Nobody Left But the Ghosts at the George & Dragon

Thanks to the relentless insanity of light rail construction down Central Avenue -- the main drag here in Phoenix -- many longtime businesses are going under. I just learned that one of my favorite restaurants, the George & Dragon, may soon be one of the casualties.

An English-style pub run by real Brits, the George & Dragon is a treasure. Not only do they serve wonderful, pub-style food -- fish and chips, bangers and mash and roast lamb to die for -- but, in very English fashion, they even have their own ghost.

At least one ghost, maybe more.

Several of the waitresses have regaled us with accounts of their encounters with the supernatural in that place. One young lady was quite alone in the (too small to hide anybody) restroom when she heard loud and insistent sobbing coming from right there inside. Another spotted a gentleman with a hat sitting in the far corner of the dining-room, went to fetch him a menu, and found him gone, even though there was no way past her in that small space. I'm told the manager refuses even to venture into the dining-room late at night after the lights are out.

Well, by the end of the summer the ghosts may have the place all to themselves.

Not only is this sad, it's criminal. How the city is able to get away with this is beyond me. It is literally strangling the life out of once-vibrant business along the Central corridor, all for a light-rail boondoggle that's thirty years out of date before it's even completed.

I hope the proprietors of these businesses sue the city of Phoenix. What's more, I hope they win. Will "the people" lose if this happens? Pardon me, but the people lost before the construction even started.