New Orleans       Lunchroom diners in the business districts of cities used to be ubiquitous, but now are dying breed.  Carbon copy chains, sandwich shops, Starbucks, and more are everywhere.  Diners not so much. When we saw in the paper that Leni’s was closing, we had to make sure we made it there to say thanks and so long.

Our first big office, when we moved the ACORN headquarters to New Orleans was a two-and-a-half story old warehouse of sorts at 628 Baronne in the Central Business District.  It had wooden floors from front to back and was owned by an artist who was often out of country.  At the very top, where we put the lawyers, was where the offices for management once were.  There was also an office in the mezzanine between the first and second floor where we put the finance folks.  We made it work for years.

Part of what helped is that there were no parking meters then.  At the worst maybe we could park a block or two down the street closer to the expressway for free.  We were only a couple of blocks from the Superdome.  A 99-cents Popeye’s chicken special gave you a ticket to see the New Orleans Jazz for almost nothing, before they were bought and moved to Utah.

A real amenity though was the Greek diners.  One block down was Leni’s.  A couple of blocks closers to Poydras, his brother had another one, if we wanted a change of pace.  Pete ran Leni’s.  His father used to sit at the table in the back, often sleeping.  His nephew Antonio used to help out.  Once he left for a couple of months in the summer and came back with a wife, who worked behind the counter, still learning English.  One of our number remembered Pete was from the island of Chios.  For many of us, this was where we had lunch every day, with the specials starting with red beans on Monday and ending with fish on Friday.  It was open at 6am and closed at 230pm, often sweeping us out.  We were regulars and would have meetings there and more for years while on Baronne.  From 1978, when we opened at that location until the mid-80s when we moved to another former warehouse at 401 Howard Avenue, this was our conference room and kitchen.  Po-boys and plate lunches were hardly $5 bucks then, so even on meager organizer’s pay, we could make it there.

Coming back in the closing week, more than 40 years after one office move after another, we were coming to pay tribute and relish the memories.  The lunch crowd was bumping.  Everyone seemed to have gotten word this was the last week.  Finally, we got the last table and ordered.  A small girl gave us water.  When I asked, she said she was Pete’s granddaughter. Her mother and grandmother were hustling behind the counter taking orders, wrapping up to-go plates, and moving the line.  We could see Pete minding the stove in the back.

To our surprise, a greying man bringing out the orders, looked over and said, “Wade!” and stooped to shake my hand, looking at mi companera and asking her to take a picture.  It was Antonio. He kept repeating ACORN.  He remembered us and was genuinely glad to see us.  Before we left, I walked back into the kitchen, and called out, “Pete, it’s Wade Rathke.”  He flashed a big grin and immediately walked away from the stove and came up to me.  He wanted a picture as well, and while standing there, started asking about people, as I wished him well on his retirement.  He mentioned he had seen my brother’s obituary in the paper, who had also been a regular.  I sent the picture to some of the organizers who had sat around these tables back when like Mark, Danny, Mike, and Kirk.

The new printed menus said they had celebrated 50 years, just as we did some years ago.  They opened in 1974.  Pete said they are trying to lease the place, but haven’t gotten any buyers.  I overheard his daughter saying to another old customer that they planned to be in Greece six months out of the year, here three months, and I missed the other three.

Leni’s was good for lunch, but it was no Michelin star.  They were part of our community.  We need more places like Leni’s where forty years later they remember your names, ask about your comrades, want to know where your children are, give you a hug, and take your picture.

The lunch cost a little more than it used to, but it was a bargain.  It was way too much food for the money, but it hardly mattered, it was priceless.