The Week Of Asking All About My Mother: Letter to Byerly's

There's a small 24-hour luxury restaurant/grocery shopping chain in Minneapolis and its surrounding suburbs called Byerly's. When I was growing up, it was equally popular with teenagers and moms (though the two groups rarely interacted while visiting).

What everyone liked about Byerly's was the fact that they served unlimited coffee and you could sit there and drink cup after cup all afternoon while skipping class or all night after sneaking out of the house (or if you were a mom, pretty much any time, day or night, when you were sick of your kids). When you got bored of drinking coffee (and smoking, if that was your thing) you could go out into the carpeted grocery area (yes, that's right, a grocery store with carpeting) and eat samples to your heart's content.

I think my mom would really like a gift certificate for Byerly's. When I was in high school, she and her friend Jeannie were there so often that I'd sometimes run into them when I was out with my own friends. Also, she used to go hog wild over their wild rice soup. I wonder if they even make it anymore. I guess I'll have to ask.