Its mind boggling at the amount of restaurants out their competing for business. From corporate to the mom and pop, each one thinking they have the brand to suck you in. My favorite places to go are the places that don't have to compete for business, it just comes naturally. 90% of the time its privately owned. This is the guy that puts his heart and soul into a place and you feel this from the time you walk in to the time you leave. The kind of place that makes you feel that you are the reason for its success. The kind of place that if a customer comes in with the intent to get something for nothing and to degrade the brand, they'd be run out. No negativity! Because this is the kind of place that knows they have put together the combination of a great staff, a menu of great food and a welcoming atmosphere. They believe in their choices.
One day out on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, I had gotten off work from my job catering. It was still early enough that the sun was not setting for a couple of hours. I got home excited to get Boris and take him to the beach for a swim. He's the golden retriever I wrote about in a earlier blog "I swear I thought he was a bar patron". We would go to the beach and I'd throw a stick way out and he'd swim out to retrieve. He would bring it back to me to throw again and again. I knew after the third or fourth time he would return that the waters were shark free and it was then safe for me to get in. On this day though, I got home to find the door ajar, this was very bad because there was a progressive fine for this leash law there on Sullivan's Island. Boris had been busted so many times that the fine would be around three hundred dollars, if caught again. Being a young pup myself, I couldn't afford anther ticket for Boris to get caught on a walk about. I immediately went on the search for him. After about an hour with no luck I thought it was time to call the local cops, you know Barney and Andy, to see if they had him. Only one of the two policemen were on that shift and he got very excited to find out that Boris was on the lamb. It was now game on, who would find Boris first. I walked a two mile stretch of beach then worked my way back on the main road through the center of the Island with no luck. I was passing a bar called Bert's, their motto was "If it hurts go to Bert's". Well I was hurtin with a three hundred dollar fine looming and my feet were sore, I needed a cold beer. It was nice to see the bartender I knew, she quickly stuck a cold one in front of me and asked "why so glum?" I told her the whole awful story, all she could say was "that sucks." I ordered one more and asked for my tab. She gave me another beer and put the check face down in front of me. I finished the second and was ready to start my search again, I flipped the check over to pay and I noticed that there was an order of french fries on the bill. I called her over to to point out the discrepancy. She was like " whats your point?" I told her I didn't have french fries. She pointed over to a group of people by the pool tables and there was Boris, having a good ole time with some tourist. She said he didn't have the money to pay his tab. I thought, ain't that some shit, my dog can run a tab at the local bar. I was happy to pay the tab with a generous tip verses the healthy fine. There was no greater place on Earth than Bert's.
No comments:
Post a Comment