OCEAN BEACH, Calif. (KGTV) — From the Walking on Water Cafe to the shore — that half-mile stretch has been Chuck Fisher's daily driveway for more than three decades.
“Thousands of times," Chuck said, struggling to find an accurate count of the number of trips he's made in that span.
“How many more you got?” ABC 10News Max Goldwasser asked.
“Probably, I can count on my hand," he said.
It is harder to count the memories collected since 1993, when Chuck and his wife, Shannon, took over the lease. At that time, it was called the Ocean Beach Pier Cafe. It first opened on July 2, 1966, the same day as the pier itself.
“We didn't know what we were doing," he admitted. "Against her better judgment, probably, she said, 'Okay, let's do it.'”
The rest is history.
Unfortunately for the Fishers and many longtime customers in Ocean Beach, that figure of speech took on a literal tone exactly one year ago Sunday.
The Ocean Beach Pier closed down, and with it, the Walking on Water Cafe.
Chuck gave ABC 10News a glimpse of what it looked like as of last month.
On Friday, we followed through to see how all those familiar furnishings will live on.
"There's a lot of memories here," said Fiore Garippo. "I'm learning a lot of stuff, my brother.”
For the last several weeks, Fiore, who founded the non-profit Latter Reign Ministries, has been helping Chuck haul all those items from the cafe to the shed.
“If I had a meter on my leg, I guarantee we've done some miles,” he joked.
Pretty soon, those nostalgic treasures will go from the shed to the Ocean Beach Antique Mall. Come early November, Fiore said they will hold a silent auction, where people from the community can purchase those pieces of history. A firm date has not yet been set.
That's also when Chuck will say his final goodbye.
“I think it's going to be, probably, a little bit emotional when I lock that gate for the last time knowing they're going to change the combination. I won't know it anymore," he said. "But, it's going to be filled with wonderful memories that are going to last my lifetime.”
Fiore said all the proceeds from the silent auction will go toward buying a motel for the homeless.
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