Dear Editor,
I would like to share my experience of my afternoon in downtown Gilroy. Two friends and I started with lunch at OD’s Kitchen, one of my favorite local eateries. The food is wonderful and the staff is always pleasant.
We parked across the street, in a lot clearly marked for Garlic City Billiards and OD’s Kitchen customers only. We paid our bill at 2:35pm and upon exiting one of my friends suggested we stop at one of the shops just down the street. We browsed the shop and returned to our parking space to find our car had been towed. It was picked up at 3:30pm.
After contacting the tow truck company which was a block away on Lewis Street, we were told it would cost us $175 to get our car back. We contacted the Gilroy Police and were told that this is a civil matter between the property owner and us. Lunch at OD’s was $22 plus a 20 percent tip and $175 for parking.
The next time my friends and I go out to lunch we should consider going to Pebble Beach. It cost $7 to get through the gate, but you are reimbursed in cash when you spend greater than $15. The salads are $15, but not as good as OD’s. We could have had Bloody Marys and left a generous tip and still come home with more than $100 in cash. I have come to the conclusion that I cannot afford to visit downtown Gilroy. I was told by the police to take a picture of the parking sign, get a copy of the lunch receipt and take the owner of Garlic City Billiards to small claims court. My friends and I all agreed that if the sign had a time limit we would have moved the car after lunch. We were the only car in the lot and the billiards hall does not open until 4pm. There were many spaces on the street by then.
Our car was wrongly towed and what happened to us was unfair. I will continue to lunch at OD’s Kitchen, it is one of the few mom-and-pop restaurants we have left. However, when you dine at Mimi’s Cafe you don’t have to worry about leaving your car to walk over to Target. Our afternoon in Gilroy was downright stinky and there was no trace of garlic in the air.
Maryalice Ritti, Morgan Hill
