Outlet Characters: OTAnyone who likes free stuff. That's you. I seent you. Setting: The Establishment Formerly Known As Starbucks, all day. Content: Hungry student chaos, otherwise undecided. Summary: Tony's new investment is opening with a bang, and some poor fools have to work there.
While Tony never thought he would be so involved in the dining and hospitality sector, he was certainly amassing a respectable collection. It wasn't such a terrible move to make, either; the hotel had always been a huge money maker, and most of that didn't even come from the casino. However poor the economy, city folk were umbilically attached to buying their prepared foodstuffs, and any man would be happy to provide. Maybe one day he would use the profit to fund an urban farming project and restore some good karma. Not that this was a bad karma move in the first place. There were more than enough Starbucks in the city and converting one into a locally owned family business with fairer prices for the nearby student population would benefit the entire community in the long run. Cassie would thank him.
Tony should have done a little more preemptive buttering of Steve, though, because Tony had no service experience and didn't anticipate a little whisper of 'free' to burst into such wild anarchy. The response never even reached a daytime radio decibel when he was giving out free electronics at Christmas, but a big gulp of burnt coffee put them in dangerous window-breaking territory. The employees he had inherited in his good-karma-deal were competent and supportive enough (mostly, there would be some purging in the coming weeks), but reasonably harried by mid-morning and dropping like flies soon thereafter. The small space couldn't even properly support the overwhelming response to his grand announcement bid, bodies spilling out onto the cold sidewalk despite the snow and taking the initiative to set up the patio that wouldn't have been open for several more weeks into a warm spring. His hastily printed fliers littered the ground for a block and a half, and fairly plastered the NYU main campus: 'ONE DAY ONLY: ONE FREE DRINK OF YOUR CHOICE. UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT!!!'
All Tony wanted was to purge the remaining stock to start fresh and make a little memory for his future customers. He didn't want this.
Standing on the service bar and waving his hands to try to get a little attention and order here, he called out over the rabble, "If you have a stamp, you have to hustle. We are done with you. Remove yourself. Reminisce with your friends outside. You! I've seen you three times, son, don't make me come down there." It was kind of fun, though.