Letters to the editor

On Jan. 1, the Moana Restaurant Group informed the employees of Lafayette Yankee Pier that the restaurant would be closed in a week and they all would lose their jobs. While the straw that broke the camel's back was mostly likely a greedy landlord, we all should think twice about patronizing restaurants owned by a company with such brazen disregard for the welfare of employees and customers alike.

The Bradley Ogden concept of a comfort food restaurant specializing in seafood was unique. The health benefits of seafood offered some counterbalance to the indulgences of comfort food. At the same time, a nautically themed restaurant can tap into the seafaring and fishing traditions worldwide, providing many culinary and cultural possibilities. Unfortunately, the management of Yankee Pier never embraced the flexibility of this concept. Parking at the Lafayette location was anything but obvious and the menu wasn't varied and diverse enough to keep customers coming back. Even with these limitations, Yankee Pier had a very loyal following. The staff of Yankee Pier was deeply touched by the outpouring of public support. A new restaurant with a more inspired embrace of the nautical theme should be able to please even the fickle palettes of Lamorindans.

There is a recent example of a restaurant literally coming back from the ashes: La Finestra. In that case, owner Jeff Assadi kept his staff together until they could relocate. The Yankee Pier faithful clearly want a new restaurant to replace what they have lost. I'm sure that many more Lamorindans would patronize a seafood restaurant than breaks stereotypes instead of being stifled by them. What we need is a visionary group of people who can breathe new life into Bradley Ogden's concept. Local culinary entrepreneurs can avoid corporate miscues of Moana Restaurant Group in order to create a restaurant that is as profitable as it is popular. I sincerely hope that our pleas won't go unanswered.

Sincerely,

douard Lagache

Orinda

A simple solution to improve our early morning commute

The Orinda Bart parking fills up at about 7:30 a.m. Too many people are unable to park, or have to go to work really early just to get BART parking. There is a lot of congestion getting to the BART parking in the morning. Is there a simple way to solve this problem?

es, there is. Bus number 6 runs down Moraga Way to BART at a 40-minute frequency in the mornings and evenings. What if that frequency is changed to 15 minutes? As the frequency of this bus increases, a lot more folks will forgo driving and take the bus to BART and back. Right now, many people (like me) prefer to drive because on the way back from work, I cannot plan for exactly when I get back. Sometimes I miss the bus by a few minutes and have to wait more than half an hour for the next one. So I prefer to drive to the BART station in the morning. There are many like me who do the same.

his simple solution of increasing the bus frequency to once in 15 minutes will alleviate the BART parking congestion situation, reduce morning and evening traffic on Moraga Way, reduce pollution and make Orinda and Moraga greener cities. Once people realize the bus is a better option, more people will take the bus and thus it will pay for itself.

urge the lawmakers in Orinda and Moraga to consider this solution seriously.

Thank you,

rinivas Alai

Moraga



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