Roadkill Grill

Posted by Twelvebit (Victoria, United States) on 18 February 2008 in Lifestyle & Culture.

Now given logic and the law, you wouldn't think taking a photo of a place like this would be likely to lead to a confrontation or bloodshed, but you'd be wrong. In the first place, this is America; and in the second place, this is Texas --violence is more popular than logic and even the police don't know the law, especially when it comes to photography.

Still, you might think that someone in business would like having people take photographs of his establishment or his products --maybe even publicize them; and while I suspect that this sentiment is generally true, it apparently is not always true. Some people, it seems, want to keep what they're selling a "secret." I have been challenged a number of times while taking photos, but the two most hostile confrontations have been with people who look to the public for all, or at least part, of their livelihood.

At the Roundtop Antique Fair some guy selling rather ordinary patio knickknacks went apoplectic when he saw me point my camera their way. But alas, I hadn't taken a photo because once these objects were in my viewfinder their mediocrity slapped my finger off the shutter release. Here at the Roadkill Grill some guy came out after me yelling like he'd just spotted a terrorist planting a roadside bomb. He didn't seem the type who would appreciate a lesson in marketing or the law so I simply waved a friendly goodbye and drove off.

I don't know, maybe the Roadkill Grill is a secret government installation and the restaurant sign is a code board for secret agents. In any case, given my own hostile reception, it didn't strike me as a very friendly place so I'll never know whether they are actually involved in commerce or produce a tasty BBQ (for some people in business, word-of-mouth and advertising are apparently alien or threatening concepts). Admittedly, I'm not sure what business model a restaurant with a name like this is operating under; then again, perhaps the name and the hostility go hand-in-hand and the sign is intentionally revealing.

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