Five Points in Birmingham is a destination for an interesting combination of good food and crazy. There’s a Chick-fil-A in Five Points, and I didn’t realize until I read this article that said Chick-fil-A doesn’t have a drive-thru. There was, apparently, a lot of opposition to Chick-fil-A’s original proposal (that included a drive-thru), so they ultimately dropped it after the local authorities rejected their proposal.*

Now, they’re offering “curbside” service, which allows customers to drive up to a tent in the parking lot, place their order, and wait for it to be delivered to them while they wait in the parking lot. I think it’s a pretty creative way to get around the restriction. I’ll be interested in seeing whether it gets shut down or not. Congestion might be a valid concern, but my best guess is that these externalities will be internalized by property and sales tax collections. Something more is at issue here, I think.

In his money speech in Atlas Shrugged, Francisco d’Anconia counsels:

Run for your your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper’s bell of an approaching looter.

I would add to that claims from “community leaders” about “preserving the character of the community.” The article notes: “(a)t the time Chick-fil-A dropped its plans for a drive-through the decision was hailed as an example of cooperation between a corporation and a community.” But “cooperation” isn’t particularly meaningful when one party is holding a gun under the table.

Incidentally, this isn’t the first time “character of the community” has forced Chick-fil-A to get creative. What they did to appease “community leaders” and build a restaurant on Union Avenue in Memphis was pretty odd.

*-Yes, I know I try to avoid news, but sometimes I give in and page over to AL.com to see what’s “new.”