A "Sporty" Life in Kaohsiung Ryan and Luke, bosses of a sport restaurant 動感十足的高雄生活──經營運動餐廳的Ryne & Luke
Strolling down Renai Road, you will find a restaurant that looks both like a bar and a cafe, with an outdoor seating area. The moment you walk in, you are surrounded by the theme of sports: walls posted with photos of sports stars, live games on TV, and even dishes named with sports in mind. This restaurant is really "sporty"!
Ryan and Luke, the owners and managers of the restaurant, are from Canada. They met in Canada, and friends suggested that they go to Kaohsiung to make something of themselves. At first, both taught English. Since both had experience working in restaurants for 5 or 6 years in Canada, they decided to work in the food industry. Authentic Western food makes tourists feel at home.
Ryan and Luke have lived in Kaohsiung for about 2 and a half years, and they like Kaohsiung's warm weather very much. "Kaohsiung is an interesting metropolis, where you can make new friends from different backgrounds," Luke said. Ryan also pointed out, "People here are very friendly. Even though we live in a big city, we can still enjoy small-town friendliness."
Most of the time, they are busy working at the restaurant. Outgoing Ryan is in charge of serving food and drinks, while the seemingly quieter Luke cooks. The reason behind the design of their restaurant is their love of sports. On his free time, Ryan likes to play golf or tennis at a nearby high school with friends. When the weather is nice, he likes to hike at Takao Hill, or work out at the gym. As for his favorite sport, hockey, it's not so popular in Taiwan, but he can watch TV replays, or play air hockey with customers.
Ryan goes clubbing at his friend's pub sometimes. Learning Mandarin, Taiwanese, and making new friends are fun leisure hobbies for Ryan as well.
Luke also enjoys all kinds of sports, and learning Mandarin. Ryan and Luke recognize Kaohsiung's vast and quickly occurring changes. Both of them are very impressed. They believe that Kaohsiung will soon become an international tourist spot, and look forward to it.
走過仁愛路，你會發現有個半露天、像酒吧又像咖啡店的地方；一走進去，立刻就能感受到「運動」無所不在：充滿運動明星照片的牆，播放運動比賽實況的電視螢幕，菜單更是以運動名稱命名，負責企劃與管理這家店的，是來自加拿大的Ryan和Luke。兩人在家鄉就相識，經由朋友推薦，一起到高雄打天下。起初兩人都擔任英語教師，由於兩人在加拿大就都有五、六年以上餐廳經驗，半年多前轉戰餐飲業，道地的西式口味讓身處高雄的異鄉客在味覺上彷彿回到家鄉一般。
在高雄生活了兩年半，Ryan和Luke對高雄溫暖的氣候都感到非常喜愛；Luke說，高雄是個有趣的大都會，在這裡可以遇到很多新的、不同背景的朋友，Ryan也說，這裡的人們相當友善，因此雖然身在大都市中，卻也有小城鎮的親切感。
平常兩人忙著餐廳裡的工作，活潑的Ryan負責設計飲料與外場，看來比較文靜的Luke則是大廚，負責料理食物。而他們之所以會將餐廳設計成以運動為主題，當然就是因為兩人都非常喜歡運動，Ryan就常在空閒時候，和朋友一塊兒打高爾夫球，或相約到附近國中的球場打網球，天氣好會去柴山走走、做做森林浴，要不就是上健身房練身材；至於他最喜歡的曲棍球，由於在台灣較少見，因此除了看電視轉播，就是和店裡的客人對打曲棍球遊戲。
Ryan偶爾也會到朋友的店跳跳舞，此外，學中文、台語、交新朋友，對他來說，也可以算是有趣的休閒活動呢！
Luke同樣也很享受各種體育活動以及中文的學習。
Ryan和Luke都認為過去這幾年高雄的改變既快又多，讓他們印象很深刻，兩人認為，不久高雄一定會成為一個國際觀光重鎮，十分令人期待。