Unlike my other real estate horror stories that related to houses in Key West, this true story occurred one day several years ago while my buyer and I had a quick bite to eat at a Key West eatery that is no longer in business - Thank God! The photo above was borrowed from the internet and is not the place about which I am going to write.
The building where we "dined" is now owned by a totally different party. The current occupant is a lessee and not in any way related to my story. But to avoid getting sued, I posted a photo of a totally different joint in some place that is not Key West.
We went inside the eatery and stood in line to order quick fix sandwiches and a Coke which we took to our table. I had eaten at this place several times before and thought the sandwiches were not only really tasty but also a good value. And we could get in and out within about 15 to 20 minutes.
The guy behind the counter was an older guy - probably in his fifties. He was rather large both in height and belly. He looked like Mel Sharples. Older readers may remember Mel from the TV show Alice. But this guy was no lovable Mel Sharples.
We sat down and began to eat our sandwiches. We were situated ten feet or so from where we ordered our meals. The Mel look-a-like left his post as the order taker and sandwich maker for a couple of minutes. He picked up the trash can behind the counter and lugged it outside whereupon he threw the contents into a big green dumpster. He stopped for a moment to savor the cigar he had in his mouth. As I recall there was another person working there that day. I remember wondering why that person didn't take the trash outside.
Then the Mel guy came back inside and placed a new black plastic trash bag in the trash can. He then went back to the counter to take orders and prepare sandwiches for newly arriving customers. The cigar was still in his mouth and he did not wash his hands. I was disgusted. I never went back there.
I have never gotten over this incident. I know bad things happen in restaurants. I rarely send anything back to the kitchen in fear of what some other Mel might do to the meal. I didn't complain at the time. Maybe this incident didn't really happen. Maybe.
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