Today's post is brought to you by a Coffee and Baileys. No ice today, I had freshly brewed coffee. It's not morning drinking if coffee is involved, right? I'm pretty sure that if I was drinking that Bourbon and Ginger Ale I've been thinking about it might be a problem.
Random thought of the day, I like Adele. She has a great voice and the album '21' sounds like it could be from any of the last five decades. Great album.
Yesterday my wife and I went to a local deli to get sandwiches for dinner. We had a 'Buy one, get one 1/2 off" coupon and thought, "Why the hell not?" It has been a few years since the last time we had been there, mostly because it's a bit on the pricey side, not outrageous or anything, just more than I like to pay for a sandwich. However, using the coupon would make it a decent deal.
We walked in, a few minutes past 4:00, and the place was packed. College kids occupied all the tables and most of the standing room. One gentleman, he looked to be in his sixties, stood near the cash register chatting with a woman, whom, I believe, is the owner. The five people working the food line were cranking out the sandwiches, one every thirty seconds or so. The gal wrapping them was an expert, she took five seconds to double wrap, tape on the order sheet and put them in an ever growing pile of sandwiches. My wife and I look at each other, she says, "They must have a big phone order or something." Looking at the pile, I agree with her. We each grab an order sheet and fill it out, put our names on them and place it in the 'Orders Here' basket and find an out of the way spot near the door.
Both my wife and I have worked in the restaurant business, the wait was no big deal, seeing as how the crew was really pumping out a those sandwiches. After we had been waiting ten minutes or so, some guy and his lady friend come in. She stays near the door while he goes up to the counter where the order sheets are and says something to the workers, one of the crew answers whatever question his was. He comes back to his lady friend, quietly says something to her and they walk out. As they were leaving I heard him saying, "...they're gonna lose fifty percent of their business because..." That's all I heard as the door closed behind them. Time goes by and the crew keeps pumping out food and putting it in the pile.
Just after 4:15 the lady at the register announced that there were only a couple of minutes to go. This was met with woo hoo's and clapping. My wife and I looked at each other questioningly and shrugged our shoulders.
At 4:20 she said, "Let's do this!" and started to call out the names on the order sheets taped to the finished sandwiches. People started lining up to get their food and pay. A couple of minutes more and she called out our name, so we joined the quick moving line. When we got to the register I hand the woman my coupon. She gives it a glance and says nicely, "Sorry, I can't give you any better deal than what I have going on right now."
"Oh, okay," I reply. "How much are they?"
"Four twenty plus tax and an extra fifty cents for stuff like the sprouts. Keep the coupon for a lunch some other time."
She goes on to tell us that they use fresh bread and veggies every day and from 4:20 until they close at 5:30 she does this so she can use everything up so she doesn't have to throw anything out. What a genius way to get the stoned college kids to spend their money at your place.
Oh yeah, the sandwiches were as tasty as I remembered, we'll be back, 4:20 or not.
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