RINGGOLD, Ga. — Alvin Worley always wanted to turn the old tractor shelter behind his Ringgold home into a workshop where he and his friends could piddle around and pass the time after work.
Instead, the workshop turned into a memorabilia-covered, part-time honky-tonk, and his list of piddling friends has expanded to include some of the most powerful men in Georgia.
Worley’s one-time pole barn has been enclosed, expanded, air-conditioned and decorated to become a place politicians across the state have come to know as Worley’s Outback. The decor inside reveals the owner’s tastes: Georgia Bulldogs, country music and Republicans.
On election night, it’s usually the place that local officials — most of whom like elephants and the color red — go to wait out the returns.
During other times, the guest list has included Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue; U.S. Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn.; Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, both R-Ga.; Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and former congressman and current gubernatorial candidate Nathan Deal.