Dairy Queen at the Harriet/Calhoun concession stands? An evil Illinois-originated international corporation (all corporations are evil, aren't they?) selling their wares on public property at the lakes? I say not only don't we allow them to infiltrate, but we need to put every DQ in the state on wheels and drive them all to a trailer court in North Dakota. Oppressors of the poor to serve the wealthy (as one post stated). I know that I felt like a Feudal Lord when I bought a Misty from a high school student years some years back. How smug I was with my $17,500/year job and my 300 square foot apartment. You can bet I savored every last drop of the lime syrup (which of course was long gone while there was still 3/4 cup of crushed ice remaining).
The question of hiring a local company vs. a larger corporation to do this is also one of logistics. I assume the idea here is for the Park Board to turn-key the concessions so that they needn't worry about supply stock, staffing, schedules, and trying to cover for Mary who really needs Friday off because of her friend Tina's 17th birthday party. A local company would need to be large enough to handle adding two additional staffs for odd hours schedules, supply/food delivery and storage issues for two separate (and in some ways, unique) locations, and the chutzpah to answer directly to a branch of city government. I'm not saying there isn't anyone within the city limits capable of this, but there is a huge difference between adding another location to a proven working formula, and potentially increasing a business by a huge percentage by adding a couple of locations. As to Dairy Queen, I know very little of their corporate practices and policies. I agree with all who have said that signage is an issue. There shouldn't be any large neon ice cream cones hanging off of the bandshell. I too would favor a local company, absolutely, if there is one with the wherewithal and ability to step in and take over. The question is, who wants to, and even more importantly, who can? richard carney st. paul after living within two blocks of Lake Calhoun for 13 years (and that is what I miss most) _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
