These lyrics are written in a red spiral notebook that sits on the counter of Tio’s Restaurant between the jalapeño cashew brittle and the straws.

However, these words are not just a line from a Joni Mitchell song for Tio’s owner, Harriet Seaver. And this notebook is not just a notebook. The word “Testimonials” is sprawled across its front cover in big, black letters. Tio’s will be closing on June 30th.

“Our understanding is that this particular spot will be a parking structure…that’s what the design shows,” Seaver says. Her face is illuminated by warm light and the hundreds of colorful salsa bottles that sit on a shelf above her head. She is smiling, but only to disguise the pain in her voice.

“The Zahn brothers sold the building to the city last summer,” she explains. Dean and Mike Zahn, who inherited the building from their father about five years ago, approached the city with an offer last July. The city has been interested in purchasing the land for the last couple of years – especially with the prospect of new police and court buildings.

She and her husband, Tim, had no say in the deal. In fact, they did not know that their business would be closing until one of their customers told them.

“They promised they would never sell it out from under us. They said ‘Oh no we’d never sell this place,’” Seaver explains of the Zahn brothers. “The landlords, to this day, have not told us they were selling the building.”

City officials were shocked to find that the Seavers had not been notified of the deal.

“We don’t hold them responsible for that,” Seaver says. “We just don’t understand why we have to be out so quickly.”

The Seavers have a one-year lease that end on June 30th. The city plans to honor their lease, but this has left them little time to make new plans. Though Tio’s is an Ann Arbor staple, hard times have not been any easier on the restaurant.

“Money is really tight. The city doesn’t seem to understand how much money this proposition is,” Seaver says. “We’re scrambling to find a place.”

But even if the Seavers were to find a new location, the move will be near impossible without more finances. The Seavers are receiving no money out of the Zahn brothers’ deal, and as of right now, the city is not offering any.

“If we have to move, so be it, but we need financial help,” Seaver explains. “We’ve received nothing at this point.”

Seaver also expresses that it has not been easy to communicate with the city. “I wish they would have been more forthcoming in talking to us, instead of us chasing them,” she says. Many city workers are frequent customers at Tio’s, and Seaver has even tried to talk to them about her situation when they visit the restaurant.

Though Seaver and her husband own another location on Washtenaw, she is worried about what will happen if this Tio’s location closes. “If I’m not in business for two or three years, people will forget about me,” she says. “If I’m not in business, then I’m on the streets basically.”

Now, all Harriet and Tim Seaver can do is turn to the community. “We’ve really tried to be good neighbors, so we would hope that the community would give back,” Seaver says.

Community happens to be one of those neighbors. Tio’s Restaurant has warmly welcomed Community students for years. Students can often be seen drinking milkshakes and eating tacos in Tio’s booths. It is our turn to give back.

Though the Seavers are looking for investors and someone to help plan a move, there are several actions that Community students can take to help save this Ann Arbor staple. The first of which is simply sending an email to a City Council member. This will help raise the question of Tio’s future. These email addresses can be easily found at http://www.a2gov.org/government/citycouncil/Pages/Home.aspx.

Another step that we can take is to start a petition. When the city approached the Seavers about two years ago about buying the property, they collected signatures from customers.

“To say ‘From my school, 75% have signed this petition,’ that’s big,” Seaver says.