of business. “I restocked today for the weekend,” he said, “but I might have to discard the fish. It can’t sit around. I have to see what happens tomorrow. I can’t pay staff if I don’t have customers.”

Glen Park Station bar had a smattering of patrons but there wasn’t any big game to cheer about.

Glen Park Station

Over at Bird and Beckett, their Saturday concert, featuring the Otonowa jazz club, was canceled due to the discomfort of the musicians, according to B&B supporter and booster Dan Lanir. People who showed up not having gotten the memo were milling about and doing some low key socializing.

Right now all we can do is hope for patience and resilience in Glen Park, until things get back to normal, whatever and whenever that will be.