“Closing time, every new beginning
Comes from some other beginnings end, yeah”
— Song by Semisonic, written by Dan Wilson
In an increasingly distributed world, I love days like New Year’s Eve where every facet of life and business reconvene around a common experience — the end of a year.
My experience of 2023 is best summed up as ‘high highs and low lows.’ The figurative changes in elevation were steep and dizzying at times, yet I feel myself emerging with gratitude for the lessons learned and the people I spent time with.
These past few weeks I was caught off-guard by a wave of restaurants closing, including several long-time institutions. Examples include Josephine in Nashville and North Beach Restaurant in San Francisco. Josephine was a favorite (don’t get me started on their chocolate cake with cherries in the middle) and I didn’t have time to say goodbye. I’m grateful for the VC dinner I co-hosted there with Sean Park at Citizens Bank and Jim Fulton at Cooley after 3686 this past September. (Thanks again, Sean and Jim, for making it possible.)
North Beach Restaurant closes tonight after a five-decade(!) run as the namesake restaurant of San Francisco’s Italian district. My husband grew up celebrating many holidays and family events within their walls. We returned last week for an after-dinner Amaro and took in the wall of impeccably curated wines lining the impressive wall above the bar.
I’ve sat at the bar on the last nights of various restaurants’ lives and the energy is always about the same, or at least it rhymes. Without explicitly knowing the fate of the restaurant, it can feel like an ordinary night. It only requires a quick conversation with a server or bartender to expose what is happening and about to happen — a chapter is closing, one that brought together a network of people (workers, owners, customers, suppliers) and a collection of things (supplies, ingredients, furniture, decor et al) in a single, shared space.
Now, those people and things will find new chapters in new homes.
Closing shop is certainly bittersweet and tinged with grief, regardless of the circumstances. Perhaps a lease runs out, rents go up (as many places are facing in the new year), leadership wants out, or business slumps. No matter the reason, an ending is an ending, and also a beginning.
I’ve had my share of endings and beginnings and even wrote about a few of them (see ‘Notes From Sabbatical, Month 1 and Month 2’, ‘My 100-Year Plan’, and ‘Tips for Grieving Sudden Loss of a Loved One’). Speaking from personal experience, new things can always emerge—if only we let them.
2023 was a complicated one for many people. At times it seemed overwhelming, or at least it did to me. Today, we come together to close the book on a calendar year and anticipate the start of a new one tomorrow. My wish is we ring in the new year giving it all we have, even if that means a long, good night’s sleep.
I wanted to close with an excerpt from the song ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ by The Byrds, which seems as relevant today as it must’ve been in 1959 when Pete Seeger wrote it and then in 1962 when it was released. The whole song is great so I opted to share the full set of lyrics. Enjoy and happy NYE.
To everything turn, turn, turn
There is a season turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under Heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
To everything turn, turn, turn
There is a season turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under Heaven
A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together
To everything turn, turn, turn
There is a season turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under Heaven
A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace
A time to refrain from embracing
To everything turn, turn, turn
There is a season turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under Heaven
A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rain, a time of sow
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late