My mother, whom I had taken shopping, requested that I pull into the new Amy’s Restaurant in Rohnert Park to pick up a menu.
Upon pulling into the parking lot, I was horrified at the number of automobiles forming a seemingly unending line in the drive-through. Sorry, folks, but the drive-through, that architectural dinosaur of “modern convenience,” and one of the last vestiges of the 1970s that is still with us, has no place in a progressive, forwarding-thinking establishment that’s trying to change our diets for the better.
Being the tenaciously inquisitive individual that I am, I got out of my car and walked the length of the snaking line of cars (which, incidentally, temporarily blocked my ingress into the parking lot) to see just how many of these cars were sitting in this line with their engines idling. All but one had their engines purring away!
I then walked back to my car, found a parking place and entered the restaurant, where I was greeted by the wonderful smells of healthful food and the cheerful voice of an employee asking if she could help me. I requested a menu and walked back to my car.
The food smelled great and the prices certainly seem to be reasonable, and while I did not order any food this time, perhaps I will next time.
I’m all for making organic food available to as many patrons as possible. And I have nothing against the wonderful folks who founded the Amy’s chain, or the wonderful people who are employed by them. However, does the company really want to be identified by the same unofficial advertising logo that so ingloriously typifies their cross-county, cholesterol-producing competitor, In-N-Out Burger?
As I left the parking lot to head back to my hometown of Sebastopol—where new drive-throughs have been banned by the Sebastopol City Council—I couldn’t help but lament the fact that that the drive-through bugaboo is still with us, even after all these years.
Thomas Bonfigli lives in Santa Rosa.
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