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Everybody
comes to Rick's
Thanks to all the great publicity we've had
people are making detours to Casablanca just
to come to Rick's. Others happen upon the restaurant
by chance. And some seem destined to be here.
It's starting to be the opposite from the film
- instead of trying to get OUT of Casablanca
folks are coming from all over. We can take
some lines from the film and tweek them a bit:
"They come from everywhere, by boat from Algeciras,
by plane from Madrid, Paris, New York and Lisbon
to Casablanca…to Casablanca where they wait,
and wait, and wait- but not too long - for a
table at Rick's Café." Some stories of people
who've dropped in recently… It was a busy Thursday
night (15 July) with the restaurant full on
both levels and the impromptu curve balls, such
as a party of 8 becoming a party of 16, that
we're growing accustomed to fielding. I told
the maitre d'hotel to handle the downstairs
courtyard and I would greet people at the front
door…wistfully leaving my corner seat at the
bar where I was preparing to enjoy my first
Sour Jdid of the evening. A woman walked in
alone and my jaw dropped…it was Monica Henreid,
daughter of Paul (Victor Lazlo) Henreid. Last
spring, Monica had been invited to Morocco and
we'd hosted a dinner for her birthday April
14. She was clearly touched then to be spending
a birthday not only in Casablanca but at Rick's
Café. On this visit, after taking in festivals
in Marrakech and Agadir, Monica was transiting
Casablanca before flying to New York and said
she couldn't pass through town without stopping
in at Rick's. So Madame Rick and Victor's daughter
stepped into their roles taking corner seats
at the bar, sipping champagne, and - with the
piano, the lighting, the palms - the spirit
of "Casablanca" was very much alive.
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We
decided to introduce a Forum component to the
website, and calling it "Letters of Transit" seemed
a natural choice. Issam made a mock-up letter
of transit for the photo and we couldn't resist
hiding it in the piano a la the film - though
thinking at the time we might be a little too
caught up in myth becoming reality. A few days
later a Spanish friend called and said he was
bringing a notable Spanish journalist for lunch
- someone who loved the film and was so excited
that there was a Rick's Café in Casablanca. Maruja
Torres walked in the door and took in, appreciatively,
every detail. But her first words were, "Well,
where are they?" "In the piano, of course," I
replied, not missing a beat as we walked over
to the piano and I revealed the hiding place.
Proves we're not too crazy after all, or if we
are we have plenty of company! Arne Keskula strolled
in at 10am one morning and said he'd been looking
for Rick's since arriving at 6am. That got our
attention…for instance why would he think we'd
be open at 6am!?? Turns out he'd been traveling
for days just to come here for lunch. Arriving
in Frankfurt from Portland, Oregon on a Monday,
he used his Eurailpass to travel by night to Geneva.
Tuesday evening he took a night train to Barcelona,
leaving there Wednesday night for Algeciras, Spain.
Thursday he took the ferry to Tangier and the
night train to Casablanca, arriving in Casablanca
Friday morning at 6am. From 6am until 10 he walked
the streets asking directions and trying to find
a taxi driver who knew our location. Arne's side
trip merited a complimentary Casablanca beer from
Madame Rick. After enjoying his beer and a hamburger,
loaded down with souvenirs, we put him in a cab
for the train station as he headed back to Tangier
and then Europe to continue his travels. He's
planning on taking trains through Europe, then
the trans-Siberian railroad to Nahodka and the
ferry to Japan…definitely a client we'll never
forget.
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