Begley

I have a lot of ideas. Like most people, the majority of my ideas are unrealized, unrealistic or down right ridiculous. Although frankly, the differences between a ridiculous idea and a great one are often very subtle. So sometimes, you’ve just got to give it a try and see what happens.

A year ago, Christopher Mackenzie and I kicked off an idea that sounded great to us, but were fairly certain we were the only ones who felt that way. Chophouse Hijack. Born of the realization that most local restaurants had difficulty drawing patrons on weeknights, we decided it was a great opportunity to have a little fun, and get some people out and about in the middle of the week to support local restaurants.

The premise was pretty simple. We setup a time to go to a restaurant on a weeknight and take it over. We play our own music, bring in a band, bring in an artist, play board games, show some movies on a projector… whatever we want. In exchange, the restaurant gets a little extra business on an otherwise slow night of the week, and we get to have some fun.

DJ Car Thief at Pop's Pizza during a Chophouse Hijack event.

We were pretty shocked when over 40 people crammed into The Olive on our very first event.

We played some rockin’ tunes and played them loud while the original “Aeon Flux” animated series was shown on the wall and patrons dined by candlelight. To our surprise, it was a great success! Pops Pizza was next featuring Luke Westberg on stand-up comedy detail and live DJ “Car Thief” (http://www.myspace.com/iamthecarthief) mixing some tracks. Scott Frese of Pops reflects, “it was one of the most unique ideas I have ever seen and it packed the house all night. Everyone loved it.” Over the next year we got together quasi-monthly and hit Spring Lake, Taste of Thai, Jimbeanas, The Pier and Fitz’s on 4th…packing the house on nearly every occasion.

So after what started as a quirky idea to have a little fun on a weeknight, Chophouse Hijack rolls on and will be celebrating it’s one year anniversary on Monday, Sept. 20. We’ll be going back to Spring Lake country club to celebrate, and while we ransacked them with a hijacking last spring and usually try to keep locations as fresh as possible… Chef Michael Mitchell and Sous-Chef Pete Magliocco made us the freshest offer we couldn’t refuse. Everything on the menu the night of the hijack will be locally sourced! Given that the fall harvest is upon us, it’s obviously a great opportunity to do something special. Of course, no reservations are necessary and Hijackers don’t need memberships!

While the final menu is still in the works for the event, some of the produce for the menu is being provided by John Wood Community College’s Sustainable Local Foods Farming program! This is an excellent manifestation of the community cooperation that the Hijacking concept has come to represent.

John Wood Community College's Sustainable Local Food Farming Program.

“JWCC is green in more ways than its school colors,” Tracy Orne, Director of Public Relations and Marketing at John Wood Community College, said. “Students can take a course or the full certificate and it’s not just about learning how to grow crops, it includes a marketing component for those entrepreneurs out there or who want to produce and sell food locally…it can be very profitable, keeps resources local and helps the environment at the same time.”

In addition to contributing the fruits of their labor to the menu, program coordinator Dave Camphouse will be on hand to answer questions and let you know a little more about where your delicious meal that night comes from. I’m certainly excited about the co-op and believe that its a perfect synergy of what their program and the Hijackings are all about.

We’re planning on having live local music throughout the evening, and are brainstorming on some other ideas to make the night even more special. Most of the ones I’ve come up with so far are pretty ridiculous and unrealistic, but that’s no guarantee that I won’t do it anyway.

To share your crazy idea, or to learn more about Chophouse Hijack, the John Wood Sustainable Foods program, get signed up for facebook notifications, or pledge your attendance for the event, go to http://www.chophousehijack.com and you’ll be redirected to our facebook page. You can also follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/chophousehijack .