Out in the Mountains

That Certain Sense of Deja Vu:
Lessons learned from Burlington’s Deja Vu Cafe

Joseph Watson

BURLINGTON -- A few months ago,
one of Burlington's landmark restaurants
closed forever and I miss it. Other
restaurants have resided at 185 Pearl
Street, (Does anyone remember Conrad’s
Coffee House?) and others are likely to
come and go in future years, but none
will equal The Deja Vu Cafe. The
restaurant opened to a pre—Church Street
Marketplace downtown in the 1970's after
an extensive and covert renovation. Folk
tales have resounded for years, such as:
the top of the bar was a recycled
shuffleboard court; it took years (one,
two, four?) to complete the makeover;
they did not advertise and did not even
hang a sign on the building so you had to
be in the "in crowd" to know how to find
it; the original owners were theater
people from NYC; and various
subsequent owners killed themselves in
the bar, kitchen, or dining-room. The
truth is that the interior was impressive by
any standards, and the food was often
exceptional, especially the deserts.

To the local lesbian and gay community
however, Deja Vu was more than just a
restaurant; Deja Vu was a peek into a
world of true homo/hetero equality.
Since it was known as a safe place,
minorities of all kinds gravitated there
and were accepted. There were always
several out gay or lesbian employees
about the place and, for a time, I had the
pleasure of being part of that group. The
owners (in most recent years being
Robert and Pat Fuller) supported the GLB
community by hosting events like
fundraisers for Vermont CARES and
parties for gay political candidates. You
could always count on a crowd out front,

OITM photo by Kip Roberson

cheering the marchers in the Pride Day
Parade as they passed by.

Most of all, Deja Vu was a welcoming
host to GLB guests. Some specific
pictures that come to mind are: a group
of twelve or so gay men coming in every
Wednesday evening for coffee and
dessert——coming from a meeting, wanting
to relieve stress with some fun; a lesbian
couple, celebrating their anniversary
with a special dinner out, receiving a
bottle of champagne compliments of the
house with the hope for "many happy
returns of the day"; two romantic young
men holding hands over dinner,
enjoying a kiss over dessert, while at a
nearby table a middle-aged, heterosexual
couple complain to the staff and are told
that what the young men are doing is

perfectly acceptable——if they do not like
it they are welcome to leave.

My favorite recollection of Deja Vu is
dancing with a man (whom I was
wishing was my boyfriend but was not)
one New Year’s Eve. We were
surrounded by hundreds of different
people from all walks of life, from then
Governor Kunin to the dishwasher in our
own kitchen, all of us enjoying being
together and celebrating. That evening,
like so many other evenings at Deja Vu,
we were all just people, not gay or
non-gay, not just the rich and the stylish
but also the not—so-rich and the
not-so—stylish. We were celebrating the
New Year but we were also celebrating
our common journey as humans.
Although I know I am not a second class

David W. Curtis

MICHAEL GIGANT E, PH.D. ATTORNEY AT LAW

Psychosynthesis
Counseling & Therapy
HOFF, CURTIS, PACHT, CASSIDY & FRAME, P.C.

100 Main Street
P.O. Box 247

(302) 254 -8032 Burlington, VT 05402-0247

15 Myrtle St., Brattleboro, VT 05301
04/94

802-864-4531