Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Thanksgiving Post

This is from Tracey Silla from the Citybank Emory's Assist Fund.
Thank you so much for these kind words, and especially all your help!
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I hope you all are recovering and breathing a little more these days.

The Emory's Assist 2009 account continues to grow, currently topping $2,600. What a wonderfully generous community we have! And judging from the recent post in the Mukilteo paper and on your blog, you have touched even more communities than many know! (I knew about your mayorship, but not the rest of it...)

We will look forward to watching Emory's rise again on Silver Lake, and we will continue to watch the Assist fund grow. At some point in the next couple of weeks I will arrange with the bank to issue individual checks in the names of each employee (I have confirmed with the bank that they will do this, and that for those employees who might not have a checking account, they will be able to go into any Citybank and cash the checks, no questions asked). Even the woman at the bank who set up the account told me "I keep an eye on the account every day and I'm so excited....!" Yeah, me too. It is a wonderful thing to see people pulling together for people they don't even know.

May this week be one of blessings to your family, and may we all be thankful that no one was injured in that devastating fire.

Happy Thanksgiving, Coles and to the entire Emory's family.

Tracey Silla
Emory's Assist 2009

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

You Can't Keep A Good Family Down

Thank you to Gordy Arlin for submitting this to the Mukilteo Beacon. Highlight of my day!
Mukilteo Beacon Online Letter

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TUESDAY, 17 NOVEMBER 2009 19:33

In 1975, Emory Cole was my employer. He hired our band to play at his Lake Forest Park nightclub/restaurant several times for weeklong engagements, and he was always our favorite club honcho.

As a club boss, he set himself apart by being immediately friendly, gracious, soft spoken and upbeat. He would welcome us by our first names.

Always a sharply dressed man, too, Emory was just plain classy.

Later, he was my host at the wonderful and greatly missed Seahorse Restaurant in beautiful downtown Mukilteo. He and his dear family were five-star restaurateurs who welcomed us like old friends and fed us like kings.


More than a hundred times I delightedly devoured their entrée-sized spinach salad! Crunchy, slivered almonds throughout and that killer salad dressing!

And how about that Sunday brunch?? Don’t get me started.

When Emory and Molly relocated to Silver Lake, they did it again, another knockout premium restaurant, fortunately just a skip and jump away. Beautiful view, too!

Again they endeared themselves to their new community, who were doubtless pleasantly surprised to realize the degree of hospitality and world class cuisine that the Coles had just dropped on their doorsteps.

Emory’s became Silver Lake’s number one cozy fireplace, neighborhood good meeting place. No surprise.

And how about Mayor Emory? I loved that stuff. To this day I think that the perfect government for Mukilteo would be Doug Kimball as president and Emory Cole as vice-principal – a stern vice-principal with a paddle in his office that he wasn’t afraid to use. Then Mukilteo would again move forward smartly

Our hearts broke when we learned of the destroying fire. I can’t imagine the oppression that the Coles are now compelled to function under – 50 dear friends unemployed and assets in ashes.

I add my heartfelt prayers to yours for the mitigation of their suffering. I pray also for a blessed, smooth and rapid swing back into full battle array on every front for Emory and his dear family. When many people pray, marvelous things occur quickly.

Here is what is going to happen. The Coles will man up and excel. The pall will pass within days rather than months.

After addressing all of the emergency concerns and helping to find jobs for his 50 friends, Emory will take one day off to catch his breath and count his blessings.

He will allow himself a nightcap of some fine cognac.

He will sleep in late the following morning. He will savor a cup of coffee and a muffin.

He’ll put some Mancini on the stereo, and retire to his den.

He will don a green, see-thru visor, light a cigar, and deliciously sit down at his drawing board to conceive and design the restaurant of his dreams.

It will be realized and constructed in a trice.

Many of the old staff will joyously return to the fold, and the joint will be jumpin’, Captain Emory beaming at the helm.

The grand opening will be a weeklong party, and the happily exhausted Coles will then offer a toast to the universe, saying: “This is even better than before!”

You can’t keep a good family down. Dear Emory, we love you and are rooting for you and yours in prayer every day!

Gordy Arlin
and Mukilteo friends

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

More Info. on the Citybank Assist Fund

This post is by Tracey Silla-

I have set up an account to benefit the 50 employees of Emory's Restaurant which burned down last week.

This account has been established to collect donations from the community to assist the staff of Emory's Lakehouse Restaurant, who woke up to get ready to go to work that day and found that their jobs had burned down. They suddenly have no money for rent, no place to go to work at jobs they loved, and a nervous view of the horizon as the holidays approach, seemingly more quickly than normal.

Imagine, if everyone who ever visited Emory's donated just $1, just imagine how much we could raise. And if everyone in the Silver Lake, South Everett area (and surrounding) would donate just $1...

Emory said on the news that Monday morning "I have 50 employees who aren't going to have a very good Christmas this year". Let's prove him wrong.

If we come together as a community, and it's usually because of incidents like these that communities really come together, what a difference we could make to this staff of servers, bussers, cooks, dishwashers, hostii...who have made a difference to us every time we visit Emorys.

How many times do we see something like this and think "I wish there was something I could do!" Well, there is. And it is really very simple.

The account information is as follows:

Emory's Assist 2009
Citybank
1504 132nd St., SE
Mill Creek, WA 98012
You can mail a donation directly to them, or bring it in if you prefer.

Neighbors and friends of Emory's have already donated more than $2,200 to this fund. What wonderfully generous people we have in this community!

At some point before Christmas I would like to have Emory gather his troups so we can distribute what the community has donated to help them with their holiday needs. More on that to follow...

Please help get the word out to the community; there are so many people who would like to help, but in situations like these we all feel so powerless. Please help empower them to help their neighbors, especially as we enter the holiday season.

Thank you very much.

Tracey Silla
Emory's Assist 2009

Monday, November 16, 2009

Canyon's Fundraising Event

Canyons in Bothell is hosting a fundraising event for the employees of Emory's on Silver Lake. In order to attend, you must make reservations and give your server the flyer (embedded in this post). If you want a full copy, please send an e-mail (emoryssilverlake@gmail.com) and we can forward that on to you. You can also send an e-mail if you have any questions.

Thank you!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Need to Make Thanksgiving Reservations?

I know a lot of places are still accepting Thanksgiving reservations, and I hope everyone who made them at Emory's have been able to find another place to take your party!

If you are still looking, Charles' at Smuggler's Cove in Mukilteo decided this afternoon to open on Thanksgiving. Charles' is a great French restaurant with a fabulous menu, wonderful wine, and friendly staff. They also offer great views of the Puget Sound.

They have a separate wine bar upstairs and do happy hour from 4-7pm. It's a great place to gather with friends and drink great wine.

(425)347-2700 is their phone number.

Good luck, and if you choose to go to Charles', you will not be disappointed!

Emory's Fire Employee Support

This post is by Debbie Sullivan.

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As many of you know, our good friends endured a horrible tragedy yesterday as their restaurant burnt practically to the ground.


We all know what a tough job market it is out there, with the fire loss of Emory's, [my husbands] Brian and I are pulling together funds for Emory's employees as Thanksgi
ving is just around the corner.

We are donating $500 toward grocery certificates. My Mom and Dad are also donating $500. $1000 so far will get 50 employees a $15 gift certificate. Our goal is to get each employee at least $100.
Is there anyone else who would like to donate to help Emory's "family"? Any donation would help!!


Please write checks to: "EFES/Debbie Sullivan"

You can mail the checks to:

EFES

c/o Sullivan

930 4th Street

Mukilteo, WA 98275
Thanks!

Emory's on Silver Lake Destroyed by Fire

Just after 4:00am on the morning of Monday, November 9, 2009, a 911 call was placed reporting that Emory's on Silver Lake was engulfed in flames. Firefighters and police rushed to the scene, but were unable to save the popular restaurant.

The investigation is still underway, and the cause of the fire has yet to be determined. Emory Cole, the owner of Emory's on Silver Lake, is worried this may be the result of arson after the news of other cases in the Greenwood area.

The Everett Herald posted an estimated $2 million in damages.

Investigators have not released many details, but Cole believes the fire started on the waterfront deck or inside the lounge. Photos taken during the fire from across the lake show the fire overtaking the lounge, then quickly moving toward the dining room and kitchen.

Emory's on Silver Lake is the product of more than 20 years for Cole, and he hopes to have the opportunity to rebuild.

Emory has been contacting local restaurant owners in hopes they can assist the 50+ employees that are now without jobs. Employee assistance funds have also been set up at both Cascade Bank and Citybank.

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Please feel free to use this site to share your memories, thoughts and ideas. If you'd like to write a blog and have it published here, please e-mail it to emoryssilverlake@gmail.com. You can also post a response in the comment section below.

The community involvement and support during this time has been truly unbelievable. The Emory's on Silver Lake family greatly appreciates everything that is being done for them! Updates will be posted to this blog as they are received and confirmed.

Emory's can only go up from here, and we can't wait to bring everyone back into our home and family.

Thank you everyone!!!