Comments for Saving Closing Fran O'Briens

Saving Closing Fran O'Briens

2006-04-28T17:57:24Z

Looks like we lost the fight. Can't win 'em all, and it was a fun fight to wage. And Brian Kelleher, the General Manager of the Capital Hilton, certainly knows what a milblog is now.

I don't have much to say - to me it's time to move on with the job of finding another venue for the dinners until Fran's reopens somewhere else, hopefully close enough to make it the success it was before - and maybe even better, in a more accessible location.

Fuzzybear Lioness, who has been a tireless crusader on the topic, and used the top turret of Castle Argghhh! to light her signal fire, has this to say:

Actually, nobody does. Andi is traveling and Greyhawk doesn't have anything up yet. I haven't seen anything at Blackfive or Smash. And Grim is directing people to me for "the latest." But I don't have any new information.
This is just so sad. I'm the last person to ascribe things like a "spirit" to an inanimate object. But Fran's has an amazing positive energy about it. It's like one of my commenters associated with it said: It all came together at Fran's--the people, the location, the facilities. Until Fran's can get themselves situated in a new location, the community that has developed will be running on only half-power, if at all.

Bear in mind, the lack of mention might well have to do with the DOS attack on-going, and don't take it as a slam to those bloggers.

The time has come to move on, and those who are in a position to help keep the tradition going while Hal and Marty get re-established to lift and shift their fires.

Comment from FbL on 2006-04-28

2006-04-28T20:30:57Z

They've had offers for several temporary places to hold the dinners, including the Italian embassy and another hotel chain. I think they haven't committed to anything because they're still holding out hope. There's also a rumor that "something" related is being attempted by someone outside the Fran's circle that will bring further bad PR to Hilton by Saturday morning. Perhaps it'll be the "straw" for Hilton... They are raising money to help pay for the dinners (scroll down here, but time is what they need more than anything else. Hal told me it takes up to six months and 1.5 to 2 million dollars to move a restaurant like Fran's (most of the money for remodeling). I imagine they may have some people wanting to invest in them, but that all takes time to implement. That's why Hilton giving 3-4 weeks' notice was so awful. There's a real danger that the special community built up around Fran's will scatter to the winds in the six months it could take, and then they'll have to start all over again (the waitstaff, etc. have all been trained on dealing with people with disfiguring injuries, and have developed relationships with the wounded. Phone numbers are shared and follow-ups are made). Anyway... If it comes out like we expect, I imagine we'll know more about their plans after they close.

Comment from kat-missouri on 2006-04-28

2006-04-28T19:16:47Z

Hey...in the fight, we aren't dead. Moving on, just means a strategic withdrawal to the next fighting position. Now we need to find some place that can host these things and make it as close to Fran's. Now we need to call out the scouts. Send them out to see what's going to happen next and tell us what to do. Do we need to raise more money?

Comment from FbL on 2006-04-28

2006-04-28T18:23:24Z

Thanks, John. Just to clarify in case any misunderstanding develops: I was responding to John's suggestion that I link to something someone else has written, since I was struggling with what to say. I was in no way complaining that the story wasn't being covered. It was Greyhawk who first sounded the alarm on this, so I'm quite sure he's on top of things. And Blackfive and Smash have been right in the middle of things. There's just no news right now.