Lorenzo鈥檚 Cafe will be filled with zombies, ghouls and other walking-dead types this weekend to help the Enderby music venue come alive for one last night.
The Cafe is closing its doors after being a pillar in the North Okanagan鈥檚 intimate live music scene for the past 24 years, and its grand finale - a Halloween costume party hosted by the Legendary Lake Monsters on Saturday, Oct. 26 - is already sold out.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a lot of people having a good time, a lot of great costumes and people letting their hair down and enjoying the last hoot at Lorenzo鈥檚,鈥� said Lorne Costley, the owner of the Cafe who built it out of a 100-year-old school house on Mabel Lake Road and equipped it with lanes from an old bowling alley to serve as the dance floor.
Costley鈥檚 feelings have remained more or less the same since he announced he was closing doors a month ago. He鈥檒l miss regularly seeing the cafe鈥檚 faithful following and the musical acts that came from all over the world to play the venue, but he鈥檚 content with having more time to travel and enjoy life in the Okanagan.
What鈥檚 different now in the final week before closing time is that the reality of the lifestyle change he鈥檚 heading towards has more firmly set in.
鈥淚t鈥檚 becoming more of a reality instead of just an image in the future, where now I realize I鈥檓 actually going to do it,鈥� he said.
On the other hand, there are elements of running the business that he won鈥檛 be missing - elements that attest to the difficulty of keeping such a business running for decades on end.
鈥淭he regulations and the permits and all that is monumental,鈥� Costley explained. 鈥淭he building codes keep changing, the Regional District has got different demands on me and the Department of Health is always adding new demands and regulations.鈥�
鈥淭he bureaucracy and the regulations are immense, and they occupy a lot of your money and your time,鈥� said Costley, who also had to promote the venue endlessly despite regularly having renowned musical acts to offer, due to the remoteness of its location.
鈥淓very business has got challenges and this one has its share,鈥� Costley said.
From musicians and customers both, he鈥檚 been receiving a lot of kind words and support.
鈥淟ot鈥檚 of people have been responding saying they鈥檙e sorry to see it go, but they can see why because they鈥檝e been here enough and they know that there鈥檚 been full nights and there鈥檚 been empty nights, and that鈥檚 the reality.鈥�
Costley hasn鈥檛 yet sold the building (which happens to have the ideal architectural style for a Halloween party). While it鈥檚 a difficult area to run a business, he could see it being the future home of a large family.
鈥淓specially if the kids are into gymnastics or ballet, since the dance floor would be a big area to play on.鈥�
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