In three days, an online petition created to save the Easy Street Café from has already been signed by over 1000 people, hitting its goal before the restaurant's final day this weekend.
The customer who started the petition, Devin Wilson of Woodacre, said he created it to try to convince shopping center's owner, Tom Arntz, to change his mind about the decision to evict the restaurant on Sunday, April 29.
In an email, Wilson said he relied on social media to get the word out.
I used Facebook, by inviting people I know to sign it and share the petition, and by posting a link publicly on my wall; my younger brother is going to Drake High School right now, and he sent it to a lot of his friends. I also posted it in the comments on the Patch, Pacific Sun, and IJ stories, and to the Fairfax and San Geronimo Valley Yahoo groups, though it hasn't shown up on the SGV one.
Wilson is 20-years-old and a third generation customer of Easy Street Café and said on the petition that the restaurant is a fixture in San Anselmo and that it “deserves a place in the Red Hill Shopping Center.”
Wilson said that each time someone electronically signs the petition, an email is automatically generated and sent to the shopping center’s owner and he hopes that the volume will be effective in getting his message across.
The online petition form also allows people to add an optional comment on why they are signing.
Lisa Cook wrote, “Because I think that Easy Street should have a chance to stay here. They ‘give back’ to the community so much. Now is our chance to ‘give back’ to them!”
Wilson wasn't sure if he would get enough response in time to make a difference on the outcome of the eatery's eviction.
“I am surprised that I managed to reach this many people — I knew that a lot of people supported Easy Street, but didn't know if I'd be able to get the word out successfully,” Wilson said.
The online petition is hosted on Change.org and is titled, "Save the Easy Street Cafe!"
To sign the online petition or see the comments of people who have already signed, click here.
