Monday, September 22, 2008

Weekend at Jimmy's

My parents making the ceremonial first order

Jimmy's Grand Opening was this past Friday at 5 p.m. Earlier that afternoon, I stopped by my parents house and had the following Abbot and Costello-esque conversation with my Mom:

Me: Mom, I need you and Dad to be at the restaurant at 5 pm to be our ceremonial first customers.
Mom: OK
Me: Also, it's gonna be our first dollar, so no matter what you buy it's only gonna cost $1.
Mom: OK....but, we wanna pay for our meal.
Me: You will and it's only gonna be $1.
Mom: OK...but we really wanna pay for it.
Me: (sigh) You will and it's really only gonna cost $1
Mom: OK..............
Me: Seriously, be there at 5 and don't bring more than $1

I left before it got any more surreal. Then my head began to swim with scenarios where my Dad showed up with 4 quarters or 2 fifty cent pieces.

Anyways, we had a good crowd on Friday night considering we had little time to advertise. There were some bumps and missteps, but we're starting to smooth those out. On Saturday, we opened at 11 a.m. and stayed quite busy through 9 pm with the exception of a couple down periods.

By the time we closed on Saturday night, I had a chafe like you wouldn't believe; I was walking around like Fred Sanford. By Sunday afternoon, I smelled like fry oil with a hint of Gold Bond Medicated Powder. Holy crap. Sunday was pleasantly slow and we were finally able to catch our breaths. The word is getting out and we're already getting a reputation around town for having great food. Funny how that works.

Thanks for all your well-wishes and hope to see y'all soon.





34 comments:

Anonymous said...

CONGRATULATIONS to you all on the successful opening.
As you are selling Coke, I'll be sure to pay a visit if I ever come that way.
BTW, did your dad bring a crisp dollar bill or change? !
Have you explained to your mum that from now on she pays FULL price and not a dollar forever? !

Well done again, a great start and I am sure you'll have a chain of Flippin' Jimmy's in the not too distant future.

Anonymous said...

When do the t-shirts go on sale?

Anonymous said...

I'm so thrilled! And bummed I'm couldn't be there.

Can you post a menu on here sometime?

Anonymous said...

Rock and or Kaiser roll! I am so very happy for, and proud of you Dave! Many kudos for working so hard...I bow to you, Sir!

Peaches

Devastatin' Dave said...

Stone Works,

Yes, the did bring a dollar bill, praise Jebus.

Overworked,

Once things settle down, we'll have shirts available for sale.

Hiker,

Yes, I'll post a menu. And pay a visit when the coffee house is open. First latte is on me.

Peaches,

I'm doing the Tardy screech for ya.

Tom T. said...

Congrats Dave!
...why's that dude wearing a winter coat? Its still summer...sorta.

Devastatin' Dave said...

Tom T,

That guy had come from the HS football game. It was a little chilly, but it didn't warrant an eskimo parka.

Anonymous said...

Hey, print your menu on the back of t-shirts!

Anonymous said...

Great job, DD! Place looks sweet.

You're killing me without the Mel Sharples outfit, killin' me!

It would have been funny if tax brought your folks meal to $1.05 and you refused to serve them.

Throw anyone out, yet?

Any chance of an upcoming blog where you dress as a giant chicken to advertise your place?

Set a place at the table, Ernie's coming to town. I'll take a XXL also......

Anonymous said...

I meant to say XXXL. I need a big 'un to get my retarded head through.

Audie said...

Pepsi rules.

Reserve me a T-shirt.

Speaking of HS football games, you should add Frito Pies to the menu!

BTW, what kind of Muzak do you have playin' there? Or, jukebox?

Congratulations on the Grand Opening!

No Ron Paul posters on the walls?

Devastatin' Dave said...

Ernie,

Haven't had to throw anyone out, yet. I'll hold a XXXL for ya.

Audie,

No Muzak. We bought an iPod docking station with wireless remote speakers. Playing playlists of my iPod.

No Ron Paul posters, but we do have a "Debate Watching" group coming in Friday night from 8-11 for the Obama-McCain debate.

Anonymous said...

Congrats Dave!! Looking forward to stopping in my next trip thru Fotown!

Devastatin' Dave said...

Thanks for checking in, Fancy N.

Anonymous said...

I am off my blog game...I meant 'PORN Tuesdays' however that would go well with a nice Port!

BRONCS!!!

Devastatin' Dave said...

BRONCS!!!! BILLS!!!!

Devastatin' Dave said...

Here is an interview that Steve and I did with a local radio personality. It's the Sept. 23rd episode.

http://www.reviewtimes.com/kinn.html

Anonymous said...

Davey!!! Hope you slapped Kinn for good measure to show him who's boss!!

You should have talked about how the Smith men have unlimited seed and how you are the sibling to 9 other spawn!

PLUMMER!!!!

Anonymous said...

What about American Idol theme nights Monday & Tuesday complete with a song by DD (dressed as Ryan Seacrest) on elimination night? Chris Daughtry Tuesday's? Paula Abdul Monday's?

Probably help your Coke sales with their Idol sponsership.

Anonymous said...

What about a promotion where you dressed like WWF legend Bob Backlund and randomly performed his chicken wing maneuver on unsuspecting customers? It would be great if you threw someone out with it, like the guy in the parka.

You should at least hang a picture of the "Master of the Chicken Wing" behind the counter. I'll even pay for it.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c2/Backlund199809.jpg

Anonymous said...

Great interview DD. There's no way I could sit through that thing without giving sarcastic, made up answers even if it drove me to bankruptcy.

I got to admit I was expecting you and this Kinn character to come to blows during this thing. Isn't your blog (which you didn't plug) competition for his radio show and vice versa? I thought you were for the people, isn't Kinn the old way of doing things?

Anyhow, here is the rest of the link to the Bob Backlund picture. Your suddenly oppressive blog is trying to keep me down.

nd199809.jpg

Almost forgot, I got some tastefully done pictures of me shirtless if you think they'll help business. Since the medication kicked in I’m not handing them out to little boys as much.

Anonymous said...

If Porn & Port Tuesday's works, how about Wet T-shirt Wednesday's then? (on tv only!)
Sorry Ernie, you can not join in, as you don't wear shirts.....

btw

BRONCS rule!

Anonymous said...

overworked & underpaid, DD doesn't have time to reply to our suggestions because he is too busy selling out his blog by sucking up to the mainstream media like Kinn.

Devastatin' Dave said...

Ernie,

Just finished a 16.5 hr day after doing about a week of 14 hr days. If I wasn't so tired, I'd respond to your retarded waterhead.

Devastatin' Dave said...

BTW Ernie, I'm on the hunt for a Mel Sharples hat.

Anonymous said...

Now you're talking! Check out the selections of cooks hat below. No wonder Mel was always in a bad mood. How bout a hat that says, 'I'm a man!!!' instead of these fruity things.

http://www.uniformcitychef.com/go.asp?prog=lvl2&mktlvl1=H6000&mktlvl2=600&lvl2desc=Chef%20Hats&mktlvl3=&lvl3desc=&cont1=Y&pg=&currpg=

David said...

Is it cold in Ohio? People are wearing down jackets and sweaters in your photos?

Been cooking for Hurricane Ike victims for two weeks down here in Texas and am ready to report for duty in Fostoria if need be.

It was 88 degrees on Galveston Island today. We're making progress and should be leaving soon.

Good luck.

Devastatin' Dave said...

It might have been in the high 50s on opening night. Had some people in after a HS football game, so they may have been chilled.

If you can round up about a half dozen Mel Sharples hats, you got a job.

Anonymous said...

Any chance of a webcam/webcast to satisfy your readers? It would be a good chance to see the place.

Devastatin' Dave said...

lusty,

That could be a possibility if we ever get a web site up.

Anonymous said...

History of Mel's Cap

People often wonder about the origins of the cap Mel wore during his nine years on the series. The white cap is, indeed, a Naval hat worn by sailors to this day. They were simply known as "white hats," and were often washed or soaked in salt water to help keep them white and bleached. Navy regulations dictated that the hat only be worn in a certain way - straight in the front and back, with a slight bend of the rims on the side. Excessive bending was forbidden. Mel, however, broke all Navy rules and rolled up his hat on all sides, which effectively gave him the characteristic look of a Navy cook.

Nowadays, however, Navy rules are more lenient and the white hat can be worn in more informal ways. Honor Guards, for example, are seen wearing the hats rolled on all sides.

Authenic white hats can only be found and distributed in the Navy. They are study and very durable. Imitation hats can be purchased from clothing department stores, though they are thinner and made from vastly inferior material. The most commom complaints about the imitation hats is that they do not fit correctly and do not hold their shape.

Vic Tayback, the actor who played Mel, got the idea for rolling up the hat from his own experiences in the Navy. He and several Naval buddies repeatedly rolled up their hats, much to the dismay of Naval officers. During their shore leaves, they were sometimes picked up by shore patrolmen and ordered back to the ship to have their hats "refitted." In some cases, they even had their hats confiscated. Vic no doubt took pride in bringing his own Navy experiences with him to the ALICE set. The white hat was distinctive and personalized his role as Mel, and allowed him to finally wear the hat in a way he always desired.

Anonymous said...

Great Job anonymous! Maybe you should get a blog. This stuff is way more interesting than the crap Dave posts.

Who knew Vic Taybac/Mel Sharples was such an outlaw.

bowpounder said...

is that Tom Baker in the 2nd pic down w/ his back to the camera man?

bowpounder said...

sorry 3rd countin mo