Quiner’s Diner asks for your help

By Tom Quiner

Brutish bureaucracy, redundant regulations, and an adversarial city hall really pisses me off.

I’m sorry to talk this way, but I’ve been doing a slow burn for months over the treatment  some of my family members have received from our county government here in the Des Moines area.

I am asking you to help.

Quick background: my nephew’s wife (along with my nephew) have created something amazing and beautiful here in my fair city: the Dogpatch Urban Gardens (DUG). They have transformed an out-of-the way city lot into an amazing urban garden.

You remember the old line from Field of Dreams: “build it and they will come.” Well, Jenny and Eric built it … and people came.

Des Moines and surrounding environs have beat a path to DUG’s inviting doorstep to buy the prettiest fresh produce you’ve ever seen.

Jenny and Eric worked closely with County regulators every step of the way. They crossed their T’s and dotted their I’s to make sure every single County regulation was honored.

But then something happened. The County changed the rules. They came back at Jenny and Eric with an outlandish array of demands. Comply or else.

An example: install a new door that is handicap accessible. Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it, except that the huge garage door into which everyone enters and exits is ALWAYS open. You can drive a Mac truck through it, much less a wheel chair. Talk about superfluous! You can see more of the County’s demands in the accompanying photo.–>

There are much costlier demands being placed on this small business. The total tab to keep the bureaucrats, regulators, and city hall happy amounts to $75,000.

That’s a really stiff tab for a small business to handle. Here’s the irony: this is truly a “Green” business. They’re not using chemicals. Liberals and conservatives alike love this place. Tell that to the regulators, as if it mattered.

To help defray some of the costs, Jenny has launched a Kickstarter Campaign to raise $15,000. Quiner’s Diner is on board.

I encourage you to review her project, and if you’re able, to support it financially, even if it’s only for $5 or $10.

She’ll hit her goal, but we want to blow way past it. This is a small business worth saving.

I feel better already. Thanks so much for reading and following this blog.

Oh, one more thing: share this blogpost and share this campaign with your friends and family. We’d like to see support come in from around the country and around the world.