I am totally amazed that nobody picked up on this, nobody noticed it, nobody said a word. Heck, I didn’t even realize it until I saw it on television. Surely I expected SOMEONE to say something.
By now you know that Mexican Radio, the new Hispanic restaurant in downtown Schenectady, recently opened. For now, it’s the hip place to visit, at least until some other restaurant comes by and becomes that hip place to visit.
Well, in order to have that nice authentic restaurant atmosphere, Mexican Radio purchased over 1,200 Fiestaware plates for their establishment. So how do you get 1,200 plates from the factory to downtown Schenectady?
You hire an independent transporter, and to get one of those, you go on a website like uShip.com to get the best deal. Well, that’s what Mexican Radio did.
They hired Todd and Tamera Sturgis, two new drivers for the A&E television series Shipping Wars.
Yep. That show about the independent truckers / haulers / carriers that has evolved into one of A&E’s most popular programs.
Anyway, Todd and Tamera won the bid to courier the plates. They went to the factory and had to package and box up over 1,200 dishes. Of course, thinking that they could make some extra cash along the way, they picked up a side load of some brewery stills and dropped those off at a second location.
But when they arrived at Mexican Radio…
Maybe I should preface this comment by mentioning that although Fiestaware plates look thick and strong on your dinner table, they can break easily if dropped or jostled.
And… well…
Here’s the episode of how well the shippers did in terms of plate delivery.
Yikes.
So here’s what I don’t understand. Any time something happens in the Capital District that involves a resident or a business getting on a reality TV show, the local media are all over it like frosting on a CoccaDott’s cupcake. They’re nailed to it like a Colonie house on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. They’re scarfing it down like a restaurant makeover courtesy of Gordon Ramsay.
Surprisingly, though, there was not even a hint of news that Mexican Radio would make an appearance on the Shipping Wars television series. No viewing parties, no “Were you SEEN at the Mexican Radio Shipping Wars taping,” none of that.
Oh well. Maybe I’ve just grown jaded in my old age.
But if you want to watch the entire episode that features Mexican Radio and the bumbling shippers Todd and Tamera, it’s right up there. That episode also features the adventures of trying to move an enormous steampunk robot from Harrisburg to New Jersey, which was fun in and of itself.
Chuck The Writer 
Oh great, Chuck. You had to remind the TU reporters about the Extreme Makeover house. Now they’ll think it’s time to harass that poor woman again, as if there aren’t more important stories in the Capital District. That whole series of stories was a waste and a disgrace.
I’m really surprised that there wasn’t a word of this “Shipping Wars/Mexican Radio” story in Table Hopping. It would have been perfect for another boring round of “I’m So-and-So and I’m NOT EVER eating at Mexican Radio because…” as if anyone gives a damn.
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Here’s what I don’t understand: how does a restaurant opening night get planned without having dishes and all other essential ingredients on hand? This is beyond the point of embarrassment for the new owner/franchise. Years ago we passed on Mexican Radio in Hudson as being wildly overpriced, having lived and conducted business in Mexico for nearly 15 years. We’ll pass on the Schenectady location as well, so thanks for the film clip and the heads-up!
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Mexican Radio needs a PR department – it would have been great marketing for them to alert the media about their debut.
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Do you think Wall of Voodoo gets a cut of the profits from these places?
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Ahhh beaten!
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I didn’t mention because I didn’t know, because I don’t watch “reality” TV. And it’s because they tend to give the impression that Oldsod2 came away with, that there is always inherent drama in life. (It may or may not be actually true in this case.) Every HGTV episode is the same way: will they or won’;t they have the home ready in time?
I HATE “reality” TV.
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