When we showed up, there was one customer, an elderly gentleman, sitting at the bar with his own coffee cup that he refilled periodically. The two cashiers were both girls that appeared to be college aged. There was one man working, reloading doughnut trays, making coffee, etc.
Customers milled in, the drive thru bell was dinging. For 6 a.m., Shipley Do-Nuts was a rather busy place. The main customers appeared to be college students, businessmen, and elderly gentlemen.
Apart from myself, my partner and the two cashiers, no females entered the establishment during our listening post. (Although there may have been women in the drive-thru but we could not see the cars.) Which begged the question, why? Do women not enjoy doughnuts and coffee as much as men? Are doughnuts a male dominated food item? Are women so worried about being/staying thin that they do not eat doughnuts? Has society warped women's viewpoints of the "perfect body" to the point where they can no longer bear to be around carbs? Or was it just too early and women need their beauty sleep?
We'll never know, but it brought around some interesting questions.
About 20 minutes in to the listening post, one of the cashier's (assumed) boyfriend came in holding a Whataburger bag. She smiled and gave him a kiss and promptly took her bag to the back. What time did she come into work that morning? Too early to eat at home? Is she too busy working to have time to eat? Is she supporting herself through school, working long hours at the doughnut shop? Is she so sick of doughnuts she cannot eat them anymore? Or was she just craving Whataburger?
Not too long after a man entered, a true regular. He did not even speak to the cashier and she handed him a bag and he had exact change ready. How long has he been frequenting Shipley? Has he lived in San Marcos his whole life? He had the potential to be a good feature story, if those two questions proved to be true.
The typical clientele were mainly older men. Older people, in general, are not the focus of many media stories. This older gentleman, if he was a San Marcos local, would possibly know about the good restaurants and, if interviewed, could make for a great "Eat like a local" piece. Also, assuming he is retired, has his retirement changed since the economic shift? Was he able to eat breakfast out at Shipley's every day before and now can only afford once or twice a week? With the right questions it could lead to a great news/business piece.
In that same vein we thought about how we could learn about the community from this place. Since this is not a legitimate food place (i.e. grocery store, cafe, diner) you can gain insight about the local economy. If business is strong it proves the San Marcos economy is strong enough to afford frivolous purchases like doughnuts.
The Shipley listening post was both exciting and informative. It goes to show that journalistic inspiration can come from anywhere.
Brittany Bemis
No comments:
Post a Comment