In a last ditch effort to save their beloved golf course, the staff of Tin Cup Restaurant dressed up as dinosaurs and waved at passers-by last Wednesday night, with a sign saying, “We’re not extinct” and urging people to come in for “Great food, great service.”
The staff had been told a meeting was taking place between the St. Paul golf course board and the Town of St. Paul council to decide if the golf course could keep its long-time manager Jerrid Pasitney, according to Tin Cup restaurant manager Brandi Frowen.
She said she had no idea the desperate straits the golf course was in, or that the meeting was actually a last ditch effort by the golf course board to ask the town for help to keep operating, after it found itself without money to pay the debts it owed.
“I’m here to manage a restaurant and keep people happy. I’ve done that over and over again,” she said, expressing her feelings of frustration and anger that her work over the years, along with the other people employed there, was cast aside so abruptly.
As it turned out, the sign saying “We’re not extinct” may have stated too much, too soon, as after the Town of St. Paul council heard from the golf course about its finances, it decided it had lost confidence in the board and decided to terminate its land lease with the board.
The next thing the staff knew there was security staff on the golf course, securing the premises, to the confusion of the staff.
“It was horrible,” she said, saying she felt let down by the board for not giving the staff any inkling of what was going on, and that they were told for months everything was fine.
“They had to know this was coming.”
Golf club president Danny Gadowski said he was not prepared to be interviewed at this time, but the board did release a statement that it still believed in its vision to “provide affordable quality golf for the residents of St. Paul and area” and is striving to continue work with the town to resolve the situation to make sure that residents would still “be able to enjoy golfing in the spring of 2016.”
Frowen noted in the midst of the turmoil, she was proud of her staff for finishing their work with dignity.
“The servers were crying, the chefs were crying, but we finished our dinner service,” she said. “I couldn’t ask for a better staff . . . they did a fantastic job, knowing they probably weren’t coming back.”
While Frowen always had felt love for the town, she felt betrayed by the loss of her job and questioned whether that love was justified, or if everything was just a lie.
But then there was a break in the clouds. Just a day after the meeting where council decided to terminate the lease, Pasitney told her that someone from Smitty’s Family Restaurant had called, wanting to offer employment to some of the staff.
“He heard what happened, and felt it was probably best from a business standpoint to give us all jobs,” she said. She and a former Tin Cup cook were to start working at their new jobs on Monday, and were told that their fellow colleagues could have work if and when it became available.
Lucian Lechovolea, part-owner at Smitty’s, heard on the news about the closure of the restaurant and said he didn’t waste time interviewing some of the staff, noting it’s a “tough” economy and it can be tough to find good workers.
“I believe every place must have good employees. I do need good servers. I do need good cooks,” he said, agreeing the situation was a win-win. “What happened with the company, it’s something beyond (the staff). It’s nothing to do with their ability to do their jobs.”
“It was just a class act,” said Frowen. “We appreciate him calling us. That was incredible - unexpected.”
When asked if it restored any of her faith that St. Paul was actually a good place to live and work, Frowen had a one word answer:
“Absolutely.”
