Capitol workers to get lunchime treat Monday
Workers at the Capitol won’t have to bring their lunch or go elsewhere for lunch Monday, thanks to a state employees group.
The Oklahoma Public Employees Association will provide free sandwiches from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday on the 4th-floor rotunda to the approximately 250 workers at the Capitol.
A snack bar at the Capitol has been closed since May 25. It’s expected a new vendor could be in place by the end of this month, state officials have said.
Snack bar operators are selected by the Business Enterprise Program, a part of the Rehabilitation Services Department. The program provides employment opportunities for people who are visually impaired to independently run their own businesses in government buildings.
Snack bars in the basement and on the fourth floor of the Capitol are open during the legislative session; the fourth-floor operation usually shuts down when legislators are not in session.
The previous operator quit suddenly May 24, the day before legislators adjourned this year’s session.
She came in hurriedly when Lee Hutsen, who had operated the snack bars for 14 months, was booted out of the Capitol in late January just before the start of this year’s legislative session because of a dispute with a customer over chicken salad. The customer wanted the item, but Hutson said he no longer served it.
Hutsen now runs the snack bar in the Hodge Building, a couple blocks north of the Capitol.
He and his wife, Mary, said last week they’ve picked up about four or five customers since the Capitol snack bars closed.
Hutsen, a visually impaired vendor in the Business Enterprise Program for seven years, said he’s increased business at the Hodge Building since starting up shop there in February – from about $425 in daily sales to about $600.
Lee Hutsen said whoever is selected as vendor at the Capitol will be starting during a slow period, but business will pick up noticeably during the four months legislators are in session.
“It’s nothing to make $2,000 a day (in sales) between the two snack bars,” he said.
Daily sales in the basement snack bar when legislators are not in session usually run about $400, he said.
“Eight months out of the year, the state Capitol business is a little better than break even by the time you pay for products and pay for your help,” he said.
Michael McNutt
Capitol Bureau
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