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Firehouse Grill Cast of Characters: Matt Lawrence, JD Cavanaugh, Carly (Magnolia Café Manager), Dominic (Magnolia Café Manager) Andy (Former Magnolia Mgr.), Pam (Chef), Erik (Firehouse Bar Mgr.), Michelle (Firehouse Bartender), Dylan MaCalley (Carneros Winery & Firehouse Maitre D) Chapter 1 - Taking a Leap JD Cavanaugh and I had been together for almost 4 years when, as all things closet-related does, something "popped up" out of my past. We were very happy and had come together as business partners before we ever became life partners but, as things go in the gay world, events seemed to take on a life of their own and it wasn't long before our business carried into our personal lives. One evening, as we were sitting down to dinner JD told me that he wanted to chat about something important but that he felt the need to get some things out in the open before we did. My pessimistic side took over and I braced myself for bad news.... or at least something that was gonna put a big ole hiccup in, what I at least felt like, was the perfect relationship we had grown together. We are both 40, celebrating our birthdays only a few weeks apart. He is the quintessential stud who should have been, at the very least, an underwear model for any number of publications or websites. He is 6'3, 180 lbs. of rock (though now there are the beginnings of a tiny little paunch starting around the mid-section). He has killer green eyes; blond hair that he keeps short and an ass you could bounce a quarter off. To give you a little background into how our "partnerships" came to be I would tell you that JD was in the commercial real estate/investment game when we met. He operated one of the only "gay friendly" businesses in the neighborhood.... or "gayborhood" as I liked to call it. Lavender Heights was an eclectic mix of twenty-something's, punkers, gamers, techies, twinks and old gay farts like me.... well old in terms of gay-speak. I was 35 when I first had occasion to talk with him and we hit it off from that first meeting. I was, as I said, in my mid 30's and was tiring of the rat race of both my career and my gay self-discovery phase. Ten years before meeting JD, I had the fortune of meeting a person who, at the time, I thought was my soul mate and life partner. A man who not only ushered me through my first real sexual experience with another guy, but also taught me about love and commitment; a man who, to this day, is my best friend aside from JD. After almost 5 years in a committed relationship, we went our separate ways and I embarked on a 9-year path of unearthing my inner gay self by bedding anything and anyone who would have me in any of the cities my career took me to. I traveled for a living and was very active in state and national politics stumping for the candidates whom I most believed would take us all to the promise land. I made great money for someone my age and I could pretty much have what and whom I wanted during that time. Coming out of the relationship with Matt (yes, both of us were Matt's) I had worked hard to tone up and slim down; I took great pains to shop well, work out regularly when I had down time and it was now important for my new-found "self" to look great. On the outside, I was still a decent looking guy - somewhat average in most ways. At 6'3, 200 lbs. with blondish brown hair and blue eyes I still had that linebacker/fullback style body. I didn't have a whole lot of hair on my body and I was average in the cock department (6 ") ... I was pleased that, as I said before, I had managed to stay fit and worked off a few pounds...I guess you could still say I was the typical beef and corn-fed guy from the Midwest. After leaving the world of national politics, helping to get a candidate elected President of the United States, I decided I was somewhat bored and wanted to do something different. Back in the day, I had worked my way through college bartending and managing restaurants and I still had an intense passion and love for the hospitality business. Considering the numbers of hotels and restaurants I had been in during an almost 13 year career on the road, I thought I had something I could bring to the table and, with a pretty good chunk of the money I had saved, I set out to open a restaurant and bar in my adopted city's gayborhood. After scouring the area for a suitable location all I could find was an older, run-down diner-style place that was, from a value perspective, a steal but from a practical side, a dump with very little chance of becoming anything other than a diner. Needless to say, I did not listen to any conventional wisdom and I bought the place out-right (I told you it was a steal). The city was so happy to have someone else take it over I breezed through the permit process and within a month, Magnolia Cafe was open for business. had set out to hire only locals as I felt then, and do now, that it is important to give back to the neighborhood and become part of it. There was no shortage of applications from hot twinks, jocks and muscle boys who all insisted that they had experience waiting tables. It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that most did not have the background and, though I don't like to stereotype, most did not have the patience or customer service skills to make it; at least not in my house! I managed to find one guy who struck me as someone with experience and a guest-first attitude. It did not hurt that he had a killer smile (with dimples-my personal weakness) and was 100% pure grade-A beef. "Andy" was my new manager and, as I watched him work the crowds and the staff, I knew he would help me make this a big success. As I fast-forward for a bit - Andy did help me make the business a success, so successful that it catapulted me to a place where I was ready to open a second venture in only 6 months' time. While I had a huge crush on him and loved watching him "work" there came a time when I had to let him go and our friendship took a major hit, as you will see later in the story. Magnolia became a hub for the neighborhood, and I was constantly being asked when I would expand or move into a bigger place. There appeared to be a thirst for a nice restaurant and bar that would suit the locals and it became clear that people liked what we were doing and wanted us to do more. That meant I had to wrap my head around going through the process of searching again and putting together a financial package that would work for either an expansion or a second store. That is when I met JD........ |