Want dessert? Just sign this waiver
Before I dig into this week’s Business Pulse — and boy what a good one I have for you today — I have to rehash a portion of last week’s column.
Anyone who happened to see that column may recall I made a few predictions for 2004. One of those predictions was that a meth lab would surface inside Warren County Jail itself.
I thought this prediction might be a little far-fetched, but apparently not. An alert Business Pulse reader sent me a copy of the Bledsonian Banner, which is headquartered in Pikeville, Tenn. And there as the newspaper’s top story for Jan. 1, 2004 was the headline, “Meth components found inside jail.”
In the story, Bledsoe County Sheriff Bob Swafford said he and his deputies realized the items were being smuggled into the jail. They had set up surveillance and were apparently waiting for the criminals to have the lab up and running before making a full-blown arrest.
But a 12-man fight erupted inside the cell where the meth components were being stored and deputies couldn’t ignore such obvious evidence when they broke up the altercation.
“We were waiting on the remaining items to be brought into the jail by two individuals,” said Sheriff Swafford. “But the altercation messed that up.”
While trying to operate a meth lab from inside a jail cell is a sad commentary on our society, I’ve got an even more ridiculous tale. Anyone who has read this column knows I get a kick from some of the frivolous lawsuits that are filed each and every day in this country. Now a restaurant in Seattle has decided to fight back.
Knowing full well the fast-food industry has been hammered for making people fat, the 5 Spot restaurant doesn’t want to take any chances. That’s why you can order the restaurant’s fried banana fat fest known as The Bulge, but you have to sign a release waiver before you can eat it.
I’m sorry to say I’m not making this up. The waiver states in part: “The 5 Spot will not be held liable in any way if the result of eating this dessert leads to a spare tire, love handles, saddle bags or junk in my trunk.”
Co-owner Jeremy Hardy said the disclaimer comes with a carbon copy the customer can take home. That way, Hardy said eating The Bulge is sort of “like a trophy.” However, he was quick to state the waiver contains language which will hold up in court just in case someone gets a wild idea.
On a serious note, I think it’s truly unfortunate you have to sign a waiver before eating dessert in this country. People are so eager to blame someone else for their own problems, they can’t admit they might be overweight because they just eat too much.
Mrs. Winner’s rumor is not true
Mrs. Winner’s is apparently listed on the Smart Cards that Warren County students are about to begin selling. That has prompted some folks to believe the restaurant, known for its chicken and biscuits, is thinking about locating in McMinnville.
Since several folks asked me about Mrs. Winner’s coming to town, I felt it was my duty to track down the story. What I found is Mrs. Winner’s is not interested in McMinnville, or any other place right now.
The Mrs. Winner’s official I talked to Friday described the company’s growth as “stagnent.” He informed me Mrs. Winners is not looking to open any new locations at the moment.
Established in 1977, Mrs. Winner’s has 155 restaurants located mainly in the South.
O’Reilly Auto Parts plans O’Tuesday opening
The construction work is finished and all that’s needed is a little last-minute stocking this Monday before O’Reilly Auto Parts opens at its new location Tuesday at 7 a.m.
“This is a pretty good location,” said manager D.K. Ivy while traffic rushed by on N. Chancery Street. “You have a lot of people coming from all directions who drive by the store.”
For those who haven’t noticed, the new O’Reilly location is behind Citgo Scot Market and next to the National Car Wash. With the higher-traffic location, D.K. is expecting increased business so the store will hire five new employees. That’s what I call good news.
And when it comes to auto parts – which is important when you’re talking about an auto parts store – O’Reilly’s will have roughly $750,000 worth of parts in stock. If they don’t have a part, and you call by 10 a.m., they can usually have it by 3 p.m. that same day. If it’s after 10 a.m., the part will arrive the next day.
“We’re all about customer service and serving people with a smile,” said D.K., who has 12 years experience selling auto parts.
Store hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday thru Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Officer of the Year now a computer guru
Todd Bess has always been a jack of all trades. He’s a licensed electrician. He can do carpentry work. And he’s also pretty smart when it comes to working on computers.
Todd’s computer skills are going to come in handy since McMinnville’s newly crowned Officer of the Year just tendered his resignation and has opened a computer repair and troubleshooting business with Evan Gross.
Officially called Southern Computer Group, Todd and Evan have been doing this type of work for years, but on only a part-time basis. Now they are free to devote all their energy to servicing computers and they have done quite a bit of work locally.
“The vast majority of our commercial clients want on-site work,” said Evan. “They don’t want you to take their computer and bring it back the next day because that wastes valuable work time. They want it repaired right there.”
Evan and Todd can do any type of troubleshooting and hardware and software upgrades. And unless they have to order a rare part, they can almost always get the work done that day.
“A lot of times people will call and say their e-mail is not working right,” said Evan. “Or they’ll say when I have this open I can’t do this.”
They stressed they are more than happy to help with home computers, saying they aren’t going to turn anyone away, but said the bulk of their work is with office computers. It also helps they aren’t in the business of selling computers, just repairing them.
“There’s no way for a small firm to compete with the big online companies,” said Todd. “So there’s no reason for us to even try.”
The two also say their work is affordable. Since they don’t have a storefront, they don’t have to pay rent, electric bills, etc. They also don’t have to pay any employees.
“If you were to call someone from Nashville or Murfreesboro to do the exact same things we do, it would literally cost your three or four times as much,” said Evan.
Southern Computer Group does all its work from a service request line that’s checked about every hour. The number is 815-8846. Leave a message and they will return your call promptly.
Tommy’s Detail ready to make your car shine
Tommy Southard had worked for 17 years at the factory now known as A.O. Smith, but he always had a yearning to go into business for himself. And since Tommy has done auto detailing on the side for years and years, he figured it was time to give it a try.
“I told myself, at 37, now is the time to do it,” said Tommy. “If I don’t do what I want to now, I’m never going to. I always heard if you get a job you enjoy, then you can get on with the rest of your life. And I take pride in this. I really do.”
So Tommy has opened Tommy’s Detail which is conveniently located just a couple blocks from the courthouse on High Street. Tommy can wash, wax, vacuum, and otherwise detail your vehicle to make it sparkle.
To kick off his first few days in business, Tommy is offering a variety of January specials. He will even pick up your car and deliver it back to you within McMinnville city limits.
“I’m trying to be creative and come up with ways to satisfy my customers,” said Tommy.
Tommy got his start detailing when he used to clean up his co-workers vehicles at A.O. Smith. He got to the point where he had so much business, he had to take a few steps away because it was overwhelming. Tommy wants to be readily available. The number at his shop, located behind Walker Motors, is 507-5138 and his home number is 815-5138.
Wallpaper for Less opens in new location Monday
It was a couple months ago I told you about Wallpaper for Less and its upcoming move to Plaza Shopping Center. The future has arrived and the store owned by Sheila Young is ready to open at 9 a.m. this Monday.
When it opens, it will be a new and improved edition of the store which closed a week ago on Sparta Street. It will also have a slightly different name to reflect its greater variety and be called Wallpaper for Less, Designs and More.
“I have bedding, bathroom accessories, lamps, shower curtains, soap holders, borders to match and a bunch of gifts,” said Sheila. “We have so many nice gifts, we’re going to deliver to the hospital and funeral homes.”
One person who doesn’t need any convincing is Kristi Jones, who stopped by the store for a sneak peak Friday afternoon. “If you can’t find the wallpaper you are looking for in this store you are entirely too picky,” said Kristi.
Before she left, Kristi also took a few moments to look over the lamps. She was fairly well impressed, even with her keen eye for interior design.
Sheila says it has been odd being shut down for a week during the move and she’s more than ready to re-open her store. Wallpaper for Less is located in the spot formerly occupied by Wizard’s. It’s between Stewart Pharmacy and Sam’s Collectibles.