George’s has closed its doors for the last time.
If you think this is old news, if you think I’m really slow to be telling you months and months after the fact, then I should mention that I’m not talking about George’s Department Store, the up-market shop in Collins Street, Melbourne, that has been yoyo-ing its way to bankruptcy for years.
No, I’m talking about something much more important: George’s fish’n’chips shop in Bay Street, Brighton. George apparently couldn’t get a deal going with the agent to extend the lease, and decided "Bugger it then, I’m retiring!"
There’s been no fanfare. No last minute bargain sales of potato cakes. No "two minimum chips for the price of one" offers. He just shut up shop for the last time on Sunday and pissed off back to Greece. (Well, actually, I have no idea if he went back to Greece. I just thought it made a nice line.)
So now, on those days when I don’t bring a sandwich in for lunch, on those days when I want a major cholesterol hit, what will I do? Will I have to resort to the nicely cooked but exceedingly wankily named "Mussels Fish And Chippery" up the street? Or the do-gooding grilled fish’n’chips place opposite the post office?
I don’t know. Time will tell.
