SEA GULL
The Sea Gull Restaurant was a popular hangout in Mendocino during the 1970s and 80s. Lots of things happened there, good and bad. I knew sooner or later this would all be converted to words. On this page you will find stories, experiences, and reflections on my time at the Sea Gull. Pictures, articles, art, and more will be posted as they become available. If you were an employee or customer during that time and have pictures or experiences you want to share, send them to me at dhj@thinkinthemorning.com. Don’t expect this to be a foodie site. I might from time to time venture into the joys of mezcal or review a favorite restaurant or offer up a recipe that I’ve found tasty, but my primary purpose is to document some of the happenings at the Sea Gull during the 70s and 80s for those who care.
Oyster Stuffing
[Click on BLUE links for sources or more information} H A P P Y T H A N K S G I V I N G Thanksgiving comes and goes but oyster stuffing for the turkey has been a constant in my life since I first read M.F.K. Fisher’s Consider the...
A Few Things I Learned Running A Restaurant
[Click on BLUE links for sources and further information] … truly being here is so much; because everything here apparently needs us, this fleeting world, which in some strange way keeps calling to us. Us, the most fleeting of all. Once for each thing....
Tell Me Again, Why Is It Called Happy Hour
[Click on BLUE links for further information] Dedicated to the Sea Gull Cellar Bar staff Don Andrews, Bob Avery, Dick Barham, Bill Bradd, Allison Browne, JoAnne Clark, Bruce Clawson, Terry Johnson, Nancy Cragin (Milano), Janet Morris, Becky Dodds, Gary...
Harold Robinson Revisited
[Click on BLUE links for further information] One of the enjoyable consequences of writing this blog is the comments I get. Of course, I also get a lot of spam. Since inception I have received on my website 2818 spam comments and 357 legitimate comments....
Goodbye Bob Avery
[Click on BLUE links for more information} Bob Avery was many things to many people. I knew him best as a friend, an artist, and a bartender. We spent many late nights after hours in the Sea Gull Cellar Bar philosophizing. Once, accompanied by...
Poem by Think in the Morning: My Ph.D. in Bussing Tables
[Click on BLUE links for further information] Reaching across table. Grasping empty plate. Carrying armfuls of dishes piled high, food scraps, silverware. Vanishing. Returning. Cleaning table. Setting up. Next customer. Invisible. Ignored....
The Coffee Shop
[Click on BLUE text to link to more information] “We’re poets and we drink coffee!” (attributed to Roberto Bolaño in The Savage Detectives) The word “coffee” appears 71 times in the The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño. It's reasonable to think that...
Rebuild Part II: The New Sea Gull Restaurant
NOTE: All black and white pictures in this post are courtesy of Mendocino photographer Nicholas Wilson. Many of the pictures were only available in contact prints that were filed away years ago. We did our best to make them visible. Thank you Nicholas Wilson for...
Fire Redux
Photographs of the Sea Gull Fire by David John Russell, courtesy of his son David P. Russell. David P. Russell contributed greatly to this blog entry. Think in the Morning appreciates his time and concern and advice. The Sea Gull Restaurant and Cellar...
Booze
[Click on highlighted BLUE links for further information] There are many jokes about alcohol and its effects, but at the Sea Gull Cellar Bar we treated alcohol with the respect it deserved. The short video below depicts an actual scene that took place...
Rebuild Part I: Fits and Starts
In my last post I provided a bit of the history after the fire that destroyed the Sea Gull in 1976. The first weeks were consumed with clean up, planning, financing, architectural design, and obtaining the permits for the project. I asked...
After the Fire
[CLICK ON BLUE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION] Many of the posts on this site are about the Sea Gull Restaurant and Cellar Bar in Mendocino during the 70s and 80s. This was a special time for many who lived in Mendocino at that time. They are now obviously...