Closing of 2 businesses at Erie's Food Hall not a good sign

It's disappointing that two businesses are leaving Erie's Flagship City Food Hall after just six months. Lucky Louie's, a popular beer and hot dog establishment at 8238 Perry Highway, recently closed its Food Hall shop, as did the Blue Willow Bakery and Café.

Erie's downtown still feels the remnants of the pandemic, as many Erie Insurance employees are still working from home. Also, finding workers for area restaurants remains a challenge.

More: After 3 years and millions of dollars, here are the vendors in Erie's food hall

That said, it's not a good sign that two businesses are already throwing in the towel. It means that the operators of the Food Hall must figure out a way to make it work for tenants and their customers. If Erie's pleasant summer weather can't draw enough visitors downtown to support the Food Hall, it's going to be challenging during the long winter ahead.

More: Erie's Flagship Public Market debuts as EDDC checks another goal off its list

There is a bit of good bit of restaurant news, as the new Erie Donut Factory prepares for its grand opening on June 18. The doughnut shop is located next to the Hallmark Store in Peach Street's Summit Plaza. A city can never have too many quality doughnut shops.

Glazed, filled or iced: Here are places in the Erie area to find your favorite doughnuts

● Al Swigonski, who is hard at work on the second volume of his excellent local sports heroes book, points out the large number of former Erie SeaWolves players who have been called up to the big leagues this season.

Those making their debut include Spencer Torkelson, Elvin Rodriguez, Jose Azocar, Angel DeJesus, Beau Briske, Jason Krizan, Alex Faedo, Joey Wentz and Kody Clemens. Al believes Riley Greene, once he recovers from a foot injury, will also be promoted.

It’s a sign of the high quality of professional baseball that fans are enjoying at UPMC Park.

More: At 6 feet 3 inches, the Erie SeaWolves' Gage Workman isn't your typical base stealer

● The recent death of Dan Mead, the 57-year-old son of the late Ed and Allene Mead, saddened his family and many friends in Erie. I last spoke to Dan a few months ago when he was working on a documentary on TV news reporter Peter Arnett, who was a close friend of Ed Mead’s. Dan served as a producer on the project.

He was a bright, personable guy and we often talked about our days at Vanderbilt University. Danny, of course, was younger than me, but he enjoyed his college experience as much as I did.

He'd been an excellent athlete at Fairview High School, and with that winning smile and devil-may-care attitude, he lit up every room he entered. Dan died way too young and my heart goes out to his family and loved ones.

● As a permanent fence is installed at the top of the Griff Slides at the Lake Erie Arboretum at Frontier Park, the attraction will be closed until mid-June. The popular slides remind me a little of the tall metal sliding boards that were so popular at parks and playgrounds when we were kids.

Back then, kids would grease the slides with the inside of potato chip bags and then slide down head-first at a blistering clip. It's amazing that any of us survived.

● The former Citizens Bank at the corner of West 12th and State streets is undergoing massive renovations. It's one of the buildings in that neighborhood owned by developer Pete Zaphiris, who plans to reopen it as the Great Lakes Insurance building.

Zaphiris also owns the former Metropolitan Dance Club on West 14th Street, which he plans to renovate over the next year.

Related: Erie developer’s Citizens Bank projects move forward

● Louise Humenay sends word that Kate Tellers, daughter of Erie's Paul Tellers and the late Lisa Antoun Tellers, is one of four authors of the newly published "How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth" that’s landed on the New York Times bestseller list. Critics are raving about the book.

Kate Tellers is married to Jason Falschook, a photographer, and they have two children. They live in Brooklyn.

● Sorry to learn of the death of Pete Howard, a community leader for many years in nearby Findley Lake, New York. Pete, who was 86, became a force in real estate there over the years and was active in so many businesses and community projects. A celebration of his life is schedule for the Findley Lake Fire Hall on June 18.

● I’m so glad that Brian Wieczorek was able to save the banner commemorating St. John the Baptist School's 1969 state basketball championship. Brian's older brother, the late Gary Wieczorek, starred as the team's point guard.

After word spread that Brian had the banner, former players on that team gathered for a photo on the steps of what had been St. John School. It's hard to believe that 53 years have passed since those happy days.

● A crowd of people, gathered on Memorial Day on the bayfront side of the Sheraton Hotel restaurant, got a kick out of the "pirate" in the small boat who sailed close to the kids standing onshore. The pirate is part of the show with the Scallywags, the popular ship that sails the bay during summer. As the pirate sprayed the kids with his water cannon, they squealed with delight. That pirate sure puts on a great show.

Kevin Cuneo can be reached at kevin.cuneo1844@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Closing of 2 businesses at Erie's Food Hall not a good sign