Unbridled Fatness

Today, I had a cup of coffee in a mall, at a Starbucks just opposite a Red Robin Gourmet Burger restaurant. I have actually dined at that restaurant, after shopping myself into a near coma at Nordstrom. The thing I remember most about that meal is how many fat people were crammed into booths all around me.

When I say “fat”,I mean huge enormous whales. I mean really big and fat. I commented on it at the time, and my husband didn’t have much of a response. Today, I watched the huge fat people lined up to eat lunch at Red Robin, while other huge fat people made their exit. This time when I demanded a comment from my husband, he offered the theory that the mall is in a low-income area, and poor people have bad eating habits. I agree that the fat people were dressed in a style one could describe as “ghetto.” But I still don’t quite understand the connection between this restaurant and fat people.

I went to the Red Robin website, which is a whole experience in itself. The phrase “Home of the Bottomless Steak Fries” may be a clue about its core market. Then, I went to a website about “branding” where there was an article about the Red Robin chain of restaurants. I learned that the restaurants are positioned in malls or other areas of high activity. Do malls attract fat people, or do fat people attract restaurants?   I still haven’t figured anything out yet.

But the branding article noted that the staff at Red Robin is encouraged by management to give its patrons “Unbridled Service,” along with a fidelity to the Red Robin “core values”:Honor, Integrity, Seeking Knowledge and Having Fun. These values are supposed to be carried out in “Unbridled Acts.” I went back to the company website, clicked on careers, and ended up feeling incredibly grateful.   I don’t have to work at Red Robin, and I’m not fat!   Yet.

Thank you, Jesus.