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Patron enthusiasm for new restaurants fascinating to watch
Shanna Sissom
Midland Reporter-Telegram
My school teacher friend called, excitedly announcing that she and a guy friend of ours were finally going to the new Jack-in-the-Box, and invited me to meet them there if I could get away.
They are the same pair who recently called on the long-anticipated opening weekend of Weinerschnitzel, enthusiastically asking me to accompany them on a road trip to Odessa.
This 50-year-old educator, Lynne, and 22-year-old landscaper, Albert, may be perfect specimens for today's topic, but they are far from unusual. In fact, they may exemplify the norm.
People around here get excited--I mean really excited -- when a new eating establishment opens. This gusto seems to cross all demographic groups.
It was with great zeal my friend, Reporter-Telegram Online Editor Jimmy Patterson, chronicled with a webcam construction phases of our new Cracker Barrel. Those documentaries, I'm told, represent six of the top 20 most watched webcasts on mywesttexas last year.
Then there is local Internet chatter, where anticipation builds long before a restaurant's slab is even poured.
"I got hyped up like everyone else," Albert said, as he lavishly dined on a double bacon cheeseburger, two fried tacos and curly cues. As Lynne nursed a salad and I sipped Diet Coke, we knew full well our young friend wouldn't gain an ounce.
No matter how fattening such a trip may be, attending a new restaurant in its early days is clearly a Midland tradition.
"You want to be part of a big party," Lynne said, recalling their recent trip west for dozens of chili cheese hot dogs, some taken to Midland friends, and others home to freeze.
The drive-through waits for wieners were from one to two hours that weekend, and Albert counted between 35-40 cars lined up. They instead went inside and a mere 30 minutes later, placed their order.
Curiously, I called the next day to inquire about the wait. But as it turns out, Wienerschnitzel ran out of wieners, for the first time in history as one TV station reported. An emergency supply was said to be on its way from Dallas but the restaurant had to turn hungry hot dog lovers away in the meantime.
By all reports, patrons were ordering 20 and 30 dogs or more at a time. But people are apparently loading up on tacos, too and before I headed out the door a colleague asked me to bring him back 10.
But why not a dozen?
A sign seen Monday at Jack-in-the Box clearly stated:
"Limit 10 tacos per order, only one order per party."
The place was packed, needless to say, and I couldn't help but wonder about and pity the unsuspecting traveler stopping off in Midland for a quick bite anywhere in our labor-starved town.
But those like young Albert don't dwell on the negatives, and instead find reassurance whenever a new place opens to serve us food.
"It gives us hope," he explained with a serious look on his face. "That maybe a Krispy Creme or Joe's Crab Shack will come to town."
Heaven help us all.
### Shanna Sissom is city editor of the Reporter-Telegram. She can be reached at shanna@mrt.com ###
Midland Reporter-Telegram
My school teacher friend called, excitedly announcing that she and a guy friend of ours were finally going to the new Jack-in-the-Box, and invited me to meet them there if I could get away.
They are the same pair who recently called on the long-anticipated opening weekend of Weinerschnitzel, enthusiastically asking me to accompany them on a road trip to Odessa.
This 50-year-old educator, Lynne, and 22-year-old landscaper, Albert, may be perfect specimens for today's topic, but they are far from unusual. In fact, they may exemplify the norm.
People around here get excited--I mean really excited -- when a new eating establishment opens. This gusto seems to cross all demographic groups.
It was with great zeal my friend, Reporter-Telegram Online Editor Jimmy Patterson, chronicled with a webcam construction phases of our new Cracker Barrel. Those documentaries, I'm told, represent six of the top 20 most watched webcasts on mywesttexas last year.
Then there is local Internet chatter, where anticipation builds long before a restaurant's slab is even poured.
"I got hyped up like everyone else," Albert said, as he lavishly dined on a double bacon cheeseburger, two fried tacos and curly cues. As Lynne nursed a salad and I sipped Diet Coke, we knew full well our young friend wouldn't gain an ounce.
No matter how fattening such a trip may be, attending a new restaurant in its early days is clearly a Midland tradition.
"You want to be part of a big party," Lynne said, recalling their recent trip west for dozens of chili cheese hot dogs, some taken to Midland friends, and others home to freeze.
The drive-through waits for wieners were from one to two hours that weekend, and Albert counted between 35-40 cars lined up. They instead went inside and a mere 30 minutes later, placed their order.
Curiously, I called the next day to inquire about the wait. But as it turns out, Wienerschnitzel ran out of wieners, for the first time in history as one TV station reported. An emergency supply was said to be on its way from Dallas but the restaurant had to turn hungry hot dog lovers away in the meantime.
By all reports, patrons were ordering 20 and 30 dogs or more at a time. But people are apparently loading up on tacos, too and before I headed out the door a colleague asked me to bring him back 10.
But why not a dozen?
A sign seen Monday at Jack-in-the Box clearly stated:
"Limit 10 tacos per order, only one order per party."
The place was packed, needless to say, and I couldn't help but wonder about and pity the unsuspecting traveler stopping off in Midland for a quick bite anywhere in our labor-starved town.
But those like young Albert don't dwell on the negatives, and instead find reassurance whenever a new place opens to serve us food.
"It gives us hope," he explained with a serious look on his face. "That maybe a Krispy Creme or Joe's Crab Shack will come to town."
Heaven help us all.
### Shanna Sissom is city editor of the Reporter-Telegram. She can be reached at shanna@mrt.com ###
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Duc916 wrote on Apr 1, 2008 11:24 AM:
Maybe that's why there are so many fatties in this town. "