DIRTY

Dishes

There is a waitress in the dish room right now, while it is slow and we are between shifts.  She just decided to get in there and clear out the late lunch stack, so the PM dish dude comes in to a better maintained area.  I love shit like that.  No one asked her.  She could go have a smoke.  Dust the sills.  Polish silverware.  All the mundane “down time” stuff servers have done since the dinosaurs.  She chose the dirty dishes in the back of the kitchen.  Girl gets the gold star for Monday.  Just sayin’.

Pool

The Lowell Sun ran an article today about the push in our industry–which is really a push by politicians–to create a paradigm shift in how servers are paid.  Blah-blah-blah pay them wages, not gratuities, and blah-blah they only get paid $2.63 an hour.  It’s amazing how politicians (and some writers) miss the point that servers make more money than most in the restaurant and more than most “entry level”, no-degree-needed jobs.  After tips, yes.  But that’s the way it works.  The reporter clearly had a skew towards believing that server wages should be higher.  Sure people, push for higher wages.  But then, don’t complain when food prices go up, so restaurants can stay viable.  Because that will be the result when folks who already often make $20/hour, are further compensated by “the house”.  Hospitality included. JS.

Politics

OK, so, have I mentioned that there is a movement in Lowell, to expand the Lowell High School foot print by TAKING the Dentist Lot and building located at 75 Arcand Drive by eminent domain?  Seriously!  Sorry dentists, and doctors, employees and customers.  Thanks for the decades of doing business in downtown, and for the millions in payroll you have paid to local folks…but…we couldn’t come up with a plan that didn’t include TAKING your business and building.  I’m told that Brian Martin is one of the folks behind this plan.  I tried to ask him about it but he seemed like he was in a hurry. Say what you want about Brian (and many of you do so don’t act surprised!), but this plan is suspect.  Something is fishy, but can’t quite put my finger on it….  That said, eminent domain, in general, is F’d up.