Greetings from Carrboro,

It took a fire extinguisher. A friend’s grandmother turned 90-something and the family made a big to-do. Someone had the festive idea to put 90 candles in the giant cake as a kind-of grand finale. I have no idea how they lit that many, but they did. Or, exactly, how they imagined a woman in her 90s would marshall the breath necessary to big-bad-wolf so many flickering, colorful candles.

But in the end, it didn’t matter. Because about two thirds of the way through grandma’s birthday serenade, the whole cake went up in flames, pyre-esque, sitting squarely in front of the birthday girl. Luckily the retirement facility was prepared and a woman stepped in to extinguish the blaze almost as if this was a regular occurrence with nonagenarian parties.

The inferno aside, we whole-heartedly endorse the notion that birthdays should be enthusiastically celebrated. With cake. And candles. And at Acme, we have a special place in our hearts for all the people who share our similar, wintry birth. You see, the restaurant will turn 28 in February – 28! – as will my oldest daughter, the restaurant’s Irish twin, 20 days earlier in January. There is also some talk that I might also climb another rung on the ladder. But that could be a wild rumor.

You know what’s not a rumor? The fact that we are providing free birthday cakes until the end of February for all our birthday kin. Yes, you read that right. This is how it works: 1) Make a birthday reservation for at least five people any night of the week. 2) Provide us at least 48 hours notice (Sundays require 72 hours). 3) And sing, for god’s sake. We want to hear you in the kitchen.

Well, that’s all the news from Carrboro. The Staff at Acme look forward to serving you soon.

Cheers,
The Staff at Acme