Getting Old

One of the more frustrating things about getting old is not being able to think of a name or word that you know you once knew.  For example, Sherry and I had breakfast this morning at Mimi's Cafe.  Mimi's tries very hard to be cool.  They demolished a perfectly good building on Dale Mabry Highway in order to build a new one in their corporate style.  They have New Orleans themed design with a lot of kitschy decor.  Pretty much the very model of a modern midscale restaurant chain.  I thought that I had read somewhere that they were owned by the same company that has a large chain of rather unpretentious restaurants that appeal primarily to the over 65 set.  But I couldn't think of the name.

This chain has restaurants all around our area.  We used to take my father to the one in Bradenton on Sunday mornings when we stayed overnight with him on weekends.  It's a name as common as Home Depot or Lowe's.  But I couldn't think of it.  I associated it somehow with Ohio, but that didn't help.  Farmland.  No help.  I knew the name of the restaurant was a man's name.  Ted Williams?  No, but something similar.  The name just wouldn't come.

I knew that I could drive directly to the restaurant in Bradenton where we used to take my father (assuming that it is still there.)  So the obvious solution was Google Maps.  Go to Bradenton in street view, drive to the restaurant, and look at the sign.

As soon as I sat down at the computer, I thought of the name:  Bob Evans.

I googled Bob Evans, and Wikipedia confirmed my recollection.  "The company he founded also owns Mimi's Cafe and Owens Country Sausage."  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Evans_(restaurateur)

Just curious, I decided to check Google Maps and see if I would have found the name that way.  I would have.  I went directly to the location in Bradenton where I remembered the restaurant being, and sure enough it is still there.