Home office cancels Business Pulse
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I don?t know of any great stunt, any bit of tomfoolery, that will make this task any easier. About the only thing I can say is it?s been a great ride, but all good things must eventually come to an end.
To tell you the truth, I don?t know what was the proverbial straw that broke the camel?s back. I know this column has occasionally come close to crossing the line, but I?ve always been able to smooth talk my way out of a jam when the corporate big dogs show up demanding answers. That is until now.
While I?m not exactly sure what did it, my latest rant against Alabama probably didn?t help matters. I know my joke about pouring bubbles in the Court Square fountain which led to a fictitious standoff with officers didn?t score any points with McMinnville Police.
I didn?t endear myself to city officials by repeatedly making fun of their anti-hot dog policy. And I realize now that I created outrage by using a computer program to seemingly place duct tape over the mouth of my son to supposedly silence him during church services.
For all the folks I may have offended over the years, I?d like to take this time to apologize. For all the folks I didn?t offend, I feel confident I would have at some point if home office didn?t pull the plug and stop me in my tracks.
The call came Thursday morning before I had even finished my first cup of coffee. Due to concerns about my ?questionable choice of subject matter,? it was suggested I place my Business Pulse pen into early retirement.
Naturally, I didn?t like that suggestion. Turns out, it was one of those situations where I could either stop writing the column on my own ?to pursue other so-called interests,? or home office was going to make the decision for me. It was much like city officials telling Herb Llewellyn he could quit or be fired. What a choice.
I didn?t take the news too well and I admit my initial reaction was extreme. I thought about taking 500 aspirin and ending it all, but fortunately after taking the first two I felt much better.
I suppose the only true constant in life is change. As much as we?d like things to stay the same, there?s always that curveball to keep us on our toes.
So before I burst into tears, I?d like to keep with tradition one last time and talk about various odds and ends taking place around the globe. And I guess there?s nothing more fitting to talk about on this day than April Fools jokes.
Through the years, there have been some memorable ones so I thought I would convey a few of them here.
One of my personal favorites was played in 1965 when the British Broadcasting Company featured an ad for a great new invention, the smellovision. This was a TV set that supposedly allowed viewers to not only see the show but to smell the scents coming from the set. Therefore if an actor was drinking coffee, the viewers could smell the rich aroma from their own living rooms.
After dozens of people tried to buy this miraculous new technology, it was revealed to be a hoax.
An April Fools prank that went a little bit overboard happened in 1940 when the press agent for the prestigious Franklin Institute in Philadelphia issued a release that the world would end at 3 p.m. Eastern time tomorrow.
A Kentucky radio station picked up the release and broadcast to its listening audience that scientists had confirmed the end of the world was taking place tomorrow. Public reaction was complete madness and mayhem.
The press agent who issued the phony release was fired. And I doubt he was given the option to resign.
In 1959, the Indiana-based Kokomo Tribune published a story saying the police department, in a cost-saving measure, would shut down from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. each day. An answering machine would record all calls made to police during that time and those calls would be screened promptly at 6 a.m., according to the prank.
A police spokesman reportedly said the measure would drastically reduce costs because a number of emergencies that happened in the middle of the night would no longer be emergencies in the morning and therefore officers wouldn?t need to respond.
And last but not least was a story published in 2000 by a Florida-based paper called The Independent. The story claimed researchers had finally developed a Viagra-like pill for sexually frustrated pets. The article claimed, ?There are few things in the world worse that a pet suffering from feelings of sexual inadequacy.? The story further said it was dangerous for a pet?s emotional well-being to think they are fat and unattractive.
Now for my final Business Pulse.
Powermatic transforms into indoor flea market
It?s not mission accomplished just yet, but the old Powermatic building has sure come a long way since it was purchased about five months ago by Gordon McGee Sr., and his family.
Yesterday the vision of turning the building into the largest indoor flea market in Middle Tennessee inched closer to reality when McMinnville MegaMarket opened for the first time. For opening day, it was a respectable showing with about 10 vendors setting up booths.
But without a doubt the most promising aspect of opening day was the amount of interest. There was heavy customer traffic and a number of people asking about booth space.
?I?ve been talking to people all morning,? said flea market manager Wally Stern. ?I?d say 30 vendors would be a reasonable number to expect next week.?
Building up business is going to take a little time. I believe in a few months it will be realistic to expect 100 vendors to set up there every weekend.
?We?ve had a crowd in here today, I can say that,? said longtime Farmers Market vendor Gloria Whitaker, who was busy selling her famous Sundrop cake and fried pies. ?I think this is really going to be good. I?m going to do this and the Farmers Market and I?ll be able to sell my yard sale stuff here.?
For opening day, there was already an assortment of traditional flea market items such as knives, books, movies, socks, and a bunch of baked goods.
Wanda Womack, who has been doing flea markets since the 1970s with her husband, Gary, said she plans to have two booths at the market. ?I?ll be here every weekend,? said Wanda, who is a Sparta resident.
While many people were eager to see what the flea market had to offer, others were anxious to get a glimpse of the old Powermatic facility.
?I wanted to see what was going on with the building,? said Tommy Southard, who said he knows the condition the building used to be in. ?This looks like a brand new building compared to what it did look like. I bet the people who worked at Powermatic wouldn?t even recognize it.?
I?m glad the McGees have invested the time and money to fix up the place. It?s already starting to generate excitement and that, in turn, could lead to more economic activity.
?I think folks are really going to be happy that something is in here and it?s a high-class operation,? said Stern. ?The finishing touches aren?t in place. This is still a work in progress, but it?s something that?s going to gradually bring more and more business into Warren County.?
Right at 200,000 square feet is being devoted to the flea market, which will be open every Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. With that amount of space, up to 500 vendors can be accommodated.
While Warren County has never had one of these mega flea markets, to my knowledge at least, they have been highly successful in other areas. Once this flea gets up and running at full speed, I?m sure customers will travel from well over an hour away to shop there.
?I read on the state Web site that Fall Creek Falls has over 1 million visitors a year,? said Wally. ?There?s no reason we can?t attract some of those people to McMinnville.?
As Wally indicated, renovation work continues to be done on the building. In the near future, a sign and landscaping work will be added to the outside. And the inside will be cleaned up more along the way.
If you would like to reserve a vendor booth at the flea market, feel free to give Wally a call at 474-MEGA (6342).
Medley?s in Centertown has a new owner
It was just two short months ago, Billy Medley threatened to rule the world, or at least take over Centertown. In addition to owning the popular Medley?s Diner in Centertown, he also purchased what had been Hillis Market, giving him two stores on Nashville Highway about a mile apart.
But Billy?s plan began to unravel when he realized that owning two stores was twice the headache of owning one. So he decided to keep his new store and sell his established market and popular diner to longtime employee Kathryn Merriman.
?I think one store is enough,? said Billy. ?And Kathryn?s been doing the cooking there for years so there shouldn?t be any difference.?
Kathryn says customers shouldn?t be able to tell a difference because she?ll be preparing the same great food that put Medley?s on the map. Only this food is going to put what is now called Kat?s Diner and Market on the map.
?He was always kidding around with me saying things like, ?Why don?t you buy this place,?? said Kathryn. ?Then one day after working real hard at his other store he came in and said, ?You really need to buy this place? so I told him I would.?
After weeks of waiting, the deal finally closed Friday. Kathryn says the waiting was the hardest part but she?s finally glad the place is now her own.
It will be a family operation with her husband, Jimmy, two daughters, and even grandkids helping out. And Kathryn says she?s more than happy to keep everyone currently on staff.
?I have one daughter who is pretty good at cooking and another who is good as a waitress,? said Kathryn. ?Jimmy will do a little of everything, fixing and cleaning things around the whole building. I don?t think we?ll turn him loose on the grill anytime soon.?
While Kathryn doesn?t plan any major menu changes, one thing that will change is the amount of time she spends at the restaurant. She says a 40-hour work week is now a thing of the past.
?It might be closer to 100 hours,? said Kathryn, who worked around 17 hours on Friday. ?But I?ll be able to cut back as soon as I get everybody up and running.?
Farmers Market to return next weekend
For folks who have been counting down the days until the Farmers Market returns, that countdown has trickled down to six days. McMinnville?s Farmers Market will open for the 2007 season this coming Saturday from 6 a.m. till noon.
?For opening day, I?m sure there will be lots of bedding plants, vegetables, hanging baskets, and canned and baked goods,? said Farmers Market president Brent Bain. ?We have a strong core membership and I?ve gotten pretty positive response from most vendors for the way sales went last year.?
Starting next weekend, the market will be open on Saturday mornings for all of April. Beginning in May, the market will add Wednesday morning from 6 a.m. to noon to the schedule. Beginning in June, Friday afternoons from noon to 6 p.m. will be added.
The Farmers Market pavilion is located next to the downtown water tower behind Main Street.
Local Pizza Hut under new ownership
If you?ve been looking for a way to make Pizza Hut pizza even better, I?ve found out how. Every Tuesday night the local restaurant is having Kids Night.
What that means is Pizza Hut employees crank up the buffet from 5 to 8 p.m. and pack it full of pizza and other foods that kids love. Every kid 10 and under eats free with a paying adult.
?There?s stuff on the buffet for adults but it?s geared toward kids,? said Pizza Hut manager Elaine Lawson. ?We have macaroni and cheese and things kids like to eat.?
In addition to the pizza buffet, there are also balloons and coloring contests. Beginning in May, there will be a Kids Night theme on the first Tuesday of every month. In May, Elaine says the theme will be a pajama party.
Elaine says this new philosophy is all part of the new Pizza Hut ownership. The local restaurant had previously been owned by Pizza Hut, Inc., but now it?s owned by NPC International, which owns 874 Pizza Huts in 24 states.
?They are much more community oriented than the other company,? said Elaine, who also indicated our Pizza Hut could get a new look by the end of the year.
April Fools Day
I?m sure you?ve figured it out by now but the start of today?s column was an April Fools joke. So let the celebration begin. This isn?t the last Business Pulse!
That?s all folks
Since there will be a column next week after all, good Lord willing of course, I?ll need business tips. The number is 473-2191.