Business Pulse: Burrito to blame for man’s intoxication
Here’s one for the ages. A judge in North Platte, Neb., has ruled in favor of a convicted criminal who was charged with violating the rules of his work release from jail.
The man, William Dolge, 45, was one of those inmates who was in jail under the work release program. That means during the day he is allowed to maintain a job but at night he must report to jail. Dolge got into trouble because one night he returned to jail smelling of alcohol.
The natural tendency would be to think Dolge had been drinking. That’s what deputies thought so they charged him with a violation of his work release and sent him before Judge John Murphy.
But here’s where Dolge threw the judge a curveball (and I use the word “curveball” as merely a figure of speech. There was no baseball game inside the courtroom.) Dolge claimed he had NOT been drinking. The reason he smelled of alcohol was because he had just been to a Mexican restaurant where he had eaten several burritos made in beer-and-tequila marinated meat.
And of course here’s the kicker. The judge believed Dolge’s story and ruled he had not violated the rules of his work released. The burrito recipe included one bottle of red Irish beer, 1-1/2 cups of tequila and three-quarters of a bottle of dark ale. Sounds more like a mixed drink than a burrito to me.
In issuing his ruling, the judge wrote that there was one overwhelming factor which contributed to his decision. “No rational person would use a burrito defense as a means of covering up the consumption of alcohol,” Judge Murphy wrote.
To that I reply, “No rational judge would actually accept a burrito defense as a means of covering up the consumption of alcohol.”
Before I bring you this week’s highly anticipated Business Pulse, there’s one more morsel I want to bring you from Lawrence, Mass. It’s the story of a school superintendent who earlier this month failed the basic English proficiency test. Just in case you might be thinking this is some kind of fluke, it was the third time school superintendent Wilfredo T. Laboy failed the test.
Laboy’s lack of English smarts (English is actually his second language) came to light when Massachusetts lawmakers recently passed legislation to require all state educators to pass the basic English test. It’s been reported that Laboy is doing a quality job, but the state education commissioner maintains Laboy is going to have to pass the test or be ousted.
I say Laboy has been given two chances too many. If the top-ranking official in your school system can’t pass a remedial test, so much for your commitment to excellence.
When asked for a comment, Laboy displayed his vast skills as a communicator by simply calling the test “stupid.”
Citgo Scot Market celebrates 10 years
OK, so a 10-year anniversary is hardly late-breaking business news, but I’m bringing you this report for all the Titans fans out there. From noon to 8 p.m. today, Citgo Scot Market will be giving away free hot dogs and drinks at its Chancery Street location. That’s not so important.
What is important is that there is also registration for some pretty nice prizes, the biggest of which is two tickets to the Titans season opening game against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday Night Football.
The Titans fans among us don’t need to be reminded about what happened last year against Oakland. The Raiders beat Tennessee twice – the most meaningful of which came in the AFC Championship game. Smacking around the Raiders on opening night won’t compensate for being beaten out of a trip to the Super Bowl, but it will be nice to see.
Southern Traditions plans to leave Northgate Center
Dale Groves has built a pretty good following for his business called Southern Traditions. For the last 10 years, he has operated that business at Northgate Shopping Center.
But now it’s time for Dale and Southern Traditions to move on. He will be moving to the building on Sparta Street which used to be home to Snookers, a laundromat and pool hall.
If I was to make a guess, I’d say Snookers has probably been gone about a year and a half. For the last six months or so workers with Waymon Hale Construction have been busy remodeling the store and it is now an attractive brick building.
Northgate Shopping Center owner Harold Martin said he’s certainly sorry to see Southern Traditions leave.
“He’s been a good drawing card for us for some time,” said Harold. “We hate to see them go.”
The new clothing store Trends, which has been open next to Southern Traditions for the last four months, will also be moving to Sparta Street and sharing the same building.
“It was a case where Dale and I were talking and I told him I was upset that he was leaving,” said Melissa Knowles, who co-owns Trends with Stacey Love. “He was thinking of adding something else like a boutique or tea room anyway so this just kind of worked out. We figured this could benefit both our businesses.”
And speaking of Trends, I should get in a quick plug that they’re having a fashion show there today from 1 to 5 p.m. The fashion show will feature Trends customers modeling a variety of clothes.
As for the move to Sparta Street, that’s expected to happen some time near the middle or end of September.
Polliwog’s does well its first three days
Since Gillentine’s left its longtime location on Sparta Street, that spot has been a constant source of change. Polliwog’s Family Restaurant owner Charles Stewart plans to stop that trend and says his newly opened restaurant is going to be in business for some time.
If the first few days are any indication, Charles is right. Polliwog’s opened its doors on Wednesday and when I stopped by Friday afternoon, employees told me that they’ve had three pretty good days and were expecting a large crowd for Friday night.
“We had a really good first day and we’ve had some good breakfast crowds,” said manager Patsy Holt. “Overall, we’re happy with the first three days.”
Polliwog’s does have a bit of an advantage since Patsy owned and operated Patsy’s Dairy Chef for many years. That business was located just a few doors down on Sparta Street. And in opening Polliwog’s, Patsy has hired several of her former employees including cook Donnie St. John and waitress Linda Swafford.
Ask what’s different about Patsy’s and Polliwog’s and the employees are quick to tell you it’s the menu. In addition to classic meat and three lunch items such a fried okra, pinto beans and mashed potatoes, Polliwog’s has unique items such as quail.
“I’ve eaten frog legs before, but I’ve never had quail,” said Swafford. “And I’m a good, ol’ country girl who grew up eaten possum. My mama would make a whole possum and put sweet potatoes all around it. That was some good cooking.”
There’s no possum at Polliwog’s but there are some popular items such as hush puppies and catfish, and some great-tasting burgers.
And, also imported from Patsy’s Dairy Chef, is the ever-popular liar’s table. Yes, we all love the liar’s table where regulars come together to sip coffee and tell wild, crazy stories about anyone and everyone.
That’s all folks
I leave you with this closing message: Never drink and drive and never eat too many tequila-marinated burritos and drive. I don’t know what kind of tall tales the judges over in Nebraska believe, but around these parts I don’t think you could get away with using a burrito as your defense.
Well, come to think of it, the tequila-laced burrito would probably work just fine – provided you were going to Bonnaroo.
Give me a call with all your business news at 473-2191 or send me an e-mail at [email protected].