Everybody’s business

Have a seat
As many of you may have already heard, the Jerry Garcia shrine that was Stormy’s Off Broadway will soon be under new management. Mike Davis, who goes simply by the name Phoenix, and Kelly Brewer are looking to open a new establishment by New Year’s called The Couch.

However, the two are facing familiar opposition to their liquor license application from Chico Police Chief Bruce Hagerty, who also recently announced his opposition to a license for a proposed bar-restaurant in the former Team Players site on Main Street.

Brewer said they will try to operate under a temporary license for a month until the deal closes in February.

The Couch will offer pizza by the slice while maintaining the live entertainment, and Kelly said they eventually want to rebuild the stage and move the bar to the back of the room.

Jammin’
Another long-time Chico staple, Sid Lewis, who’s been running his Acoustic College for nearly 15 years, recently received some national attention. Lewis instructs a class at his school called “Jamming 101,” which focuses on folk and bluegrass music. Lewis was asked to teach at the Strawberry Music Festival in Yosemite, Calif., to about 80 people. One of his students was Catherine Girardeau, a classically trained violinist who wanted to learn the art of “jamming.”

Girardeau interviewed Lewis and talked about her experience on Sept 25 on a program called Weekend America for National Public Radio. Girardeau, who was on assignment for NPR, said she likened her jamming experience to learning German—she could sort of understand the language, but when it came time to speak, she became tongue-tied.

But Lewis was able to set her mind at ease and drum up a little exposure as well. He said it was nice to go on NPR and show that “us hillbillies in the north are cool.”

Kids + moving vans = smart business
Perhaps you’ve seen the peculiar-looking moving van with a photo of a man holding a cardboard box containing two kids.

Well, it belongs to CUSD School Board member and Century 21 agent Scott Huber, who recently bought the 16-foot box van bearing the slogan, “Buy or sell your home through me … use my moving truck for FREE!”

Huber came up with the concept about a decade ago but said that he became too busy to maintain that part of the business and stopped the service after two years. He said customers never stopped asking about it, so he finally decided to make the plunge and buy his own rig.

As for the billboard-sized photo of him and his kids, Huber said jokingly, “I’ve learned that people who are good-looking should use pictures of themselves; otherwise they should use pictures of their kids or dogs.”

One for the team
Last week I wrote that Kenneth Ridino was looking to buy the old Team Players building; actually, he is looking only to lease it. As punishment, CN&R Editor Tom Gascoyne made me write, “I know the difference between buying and leasing” 1,000 times on the blackboard.