Bad Ventilation-Nov 2001?

 

First a little background:   My Brother, Allan, owned and operated his own business called "A to Z Entertainment".   His general mission was to arrange for Professional Corporate Entertainment.  Usually Children's entertainment for Company picnics, but was also frequently called for many other corporate entertainment needs.    He'd subcontract out to several performers and rides, to come up with a huge corporate package.    My brother would be the DJ, perform magic shows which included some show birds, he'd juggle, stilt-walk, make balloon animals,  and perform all sorts of other entertainment for kids.    In the mean time, the subcontractors would come in with inflatable rides, games, and a wide variety of other services, all choreographed to maximally entertain the kids..   (Although my brother was very successful at this, he eventually had enough and moved on...).

 

In the "Other Corporate Needs" department, my brother frequently worked with a head honcho for "Circuit City".  In this instance, there was a grand opening celebration given to all the contractors, staff, and executives before the new store was to open, in the massive Nanuet Shopping Mall in NY.   My brother was asked if he knew of any caterers who could do a simple Burgers/Hot Dogs/Salads/Chips thing.    My brother reluctantly offered me.   (I say reluctantly, because I really didn't have a very good corporate presence at the time.   My equipment was functional, but not necessarily pretty.   I've since made many upgrades). 

 

This was before the pig roast element of my operation took off.   At the time, I was frequently doing catering events featuring grilled foods.   Before I even had a digital camera..   And this was in the early days, when I was just happy to get hired at all.  

 

I now know FAR more about event logistics, but at the time, I kinda showed up to events with the attitude that "we'll work with whatever situation they throw at us".     I didn't really take event logistics as seriously back then.        Furthermore, because my brother was handling the coordination, and I didn't have the advantage of speaking with a person "in the know" about the layout.   I was uncomfortable about that right from the start.     

 

Once we got onsite, the gravity of the logistics situation became clear.    Not a very optimum situation, but workable.     I'd have to dump all my gear near the massive garage door of the Circuit City...the bay where the Car Stereo Installation crews normally work.   But we couldn't BLOCK the driveway.       I'd also have to park the truck/trailer in one of the regular mall parking spots, an annoying 50' away from the cooking area.         And of course, the grills would have to stay outside, but the cooked burgers/dogs would have to be carried to the inside serving tables.   Fortunately, I had the foresight to staff the event well, so none of this was a real big problem.      I should mention that it was an early November job.  We got hit with a light snow, which we were unprotected from.

 

Because we had some space constraints to deal with...we set as best we could.   Then we fired up the charcoal grill about 45 minutes before service was to begin.       Next thing we knew, we were surrounded by Police and Fire/Rescue Teams.       What I didn't realize was that the grill was set up right next to the air intake for the entire mall!    The intake was well hidden.    It was a flat, ground level grate, roughly 15 ' x 15'.   Kind of looked like a Subway station ventilation grate built into a NYC sidewalk.     By then, it was lunchtime on a Sunday.    The Mall was hoppin'.    Hundreds of people were complaining of watering eyes, and the strange smells from the nasty black charcoal/lighter fluid combo, that was just getting up to temps.     Anybody who works with charcoal knows how exceptionally nasty that smell can be!      People saw smoke coming out of the HVAC system and freaked!!      

 

Well, quickly, the FD & Police realized what was going on, we rapidly made some setup adjustments, and everybody had a good chuckle over it.   No real harm done.  But I did feel like a complete idiot.     Looking back, I'm glad this wasn't POST 9/11, or I'd probably STILL be in a jail cell with a buzzing anal-probe searching for my terrorist roots.

 

I do remember it being one of the first jobs that was devoid of all the back patting, high-fives, and praise that had been fueling me up to that point.     I drove away with the feeling that even though services were performed as promised... I f*cked that one up royally, and I'd never hear from that client again.      No negative feedback ever got to me, or to my brother..    But to this day, I remember being somewhat nauseated by the event.   I couldn't help but wonder what the client *really* thought, and I couldn't get it out of my mind that they were probably very unhappy.     Maybe I read things wrong.    I'll never know!    

 

 

Please Call (973) 627-2722 to Discuss Your Event.  Usually 6pm-10pm, Weeknights.  Please leave a Message otherwise.   Also be sure to mention the potential date(s), estimated headcount, location, and the nature of the event.     Thanks!

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