It's the end of an era for the Film Girl Film Festival. One of my favorite local coffee shops, the Pleasant Kafe, has closed. It had switched owners before without changing too much, which I was glad of. But now I'm genuinely pained to see it gone for good.
I suppose I was part of the problem. I hadn't really stopped by since I moved out of the lower east side to Bay View, where I made Sven's my new place to work, and even less since I moved to Chicago. But I remember when I lived in the area and practically made the Pleasant Kafe my office, especially during the first year when I was running the film festival by myself.
Not only that, it was a great place to network. I met the other women, Kenlei and Crystal, who would work with me on the festival there. I heard about other Milwuakee artists and organizations. My friend and fellow writer Matt Mueller interviewed me there about the festival for OnMilwaukee. I liked the coffee, I liked the setup, I liked the food. But I too started spending less and less time there even when I came in from Chicago. I guess some places you just always expect will be there.
I hope whatever comes next is just as enjoyable, but I have a very strong feeling that it'll never mean as much to me as the Pleasant did. Goodbye, Pleasant Kafe. Thanks for all the great coffee and memories.
