Linda’s Cafe 35-Year Location Closing
Originally Published: January 14, 2024
Bittersweet Last Day
Brunch at Linda's Cafe today, their last day at the current location–where the restaurant has served St. Mary’s County for 35 years. Practically my entire life.
On the way, I wondered if there’d be a wait because of the occasion. There always seems to be a wait at Linda’s, but it’s a wait you don’t mind. Time passes quickly when running into people you know coming and going from the cafe. While we waited for a table, I took in the view. It will be different soon.
I looked up the block, across 235 at Frank Knox School, imagining another time when businesses anchored a community here. The view has changed over the years, from the Flat Tops to a Passive Park, the old library now a successful community theater, the post office in place of Plaza Theater. I didn’t grow up there, but the stories I’ve heard paint vivid pictures.
Linda’s is Tulagi Place for me. That’s why I was so passionate about saving the location back in 2022. On a Wednesday in late April, I was thrilled by the turnout for an information session I organized about a proposed development. So many responded to the call, putting their love for the community to good use by getting involved and speaking out. We did not want development at the expense of local businesses.
Standing on the bricked sidewalk out front, I told my husband “Soon we’ll be standing in a gas station parking lot.” It’s a view I don’t want to imagine. Even the coffee mug is a piece of history; “Get Fried at Linda’s Cafe” on one side, and on the reverse “21779 Tulagi Place, Lexington Park, MD.”
Community is tied to physical places which is why today was so bittersweet. But a community is people, and the reason why we love Linda’s is because of the people–it feels like family when you’re there. It will still feel that way at the new location. And we can look back, nostalgically, in the party room where mementos will be displayed, as Linda told me today.
I hope the picture window with the logo is saved.
