At Shady’s Corner, a spinning “Wheel of Misfortune” sets the hourly specials, from $1 off draft beer to $5 old-fashioneds.
A consultant for the bar’s new owners said they couldn’t have had worse misfortune when they took over the business one day ahead of schedule on Oct. 23. That was the same day a Chattanooga police undercover drug bust resulted in the arrests of one employee and two patrons.
One of the new co-owners, Tom Franks, 45, said whether it was technically Day 1 or not, he felt frustrated on behalf of the team and community that the bar had to undergo an undercover police drug operation.
“There are things that are bigger than us trying to own a business or anything like that,” Franks said.
He said the first day was a blur and the team didn’t get an ideal handoff. He visited the bank early, created checklists, worked with vendors and set up access to registers.