Checking Out? After 21 Years, Blind Jim Dotson May Have To Give Up The Spokane County Courthouse Cafeteria
A blind man is being priced out of business after 21 years of running the cafeteria in the Spokane County Courthouse.
Jim Dotson’s cafeteria may be replaced by a McDonald’s or other fast-food restaurant as county commissioners look for a higher-paying tenant and healthier - or at least tastier - food.
Losing the lease likely will force him and his wife to survive on Social Security benefits, said Dotson, 64.
“At my age, who’s going to hire me?” Dotson said. “With no eyesight, what am I going to do? This is my sole income.”
For 19 years, Dotson paid no rent on 2,010 square feet of space that includes a kitchen, dining area and storage room. In 1995, commissioners started charging $625 a month to cover the county’s cost for electricity and other expenses.
In October, the rent is increasing to $748 a month, the county’s current cost for the space.
Starting in January, commissioners want to charge the going rate for similar space in private buildings. Although a survey hasn’t been completed to determine how much that is, county staff members estimate the monthly bill likely will be about $2,000.
Under a 1936 federal law, the contract must be offered first to the state Department of Services for the Blind, which trains blind people and helps them find jobs. If no blind proprietors want the lease, the county can offer it to the general public.
Dotson said he clears only $12,000 a year. The rent increase would take all of that, and more.
Commissioners say they’re trying to get the best financial return for taxpayers. Beyond that, they said, many of Dotson’s customers complain the food is overpriced, the selection too limited and unhealthy, and the cafeteria too dingy and poorly maintained.
The cafeteria shows signs of neglect. The floor is yellowed and the walls are long overdue for fresh paint. The air is heavy with the sweet scent of bacon grease. But inspection records from the Spokane Regional Health District since 1994 show no major problems. And the Department of Services for the Blind hasn’t heard any complaints about cleanliness, said Bonnie Jindra, administrator for the agency’s business enterprise program.
Dotson said he last remodeled in 1977. His menu includes fried food, prepackaged drinks and snacks like candy bars, Snapple drinks and butterhorns. Three years ago, he added an espresso stand.
Prices on some of the more popular items are 75 cents for a small cup of coffee, $2.75 for a bacon burger, and $3.75 for a breakfast of eggs, hashbrowns, bacon and toast.
Prices increased in recent years, Dotson said, because commissioners started charging rent.
But Dotson blames tight courthouse security, not price increases or changing tastes, for a 30 percent drop in business since 1995.
With the exception of county employees, anyone coming to the cafeteria from other areas of the courthouse must go through security when they return. Attorneys with tight schedules don’t like to risk being delayed at the airport-style metal detectors, Dotson said.
Besides attorneys, Dotson’s customers include police officers, judges and rank-and-file courthouse workers. Jurors sometimes use the cafeteria if they’re not sequestered or haven’t yet been assigned a case.
The regulars are loyal.
“I usually come over and have a deli sandwich probably three times a week,” said Spokane police officer Larry Evans. “I try to do what I can to keep Jim afloat.”
“Most people who eat here on a regular basis don’t want it to change,” said another officer, Brian Hamond.
Commissioners wonder whether more people would use the cafeteria if it had a tastier menu and brighter atmosphere, like a McDonald’s, or if it specialized in healthier food.
“One of the things we have to decide is do we want this type of operation in the (courthouse) or do we want something better, with a little different type of food,” said Commissioner John Roskelley. “Do we want something more presentable?”
Jindra said her agency holds the lease for 27 cafeterias in government buildings across the state, including the cafeteria in the state Capitol. (A private dining room used by legislators is not part of that contract, however.)
The state agency trains the blind vendors, who pay the rent and reap the profits.
Customers at all 27 cafeterias request healthier food, Jindra said.
“But nobody buys it,” she said. “What they want is the greasy burgers and the french fries. That’s where the money is.”
A Montana native, Dotson said he has always had poor vision, although not bad enough to keep him out of the Army. While training to fight in the Korean War, he permanently lost his night vision and was given a medical discharge.
By the time he was completely blind in 1970, Dotson was running two Western Washington snack bars. He took over the courthouse cafeteria in 1976 and supported three children on the income.
“The cafeteria was in bad shape” when he took over, Dotson said. “In fact, they asked the other blind operator to leave. It needed remodeling, it needed PR work.”
Dotson is still bitter that commissioners started charging rent. Raising the price is a “dirty trick” that ought to be delayed until he’s ready to retire, said Dotson, who won’t say when that might be.
“I don’t think they have the right to put me on the sidewalk after all these years,” he said.
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