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After 40 years at Manuel’s, Curtis McBride gets a party
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Curtis McBride was scheduled to work the bar at Manuel’s Tavern on Tuesday night for a big Maloof family party. When the family that’s owned the bar for so long is there, they need a man with experience, and McBride’s got 40 years in at Manuel’s.
What McBride didn’t know is that the party was really for him, to celebrate his four decades at the Poncey-Highland bar.
Bill McCloskey, who has worked there for a paltry 35 years, said McBride had hardly mentioned the anniversary, but the staff planned to gather family, long-time customers and former employees in his honor.
“He’s always dependable, he’s always been here,” McCloskey said. “It’s just part of the place.”
And how has the bar changed in allllllll those years?
Hardly at all, McCloskey said. The fixtures, from the people to the look, are all the same.
“Just waiting on different generations,” he said.
IT’S TIME TO GIVE
You’ve got a few chances to be generous, with a reward other than the warm-and-fuzzy glow of giving: Atlanta Braves fans who donate a new, unwrapped toy worth at least $10 at games tonight and Thursday will receive a two-for-one ticket coupon and an autographed item, while supplies last, with a limit of two per person. Donations will be accepted at Turner Field’s Monument Grove from 4:30 p.m. through the end of the first inning. The Braves play the Philadelphia Phillies at 7 p.m. both nights. Toys will be delivered to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta hospitals in July.
Warped Tour fans heading to Lakewood Amphitheatre on July 9 to see Say Anything, Angels and Airwaves, Relient K and all the other bands can donate used cellphones to Cell Phones for Soldiers to receive a “Warped Tour-themed gift.” (No word on what it will be.)
Cell Phones for Soldiers buys pre-paid phone cards for active-duty military members; phones from any carrier will be accepted at the AT&T Drop Inn area.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Ron Silver (“West Wing,” “Veronica’s Closet”) is 62. Writer-director Larry David (“Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Seinfeld”) is 61. Model-actress Jerry Hall (below) is 52. Actress Lindsay Lohan is 22.
OVERSCENE
7:30 p.m. Sunday. WSB sports director and anchor Chuck Dowdle pulled into the Varsity to grab a bite to eat, despite a huge crowd gathering around a big black SUV in the parking lot. The onlookers snapped cellphone photos and passed Varsity boxes to be signed. “Who’s in that car?” he asked the big guy guarding the vehicle. “T.I.,” the man said. And there was the rapper, signing everything people put in front of him, taking every photo requested. “He could not have been nicer,” Dowdle said. And for the record, two people asked for Dowdle’s autograph.
Contributing: Rodney Ho and news services
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