KAWARTHA LAKES-A campaign has popped up to “Save the Grand” restaurant in Lindsay.
On Tuesday the owner of the Grand Experience restaurant announced he would be closing the doors at the end of August after allegedly being evicted from the property.
Read more here:https://www.kawartha411.ca/2020/08/04/grand-experience-restaurant-closing-after-160-years-in-business/
Kim McMillan started the campaign to save the restaurant and issued an open letter to the new owners of the building that houses the venerable restaurant.
Here is a copy of the letter:
To the new owners of the Grand
The citizens of Lindsay ask that you please work with Charlie and save our iconic restaurant. There are few things left that reminds us of our humble beginnings.  The Grand the building and the Grand the bar are two different things to most of us. The bar-restaurant has been here for 160 years and Charlie and his staff have made it a home away from home for over 10. To close a successful business and put more than 30 people out of work is unconscionable. To do so with 30 days notice is mean spirited, even if the law is on your side.
When COVID-19 hit and we were trying to rally around our local businesses, people lined up around the block to get food from the Grand. I talked to staff and they joked they were busier now then before. The town fought to keep the restaurant a float then and we need you to help us keep it alive now.
This is not just a local pizza joint to people of Lindsay. This where most of us had our first legal drink with our parents. Where we went after the Santa Clause parade for hot Chocolate. Where we ate amazing cheddar soup and drank The Virgin Grand Caesar with high school friends to feel grown up.
In essence if you have lived in this town long enough there are hundreds of memories that include the Grand. No one wants this to happen and we need you to reconsider. You have a choice, sit down with Charlie and figure this out. The citizens of Lindsay need this place and as a new business owner you are going to need us.
Here is a link to the petition:http://chng.it/9wdmsy9hxR
