news8austin tells us about the frog

[threeplusfire]

Goodbye, frog.



Drag mural to be torn down
1/6/2004 7:08 PM
By: Jitin Hingorani

As the face of the drag changes, periodically new franchises replace old icons. Now, a California food chain is taking over the popular Sound Exchange on 21st and Guadalupe streets.

This time, the controversy is not about business, but rather a frog.

It's a silent hello, a greeting that brightens the day of people who walk by.

"Oh, it cheers me up. It's silly and fun and I think, it's a good touch even on a bad day," resident Elizabeth Kirkindall said.

Daniel Johnston, an alternative musician, painted the mural on the wall of Sound Exchange a decade ago, but Wednesday, the "Hi, how are you?" frog will croak for good.

"All the older Austin businesses get pushed out for the smaller chain restaurants and I think it's kinda' sad," resident Adam Norwood said.

Baja Fresh, a California-based Mexican food chain, took over the building where a small group of concerned frog fans gathered in opposition.

"I can understand their concern. Unfortunately, there's an owner that owns this building that's going to put windows in. I was telling my guys that could be saved if someone wanted to save it," Bruce Gist, with A-1 Coring contractor, said.

Construction crews have already started working on building a window that will replace the entire mural and there's nothing the city of Austin can do about it because the mural is not a historic landmark and it's on private property.

"I've been threatened behind it, people telling me they're going to come blow the building up if we cut it down and they wouldn't eat at the new Baja Fresh restaurant and, it's been wild, man," concrete cutter Adam Liboak said.

People are saying goodbye to their favorite frog.

"I think it'd be a good gesture of goodwill and a win-win situation for the company and for Austin if they kept the mural," Kirkindall said.

John Oudt, the owner of the Baja Fresh franchise on the Drag, said he had no idea the frog was anything more than graffiti. He said he would lose money if he tried to preserve the mural at such late notice.

Construction crews plan to tear down the wall Wednesday.


After that depressing piece of news, I would like to send a big hearty Fuck you, buddy to John Oudt, the owner of the Baja Fresh franchise and to the Wendy's corporation. From now on, I'm not spending my fast food dollars on you. Oh yeah, and Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you buddy.

I bought some of my first cassettes in Sound Exchange, posters, and I have walked past that corner so many times since I was in middle school. Those images are permanently associated with that period of change. Thinking about it being gone, and because of a damned fast food place, makes me sad.

Comments

[xiuzan.livejournal.com]

I was reading about that earlier. Maybe someone should tell him that Kurt Cobain wore a shirt on the MTV awards with the frog on it. It's certainly not just grafitti. It's part of Austin history and now music history. Kurt is one of the biggest musicians of the last half of the 1900s and he's gone. Of course, Daniel Johnston has a rather sizeable cult following, too, not just in Austin.

I hate that Wendy's is involved. I like their food and they're super convenient for me to get during work. It takes 5 minutes and $2.59 for me to be satisfied there. Now I feel like I don't want to support them.

Who cares if he loses a little money trying to save it. That store will piss everyone off before it even moves in if he doesn't.

I've just decided that people should make an effort to put one "Keep Austin Weird" bumper sticker on Baja Fresh every day.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

No kidding. I think I may never eat at Wendys again after this. This guy is courting some seriously bad PR.

I like the idea about the Keep Austin Weird sticker.

[calledmara.livejournal.com]

Aargh! I saw about that on another friend's journal. It looked for awhile like it might be saved.

How is Wendy's involved? Do they own Baja Fresh? Cuz if Baja Fresh is a CA-based chain, well Wendy's is a Columbus, OH-based chain. Not that I have some great love for Wendy's, just curious.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Wendy's does indeed own the Baja Fresh chain.

[alainn-sorcha.livejournal.com]

I will never eat there. >(

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Me either. What are thinking, bringing California Mexican food to Texas? Egads.

[patashoqua.livejournal.com]

That frog, it has a goatee. YOUR FROG HAS A GOATEEE.

that is all.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

He is a very styling frog.

[quietexpression.livejournal.com]

That's so awful. What a selfish man! *shakes head*

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Very typical of what's been happening lately down there. Such a shame.

[puella.livejournal.com]

Actually I don't think this is the whole story. There have been a lot of posts about this in austincommunity, and when you look over there the owner makes it clear that he is giving the wall intact to the city/someone to preserve somewhere else.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

I've been following the Austin Community thread, and while I hope that this fellow does try to preserve the wall, I remain fairly skeptical.

[coyotegoth.livejournal.com]

You know, I met Dave Thomas once, and he was an arrogant creature, himself. How can anyone not love a frog with a goatee??