I’ve come to accept parking nightmares around here as par for the course, but I confess that I was more than surprised to see the wrap-around-the-building line of people when I visited Dinah’s on Tuesday for the restaurant’s 52-year anniversary.
The overwhelming turnout was due largely to the roll-back-to-1959 menu and prices that were being offered for the day. I’ll grant that 80 cents is a great deal on a BLT with a side of cole slaw and a plate of fries for 15 cents – in 2011, that’s about the going rate for the packet of ketchup without which fries shouldn’t be eaten (I will in certain company make exceptions for mayonnaise or ranch dressing). My point, however, is that people flock to businesses for special deals.
This fact was driven home, so to speak, during last weekend’s so-called “Carmageddon” scenario. Many local businesses offered discounts to entice residents to avoid the apocalyptic street scene and enjoy food and drink specials. The result, by most accounts, was a fiscally sound couple of days for a mid-July.
This penchant for penny-pinching by consumers is understandable in such economic times, and the catering thereto by businesses seems laudable. As a community newspaper editor, I feel a certain responsibility to play matchmaker in such situations, attempting to join together consumers and businesses for the betterment of each.
With that said, I’d like to remind readers on each side of the counter (that sounded better that “each side of the business transaction,” am I wrong?) that your community newspaper is here to facilitate the process of linking the two sides in financial bliss. In other words that are less hifalutin, if you know of a great deal that readers ought to be aware of, bring it to my attention. I’m not asking for every happy hour deal in town, but when there’s a special occasion – like a classic car show, live band, raffle prizes and $1.60 3-piece chicken plate – shoot me an email (why do I have a sneaking suspicion that the folks who really know the value of a dollar and all the cheapest spots in town are the same ones who don’t know how to use email?). That address, by the way, is editor@culvercitynews.org (ask your grandkids, they’ll understand).
Oh, also, I really do know someone who puts mayo on fries. Try it – it’s really not half bad.