La Cozona ready for Tuesday opening
By now, we’ve all likely heard about President Bush and his vision to send a man to Mars. I, too, hold a similar vision, only in my dream it’s President Bush who is going to Mars.
Politics aside, if Bush is determined to send a man to Mars, he can put his money where his mouth is and become an even richer man. That’s because a British bookmaker announced last week that it’s offering 50 to 1 odds against a man walking on Mars by Dec. 31, 2030.
That means if you were to bet $100 a man would be walking on Mars by 2030, and it actually came true, you would win $5,000.
William Hill is the British oddsmaking company which is taking the bets. The company has also established 10 to 1 odds against a man walking on the moon before Dec. 31, 2015, which is when Bush says humans will return to the moon. The president never set a date for a mission to Mars.
History, however, doesn’t favor the Hill’s company. In 1969, the company was forced to fork over serious money at 1,000 to 1 odds. Hill’s had established a betting line in the early 1960s that a man would not walk on the moon by the end of the decade.
But that’s enough about gambling because I’m sure Tennesseans will get their fill of that when lottery tickets go on sale this Tuesday. What I’ve got to tell you about before I get to this week’s Business Pulse is the story of a 7-year-old boy from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. And folks you’re reading history in the making because this is the first time I’ve ever told a story about anyone from Sheboygan.
It all started when Timmy Novotny’s dad was engrossed in a conversation on a Piggly Wiggly pay phone. Timmy was fiddling with one of those joystick-operated games that’s filled with stuffed animals. Using a toy crane, the object of the game is to snare one of the stuffed animals. It’s like the game that’s in the lobby of our local Shoney’s.
While Timmy’s dad was busy talking on the phone, Timmy was busy climbing through the toy chute and into the game. Timmy managed to squeeze himself through an 8-inch by 10-inch opening, which is about like squeezing through the opening of a snack machine.
Rescue workers were called to the scene to free Timmy from the game. Reports that the rescue workers tried to use the crane to free Timmy until they ran out of quarters have not been confirmed.
A locksmith finally picked the game lock to let Timmy out although rescue workers still can’t determine how a boy his size was able to wiggle through such a small opening.
From a personal standpoint, I can sure sympathize with Timmy’s dad. I’ve turned my head before and lost track of Benjamin in what seemed like a split second.
Why just the other day he was visiting me here at the Standard office when he made a trip to the gumball machine. When he was gone for several minutes I went to check on him, and for the life of me I can’t figure how he squeezed into that gumball machine.
But that’s enough foolishness for one day. Now it’s time for Business Pulse.
La Cozona ready for Tuesday opening
For months and months folks have been asking me when the other Mexican restaurant would be opening. They said, “You know, the really nice one.”
Well the time has arrived and “the really nice one” as people have been calling it is in fact really, really nice. It opens this Tuesday at 11 a.m. for anyone who wants to stop by for lunch.
I love the interior design work, and that’s coming from a guy who considers a $5 poster an appropriate way to decorate the living room. My Cupcake has since informed me that’s not the way adults decorate their living rooms and we now in fact have actual framed pictures over our sofa.
Owner Manuel Ochoa has spared no expense to make La Cozona a top-notch restaurant. It has the type of atmosphere few restaurants in this town have been able to capture.
Manuel was nice enough to treat several of us at the Standard to a special sneak peak of his restaurant Friday afternoon. Seven of us went over for a late lunch and were treated like kings and queens.
The first thing that caught my attention came when the chips and salsa were brought to the table. There are three types of salsa in which to dip your chip and each has its own unique pizzaz.
Manuel had several dishes he was working on at a nearby table. He has already gotten the food to taste the way he wants it to, and now he’s working on presentation. He talked about designing the plates so they look just right, which is something I wouldn’t normally think about.
Another thing I should mention is the La Cazona prices are in line with pretty much every restaurant in town. There are combination dinners where you have a taco, burrito and enchilada, for example, and those dinners cost $5.99. Most everything on the menu is under $7.99. There are steaks and such for $9.99.
Manuel wants to start things off right so he is offering free marguaritas from 6 to 9 p.m. on opening night. Some of you may have seen the coupon in Wednesday’s Standard.
Manuel has also talked about having a free buffet for the Super Bowl and a variety of drink specials. I say all this in an effort to be informative. The editors of Business Pulse are by no means endorsing the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
La Cazona is the type of restaurant I think everyone should try at least once. I’m thrilled to see this type of unique eating establishment locate in McMinnville and I think it will do quite well.
La Cazona is located in Northgate Shopping Center next to Fred’s and across from Hastings.
Supreme excited Lowe’s is shifting its focus
Ryan Moore from Supreme Building Products stopped by the office the other day and he was excited about a recent announcement that Lowe’s is selling its contractor yards and getting out of the big-time lumber business.
Ryan says this is great news for Supreme and the other local lumber supply companies because Lowe’s won’t be competing directly with their main course product.
“We have renewed joy that the big box is not competing in our primary realm of business which is contractor trade,” said Ryan.
In announcing Lowe’s is no longer aggressively pursuing contractor business, Lowe’s CEO Robert Tillman said, “The sale of these contractor yard locations is the final step in our transformation to a national large store home improvement chain from a commodity-based lumber and building materials retailer.”
Tennessee Grill has received brisk business
Speaking of new restaurants, which as most of us know is my favorite type of new business, Don and Lynn Kriegel have enjoyed pretty good success in the five days they have had the Tennessee Grill trailer open for business.
“The lunch crowd has been great,” said Don. “So many people have come up and said they had seen the trailer and had just been waiting for us to open.”
Tennessee Grill is set up outside the Kriegels antique shop on Chancery Street called The Eagle’s Nest. Don says they are in the process of moving around some antiques inside The Eagle’s Nest and they are going to put four tables in there so people can eat their food.
He has also purchased picnic tables which will make for a nice place to eat in the summer. Or, if you’re talking about our current mild winter, you could even eat outside in the middle of January.
Tennessee Grill may seem like a small trailer, but there is a full-size kitchen complete with fryers, grills and hot pots inside. Don and Lynn even cook green beans, corn, pinto beans and fried okra to accompany their catfish dinner.
“There have been some people who have stopped by for lunch and then come back for dinner,” said Lynn.
Tennessee Grill is located on Chancery Street between Myers Computers and Bobby Ray Elementary.
That’s all folks
Give me a call with your business tips at 473-2191 or you can send me an e-mail at [email protected].