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Nathans to close July 12

The party’s over at the corner of Wisconsin avenue and M Street in Washington. 

Despite an extension on the lease for the iconic Washington, DC power eatery and bar, the site of many a tryst and a few political tussles, owner Carol Joynt has announced The End.  Blame the rotten economy, an impossible building lease, and more than a decade of financial hassles.

In an e-mail, she wrote, "We hope over the next week you will find the time to come in and enjoy a last drink and meal with us.  We wish we could give it away, but economic reality is that we need your dollars.  Also, if I may, I urge you to be please be generous with the staff."

Carol’s story goes back more than a dozen years.  I’ve said before it’s the stuff of a movie or a TV series, a story of a single Mom suddenly saddled with the dregs of her husband’s attitude of ‘the good-times-are-always here, and damn the paperwork and the taxes.’

Well, the Nathans saga is ending, literally.  Joynt’s been writing a book about her self-described nightmare, and maybe somebody will pick it up.  Meanwhile, she’s got two pro-bono lawyers who had been working mightily to find a way she could keep the business going but who now will have to offer advice about avoiding liens, judgments, and perhaps even the IRS.

You’ll be hearing from Carol.  Before her glamorous life as the wife of a DC bon vivant and restaurateur blew up, she was a savvy journalist and TV producer (Larry King and Charlie Rose.)  Now she will be able to get back to doing what she loves.

There should be more ‘early retirements’ at WaPo

You have to think, and hope, there are a few people at the Washington Post who have trouble sleeping the next few days.  Naturally, the publisher, Katherine Weymouth, should be one of them ... in terminal fear for their jobs.

(Are you reading this, Donald Graham?)  

Even the Post’s Ombudsman agrees the idea of inviting sources/lobbyists/influencers to diss and dine with Weymouth and her employees (don’t forget) was beyond the pale of logic.  Given my own experience at major media companies, it’s beyond belief that this dumb idea got further than a suggestion over having a coffee.

Most troubling is Ms. Weymouth’s involvement, her name being used in the sponsor-soliciting flier .

Without her knowledge?  Right! 

Given the Post’s financial issues, it is also clear now that there are substantial management problems, too. 

In her brief tenure, Weymouth appears to consciously trying to raise the Post’s profile well beyond paper and ink.  But in her zeal (exemplified by this photo and feature from Portfolio) there have been mistakes. 

At a minimum, she is trying way too hard.

Luring lobbyists and executives to non-confrontational conversations and drinks and dinner with reporters is absurd.  It’s enough to make one ask if this media company’s lineage included Katherine Graham and Ben Bradlee  or that self-described ‘thug,’ Nick Denton.

Maine rain fills Freeport store

Last month was the fifth-rainiest June Maine has seen, ever.  And it doesn’t take a weatherman's Doppler radar to know that the first few weeks of the summer vacation season have been a bust for many businesses in the state.

Coincidentally, just as summer began, the legislature goosed the sales tax and hotel tax with the Governor saying that it would mean visitors would end up shouldering more of the state’s revenue load.  Maybe not this year.

But there is a bright spot.  L. L. Bean, the state’s largest private employer, seems to be benefiting.  “Rain means customers,” a sales person at the Freeport store said. She added that June ‘09 sales were ‘much’ better than June ‘08's. And a year ago the economy wasn't yet in the ditch.

It’s safe to say the rain has sideswiped many a business in the state.  Window shopping’s way off.  There are few people sitting eating at the lobster shacks. Clam diggers have been rained out ... it's just gone on and on.

Carol Joynt ... nearly WonderWoman

Carol Joynt, owner of Nathan's in Georgetown DC, has a new lease on life.  Or at least a lease on the nearly-bankrupt bar/restaurant her husband, Howard, left her when he died more than a decade ago.

A journalist with writing and video skills, she forsake that career to take up the load of a business in trouble with the IRS. A, btw, she also raised their son.  (TV producers ... milion dollar show idea here.) And for the past year, she has chronicled an almost psychedelic tale of keeping the place alive in the face of a lousy economy and a tough land,lord while who she really wants to be is Larry King.

Well, with the help of two pro-bono lawyers, she's got a new deal.  Month-to-month, six months, five years, who knows?  But she's still at it .. and she is still a great reality TV show to be done. 

From French Embassy dinners to having her car repossessed, from 4-star guests at her 'pretend' interview TV show to agreeing not to take a pay heck because business sucks ... she's doing it all.

Let's hear it for the woman!

Read her story here.

The camera has landed

After dropping friends off at Dulles yesterday afternoon, per plan I went to the Ritz Camera in Reston.  An adult was behind the counter.  His name is Thomas. I suspect he’s the Store Manager because he tried to make the sale.

Yes, he had an XSI.  In black. 

No, he didn’t have the zoom-lens-with-a-rebate. 

Yes, he found it at another RC store and arranged for a store-to-store transfer.  It’ll be here in a few days.

Thomas made an excellent effort to get me what I want.

He also put the big push on to sell me an extended ‘protection’ plan. In case I drop the camera, Ritz will replace it.  I declined, several times. 

A  neighbor who was with me, and is an attorney who’s been an executive with the Federal Reserve and counsel to major retailers on credit issues chimed in, saying, “From a consumer standpoint, I want you to know you made the right decision rejecting the Plan.”

So, the camera is in the back of our car.  Soon to come out of the box.

No, I did not buy the camera yesterday.

In the morning, Donna heard an ad on the radio from Ritz Camera.  Free Epson photo printer would come with the DSLR. 

So, being a smart husband, I knew I had to at least make the effort.  So, I drove to Reston to the RC where a clerk tried to help.  yes, they had the camera.  The zoom lens?  Hmm, she'd have to ask her Manager.

Now, understand that retail background I have makes me reluctant to break my word, i.e. buy the camera at Ritz and not at Penn Camera, where the folks behind the counter are photographers.  So I got on the phone to call Peter, the Penn salesman, and tell him my dilemma.  Free printer ... same price ... wife wants printer for jewelry business ... competition is competition. 

It is apparent that Peter is not on commission.  There is no eagerness to make a deal with me.  "We don't have that printer.  It's discontinued."

Well, how about a free battery?

"Free?  Oh, we don't have that deal." 

(Business at Penn, I think, must be pretty darn good, eh?)

Peter, I say, "I don't want to buy it here.  I want stores like yours to stay in business.  Yes, Ritz is in bankruptcy, but you have to at least try to be competitive."

"Peter, did the lens you ordered for this package Friday come in?"

"The truk came an hour ago. Uh, I'll know in a few hours."  Peter! 

"Oh, OK.  Let me look .............. Yes, it's here."

By this time, the RC clerk is back.  "No, we don't have the lens."

Fine, I drive to Penn Camera. 

Peter is with a customer.  He sees, me, I believe ... does not acknowledge me, and spends another five minutes with another customer. Ron, the assistant store manager sees me waiting.  He talks with Peter who tells him where the lens and camera is.  Ron puts the items on the counter.

THE CAMERA IN THE BOX IS the Canon XS.  Not the XSI with which Peter helped me take some test shots a few days earlier. 

This is my fourth contact with Peter. I'm disappointed that I have made no impression. 

Ron asks me if I want the XSI in silver or black.  "Black." 

Ron rummages in the cabinet ... "No black."

I stand there.  Calm. I tell Ron how 'disappointed' I am.

"Ron, I'm going to go away and stew."

On my way home, I remember my friend is a fan of another pro/sumer camera store 20 miles away.  I say to myself, "Let's get this thing done!"  On the way I call and ask if they have the camera and the lens.  "I have one camera in silver and no lens."

I go home.

Things to do Tuesday: Take friends to airport at 3:30pm and on the way home, go back to RC.  Order the camera and lens (and get the free printer).

Maybe I'll get it before Memorial Day.

But now or wait?

Now, something you may not know, or believe, about me.  I am very reluctant to spend money on 'toys.'  A new camera is a 'toy.' 

For months, like most Americans. if we can't eat it or burn it in the car or warm ourselves with it, we haven't bought it.  We've whittled the credit card bill 50%.  But now, I've decided to take another Maine Workshop class.  And I can see my Point and Shoot has some technical drawbacks, so I've been thinking about getting an SLR AFTER the class.

But at the (photo) 'Safari' I went on about two weeks ago, the teacher said ... get it sooner so that during my class I'll be able to explore its capabilities under the guidance of a teacher.  So, I thought I was excited about the new Canon and Nikon which do video as well as great stills.  But the more I looked at them, the less I thought the video was important - and then both Nikon and Canon put good deals on their XSI and D60, by including a 18-55 and a 55-200 zoom, for competitive prices (Nikon $749, Canon $849). 

So I read every review ... really tortured my printer turning out reams of data and comment.  Finally made a second trip to the camera store and took along a memory card and show my own 'test' photos.  Came home, looked at them ... the Canon was clearly (no pun intended) superior - even a friend, a Nikoner, saw the photos and said "Message received."

So, I futzed around doing research for another day and decided, Let's Do It ... get the Canon.  So I drove to Penn Camera at Tysons Corner, found the sales guy, Peter (very helpful), and said wrap 'em up. 

SPLAT! 

To get the $849 deal (which is a $200 rebate on the lens), he has to sell them both on the same receipt, and there were no lenses in stock.  "Come back Monday, we should have it here by about 2 p.m," he said. 

I nodded and said OK.  (Whew!  I don't have to buy something.)

Now here's something else you should know.  Even though I was in retail for 10 years, with a chain of stores in the Washington area and 100 employees, I hate shopping.  I viscerally recoil when I walk into a store because I feel the sales folks are desperate to sell something and I am so other-directed that I feel I have a responsibility to buy something. So I don't go into stores (other than Apple and LL Bean.  Great sales people.  NO pressure.)

So, here I steeled myself ... tried to pull the trigger ... and had a blank in the chamber.

Question of the Day:  Should I try to find the camera and lens, today, at another store (Ace Photo or Ritz Camera) since I've got all day because my wife is still away?

Big Bucks Bob

Bob Nardelli got $210M after Home Depot. 

How much will he get as he drives away from Chrysler? 

Who says hard work doesn't pay?

What’s for breakfast?

OK.  Predictions of the death of newspapers are everywhere.  Recently, I heard that they will be gone in five years.

Here’s what I want to know.

What am I going to do at breakfast without a paper?

There is zero chance my wife is going to allow me to have a laptop at the table.  I have enough trouble having my iPhone even in the kitchen, never mind on and surfing.

So, seriously ... there are tens of millions of us for whom the morning paper has become as addictive as the morning cup of coffee.  What am I going to do?  Morning TV like “Today”, I don’t think so.  CNN, Fox, CNBC? Nope, too narrow, too small an editorial horizon.  And an awful lot of noise and not much signal.

Maybe I’ll get up half an hour earlier, surf by bookmarks, and print out 20-30 pages so I have something to read with Cheerios and blueberries.

Air Force One over Gotham

How is it possible that no one involved in Operation Beauty shot talked about it to anyone?  Starting with the staff of the White House Military Office director.  Is the Obama White House information lid so tight that staffers' brains have atrophied?

Didn't anyone there think, this idea was a little strange?  A little stupid. Nor that anyone typing the e-mails, gassing the big plane, helping the F-16 pilots suit up said anything to anyone who might have asked, "WTF?". 

In a one-industry town where everyone knows someone - from Congressional staffers to Politico interns to CSPAN callers - no one?

Wow.  Suddenly, Washington really knows how to keep a secret.