Wallingford Chamber Mtg

This past Thursday, as those who follow Wallyhood on Twitter know, we had the mixed pleasure of attending the Wallingford Chamber of Commerce lunch at Ivar’s.

Arriving at noon sharp, we paid our $20, piled up our buffet plate high and found a seat between Shana from Archie McPhee’s (who kindly presented us with the amusing Archie McPhee’s tome Who Would Buy This) and a friendly woman from the Seattle Times (we barely managed to resist grasping her plate and asking “oh, you’re from print media? I’m from new media. May I eat your lunch?”)

Given the generic and already overworked nature of the meeting’s theme, “Survival Tactics in This Trashed Economy” or something like that, we weren’t hopeful for earth-shaking revelations, but we were hoping for a better glimpse of the inner workings of the Wallingford Chamber, in all their Machiavellian glory. Modulo some Machiavelli, we weren’t disappointed.

The original game plan for the meeting involved some talks about what various business owners were doing to adapt to the new landscape, followed by some table-based brainstorming, after which each table would present their findings. However, thanks in large part to Chamber President and Not A Number co-owner Kara Ceriello’s love affair with loquaciousness, this was stricken from the agenda for lack of time. We must admit issuing a deep sigh of relief. At the risk of being labeled spoil sports, we admit we find brainstorming to be a tedious charade.

Instead, we were treated to a series of monologues from chamber members detailing strategic approaches to the retail and restaurant business that convinced me I was not interested in entering the retail or restaurant business. Two examples of the advice rendered should adequately represent the whole: 1) make sure to talk to your customers and 2) try offering a 3-course dinner special, including soup or salad. The phrase “to make a long story short”, after that particular horse had long since left the barn, drew the only laugh.

A shining exception came from the Queen of Maple Bacon, Molly Moon, who let us in on some of the PR secrets that have helped her build regular wrap-around-the-block lines at her Wallingford shope (and which I’m sure she’ll replicate at her planned Capitol Hill expansion). The Cliff Notes’ version: everything is an opportunity for a press release. Everything.

We did managed to squeeze in a plug for Wallyhood, adding our own blather to parade. We thank the Chamber for the opportunity, and for the delicious chowder.

Wallingford Chamber of Commerce meetings are held the second Thursday of the month. Check the Chamber web site for details.