(and for you old timers- help me out- what were the names of the other two back in the day?) (David Esrati)

……it’s been said before but it bears repeating; the Old Bandito likes his food like he likes his women; cheesy and greasy. And at one time, dear David, downtown Dayton was to greasy spoon aficianados what Mecca is to the faithful. Please remember, dear David, that as a blue-collar town, Daytonians of that era appreciated the cholestorol-laden, artery clogging chuck that has fallen out of favor in these more culinary sophisticated times. The Old Bandito weeps a nostalgic tear when he recalls the slippery cheeseburgers served at the Clickety Clack at West Third and Wilkinson, and almost has a heart attack remembering the aneurysm inducing eggs and ham at the Tom Tom Diner, connected to the bar (not to mention bookie joint) of the same name. Historical sidebar for the Tom Tom; upstairs was a continuous card game that went on every day for about 30 years, and attracted such high rolling gamblers as Jackie Gleason. And across the street, at the Avalon Diner, there was a plate of bisquits and gravy guaranteed to send a cardiologist on a Vegas vacation. What now is Bingers bar was once a dive known as the Pit Stop, but of course, the king of the heap were the White Towers, with three downtown locations and other set ups at South Main and Patterson and North Main at Great Miami. And Wympees, where the Old Bandito had a friendship with an owner and theories about its’ demise in case your interested. But methinks, dear David, ye have forgotten the diner on East First Street, just west of the ballpark, which once was known as the Short Stop, where the food was so greasy it wanted to slide off the counter. Oh sweet memories, and the Old Bandito hopes this helped……..

In the 50’s and until not-too-terribly-long-ago, there was a diner called The Hot Shoppe (sp?) on the north east corner of Fifth Street and Wayne Avenue.    I know because that’s where my parents met. 

I think the one on west first was a Tasty Boy (which also had one on the corner of Fifth & Wayne…probably the Hot Shoppe)

The two on Patterson used to be White Towers, which was a chain from back East, I think.  They were known for their Butter Burger, and I had Thanksgiving Dinner in the one on Third, many years ago.

Yeah its pretty amazing that there is pressure to remove the Wympee signs or that the city is making it tough to keep the signs up rather than making it easier. since they are a key part of the archictecture or look of the old Wympee.

But I’m kind of curious about the history of the Wympee…was it part of a chain or a one-off diner or short order place?

I should also say Merry Xmas too all, too….we’re having a nice White Christmas down here in Louisville.

I’ve been asked to remove the post on Inspector Gotcha by the new owners of Olive-

instead- I’ve password protected it with the password “gotcha”

Feel free to let your friends know what it is.

The fear of retaliation- for calling out bad behavior is a huge part of the problem in this city.

Why can’t we call out Inspector Gotcha? Why is he still around? Fear.

Wympee was an international chain, unlike White Tower, which was American.
I once ate in a Wympee in London, just to get a decent meal in a land famed for bad food.

Article in Sunday’s DDN talked about opening or re-opening restaurants and it included discussions with the Olive people. She (I think it was a lady) made no mention of gov’t red-tape … or the DDN chose not to print that.

@Hall- yep- it’s Kim- and she wants to “stay positive”- despite the red tape.

Again I ask, why does it appear we are going after the staff people doing their jobs rather than the people who WROTE the law?  Or the elected officials who have not acted to take it off the books?
 
In fact, it seems Mr. or Ms. Gotcha was kind enough to allow an exception until the public hearing.

They did grant us permission to keep them up until we get through the appeal board’s decision, which was a huge relief.

 
So, is the exception the problem?
Or the open public process for a hearing?
Or is it the LAW itself you actually disagree with?
 
It’s a shame you keep choosing catchphrases and bogeymen over real policy discussion.  I think you actually do yourself and your city a disservice in cases like this one.
 
PS.  I hope OLIVE is successful!   Sounds nice.
 

@CSAPT- the Dayton Daily News still has their sign up on the Ludlow St building- it’s been over a year- and nothing.

You have to enforce laws equally for them to be taken seriously- or not have them on the books.

And why aren’t the Civil Servants busy pointing out the laws that are stupid then? They must know the good ones from the bad ones?

CSAPT, while I agree with you that outdated or inappropriate laws should be changed and ^[1] that the mayor and city commission should work to change some zoning rules, I think you’re being rather pedantic when you suggest that the people enforcing the letter of the law are merely doing their jobs.
 
It seems that you’re very much a black-and-white kind of person.  The law says “x” and therefore I can do nothing but insist upon “x.” My hands are tied. If “x” is wrong, the law has to be changed before I no longer have to insist on “x.”
 
Others are more likely to see shades of grey.  Not everything has to be spelled out, word for word.  There can be meaning between the lines.  Just because a law says “x” does not mean that some intelligence and interpretation can’t be used to realize that “x” doesn’t cover every situation.
 
Real life has tons of examples of the disconnect between black-and-white people and shades-of-grey people.  The recent Alaska senatorial race is just one.  CSAPT, it sounds like you’d agree with Joe Miller that despite the intent of roughly 100,000 Alaskans who voted for Lisa Murkowski, only those ballots on which her name was correctly spelled, without any extraneous words or markings, should be counted, citing Alaskan election law that says there can be “no exceptions” to the rules. Technically you might be correct, but there are learned people (e.g., justices on Alaska’s Supreme Court) who disagree with you.
 
In addition to working to change ordinances that are outdated or unclear, Dayton’s leadership should offer some guidance to the civil servants working for the city.  Do they want civil servants whose hands are bound by the letter of the law, enforcers who beat people over the head with the law?  Or do they want civil servants with some leeway to better serve the city and its people?
 
I for one hope they want the latter.

Mr. Lauri, thank you for your reasoned and reasonable response.   I agree there should be some flexibility.   And yes, enforcement should be equal and fair when necessary.
 
In this case, it appears the exception was given in order to allow time for the required public process.   That seems like a reasonable and flexible response.   The hard-nose “gotcha” response would be to NOT provide the time and instead issue orders immediately.   So again I ask, where does the problem really lie here?
 
There is a difference between flexibility and flat-out looking the other way.   Yes, there are shades of gray.    As I’ve said in this forum before, the plans examiner (a ^[2], btw) can be held liable for improperly issued permits – so asking them to bend the rules too far is akin to asking them to break the law themselves.   It is much like a certain police officer who ^[3] not long ago.
 
I also agree that those professionals who identify problem areas should work with the management team and/or elected officials to change them.  Perhaps the ideas from staff are not supported by management?  If so, why?
 
PS.  I find it very interesting that one might suggest MORE enforcement for the DDN but less for others like Olive.   Is there too much enforcement, or not enough?
 
Cheers and happy new year!
 

 
From Kimberly at Olive: (in reference to the whole wympee thing)
Just wanted to take a moment to make something clear. I did ask David to remove this piece.
David did not speak with me about the post before it went live (we’ve never spoken about my venture, he’s never once asked me for any information) and it had several major errors and a tone which I did not agree with. I offered for us to collaborate on a piece that had more substance and less from the hip emotion to replace this piece… especially, as it was my story, and he had put an entirely different and incorrect spin on it, based on a one line post on facebook, without ever speaking to me.
It is wonderful to have Daytonians willing to stand up and fight for you and with you, but I’d rather work as a team, and be proud of the collaboration and the outcome. Some of us are loud in our fights and some of us find other ways to make our mark, one is not less courageous than the other. We should respect those that are making efforts, and assist them in any way they require, not use them as a platform to throw insults and accusations from or to put our own spin on things, of which, we have no real grasp.
David, if you’d like to actually help, we’re busting out the concrete floor with sledge hammers right now, come pitch in and you can actually get the facts about our story!
kc