Chesapeake Women's Network (An Inside Peek)

Working at the front desk is an unusual experience at times. The host desk's focus is directed entirely at the front door; we cannot see anything going on anywhere else in the restaurant unless we leave the desk. So, over the course of my shift, I hear lots of things that go unexplained. I'll be standing at the desk and overhear the bartender say something like, "So I'm there, pants around my ankles-" and I'll dart over in attempt to hear more when the phone rings and it's too late. On a Murder Mystery night I might be going over the reservation book and overhear a staged gunshot, or an actor shout something like, "not MY husband!" and be dying to get upstairs to investigate but unable to leave the stand. At times it is heartbreaking - there's always something fun or interesting going on somewhere in the Globe.

So when I was finally invited to attend a CWN meeting, I jumped at the chance. CWN, or Chesapeake Women's Network, meets on the second Tuesday of every month at about 6pm in the Balcony Art Gallery (the source of many mysterious goings on in the host universe). CWN is a group of intelligent, active, and very social women whom I will admit I was a little intimidated by, but who also turned out to be quite welcoming. We all gathered upstairs to mingle for about a half hour before sitting down to hear a speaker on the topic "How to Win Friends and Influence People." I had never read Dale Carnegie's book, but from what I had heard its message is an important and timeless one, so I was excited to hear more.

We sat down and enjoyed some quality Globe food, grilled chicken and sauteed vegetables. The speaker introduced herself and her topic, and suddenly I was no longer at work. It is usually impossible for me to be in the building without worrying about something - fixing a wobbly table, answering the phone, etc. - but that vanished in the midst of the crackly energy exuded by this speaker and the women she was addressing. The speaker, Tammy, shared with us the importance of navigating conflict gracefully, making coworkers and peers feel valued, and learning to understand the differences in others as differences, rather than flaws or shortcomings. I was enraptured and determined to put these new lessons to work as soon as I could. Women around the room were generous enough to share their experiences and stories, and the group I was dining with became more interesting by the minute. I met one woman that night who has decided, while living on the Eastern Shore, to take up dogsledding (like, full-on Iditarod/Balto mushing). She is 63, writes her own blog about nutrition and health, owns 5 huskies of her own, and has been dogsledding for 3 years. All I could think while talking to her is that I want to be her when I grow u

I left CWN gratified to know that the goings on at the Globe deserve all the curiosity I'd been harboring, and delighted that I'd finally gotten a peek at what goes on beyond the front desk. I'm grateful for the experience and would recommend it to any woman in the area who is looking for something to do on the second Tuesday of every month. 

Weddings at the Globe

     A lot of special things happen at the Globe, little ones and big ones. A grandmother has traveled down from Boston to see her daughter and meet her granddaughter for the first time and the family joins us for dinner. The couple at table 2, quietly watching the derby on TV while she tries a bite of his soup, reveals that 62 years ago today they were married at the Kentucky Derby. The trivia host on a Wednesday dares a young couple on their first date to share their first kiss and to everyone's surprise they do. The beautiful thing about restaurants is that people celebrate over meals; they come together, take a break from their busy lives, and take the time to really enjoy each other's company and the good food in front of them - whether it's a big family dinner or a quick lunch before heading back to work.

     So lucky for us working here, we get to share a lot of the special moments that happen at the Globe. Every once in a while, we get to witness perhaps the most special event of them all: a wedding.

     A wedding is a magical thing, and every wedding at the Globe is as unique as the building it takes place in. I've seen a quiet, classic wedding in the Balcony Art Gallery with just two dozen guests and joined the other front desk staff in strategically watching but not staring at the bride make her way up the stairs, her gown trailing behind her like in a movie. We've also had weddings that take place throughout our whole building - the ceremony in the theater, the reception upstairs, or vice versa. The Gofreddis shared their special day with us in May of 2010 and the whole building was one big party. Lisa and Jon were married on our stage as their family and friends watched from below, something I think about sometimes when I'm seating tables there - this is where the Gofreddis got hitched! A lot of magical things happen on that stage, but that is a whole other blog post.

    So as we look forward to another wedding this very Saturday, we say thank you to our guests. Thank you for sharing some truly special moments with us, big and small. It's what makes us do the work we do.

"There was one thing we heard over and over from our guests; that they had never been to a wedding as unique and fun as this one!"  - Lisa and Jon Gofreddi

How Far We've Come

We seem to have achieved both 4000 Facebook Likes & A Coastal Style Magazine Best of 2014 Nomination in one day.

But it has taken days, weeks and years to attract a customer base like you. Your loyalty thrills us; your support raises us up. Your quirky ways, enthusiasm and honest feedback have helped us grow leaps and bounds in what feels like minutes.

Thank you. Thank you for your business, your friendship and your inspiration. We never could have done it without you, and can't wait to keep doing it with you 

If inclined, we would love your support ->http://bit.ly/CSVoteNow

2nd Friday with Patti Backer

  The second Friday of every month in Berlin is always exciting for us at the Globe. We see a lot of new faces in town, we participate in the always lovely 2nd Friday Art Stroll, and we get brand new artwork for a whole month! This past Friday we welcomed back Patti Backer, one of our delightful local artists, with her show Lighter Than Air. 

   Patti's work is always a big hit. She has described her style as "lowbrow and folk, cute and sinister," and it's a perfect tagline. Her paintings tend to include creatures who have turned one disarmingly sentient yet benign eye towards you as they carry on with however they seem to be entertaining themselves. Titled as simply as "Slowpokes" or as elaborately as "The Octopus and Albino Blackbird Made For An Unlikely Pair," her work is inviting and colorful, in both senses of the word. 

   I won a few moments of her time just before the opening of Lighter Than Air in the Art Gallery and asked her about a few paintings in particular. In "Anteater Loves a Thunderstorm," an anteater wearing a jaunty little hat has lassoed an ant with his tongue, and I thought at first glance that he was blissfully unaware of the ongoing storm just behind him. I asked, concerned, and Patti said, "He'll be fine. He knows what's going on. They all kinda know what's going on, I think." And she's right. This anteater is having a ball. I inquired how the turtle in "Slowpokes" felt about the snail and bird sitting on his back and she replied, "I think they adore each other. There's some love between everybody [in the paintings]. I have a lot of fun playing with human emotions on animal faces."

   An avid gardener, Patti shared that she draws inspiration from watching the birds interact outside her home in Berlin. "I just watch the birds, sometimes for hours. My neighbors probably think I'm a weirdo." Neighbors aside, the world Patti's captured with her paintings is a magical one, and if I can find a classy enough hat I might just sit outside in the next thunderstorm. No ants though, thank you. 

Pictured from top to bottom: "The Beautiful Flounder," "Anteater Loves a Thunderstorm," and "Slowpokes," all by Patti Backer

Mother's Day Thoughts

With Mother’s Day right around the corner on May 11^th, we at the Globe took a break from gearing up for what will certainly be a busy Mother’s Day Sunday Brunch and took a moment to think about our own moms. I asked everyone I came across if they could spare a moment to tell me their favorite thing about their mom, and of course they all could.

Karen, a waitress here at the Globe, smiled a huge smile and said, “My mom is my absolute best friend in the world. She’s my rock.”

Molly, also a waitress, shifted an enormous tray of drinks on her shoulder and cracked an equally huge smile. “I talk to my mom every day, even though she lives 500 miles from me.”

Jeff, an always upbeat kitchen cook who makes a killer chicken pesto sub said, “My mom’s very imaginative. She’s always been so creative.”

Aveon, another cook, said, “My mom has super powers.” I work with Aveon, and he always makes me smile but I would have to agree that whoever raised him would need those.

Claire, our tech and social media wizard let out a few thoughtful “ohs,” and hopped from foot to foot before saying, “I have so many favorite things! Her free spirit, her confidence, and her awesome sharp wit.”

Greg, our bar manager and the creator of George’s Bloody Mary Mix, had a little more time to tell me about his mother, Bunny. Greg was sitting at his office – a bar table that he periodically claims by covering it in notebooks – but put aside his work to say, “I really enjoy spending time with her. She’s always been fun. I was the youngest of five, and I always felt comfortable talking to her about anything. I was lucky to have that, looking back. On Friday nights, she and my Aunt Dot would make pizza for all of us. Dot had 10 kids; her kitchen table was the size of the bar (the Coppertop Bar, which dwarfs most kitchen tables) and they had a Vulcan range stove. We could all bring a friend, and all my friends wanted my mom’s pizza, so there would be 30, 60 kids ages 8 to 25 eating pizza. Mom made the sauce, Dot made the dough. That sauce…it was phenomenal.”         

So here’s to moms; witty moms, creative moms, loving moms, pizza chef moms, moms who inspire us and moms who are always there with advice and a big hug.  Thank you for so much, and we wish you the best Mother’s Day.