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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 1981)
Page 5 Local THE BATTALION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1981 Al Gutierrez supervises the concrete pouring in the parking at University Drive and Stasney Street. Gutierrez has lot behind the restaurant he is remodeling from a tire store announced his candidacy for state comptroller in 1982. Tire store transformed into Mexican eatery By TIM FOARDE Battalion Reporter Tacos, beer, guacamole, and a place to park, all at Northgate. Impossible? Not after Al Gutierrez opens his restaurant at University Drive and Stasney Street. Gutierrez is remodeling what used to be an auto tire store with tile from Mexico, large arched windows and textured plaster walls. He is preparing to handle a crowd when the restaurant opens in early October. The building is located across the street from the north side of the Texas A&M campus. The menu will feature tacos al carbon, a type of taco popular in southern Mexico. Made from thin marinated steak and cut into small pieces, tacos al carbon are cooked over a charcoal fire and put into fresh flour or corn tortillas. Diners with solid stomachs can add onions, tomatoes or hot sauce. The food will be prepared by Mexican cooks in an open kitchen with a picture window, allowing customers to watch the tacos being made. Gutierrez said au thentic Mexican food must be made by people who have lived in Mexico. “Most people working at the re staurant will be from Mexico,” Gutierrez said. “I don’t believe you can get the magic of Mexican food unless you are Mexican. It’s a very special touch.” Because he expects a large volume of business, Gutierrez is offering fast food service. Custom ers will place their orders and watch the tortillas made fresh, the meat cooked on the grills, the beans cooked a la charra and their meal prepared. Gutierrez said he expects most of his business to come from Texas A&M students and faculty, but said his restaurant will be different from other Northgate establish ments. “There is no other place on the Northgate strip like ours, ’ he said. “This won’t be another beer joint or hole in the wall. “It will be a nice place for peo ple to get good authentic Mexican food. A lot of time and money has been invested in remodeling, but food quality is our top priority.” Gutierrez, directing the spout of a cement truck pouring con crete into the 60-car parking lot, said he likes being involved in all aspects of his businesses. “It is easy to tell employees to go out and pour concrete. To real ly appreciate what they do, prob lems they have and the conditions they work in, you have to step in and work some yourself,” Gutier rez said. He interrupted his speech to haggle with a contractor over the price of laying concrete, then said financial responsibility and con servatism is second nature to busi nessmen and should be the policy of state government. This philosophy of business and labor awareness has influenced Gutierrez’s decision to run for Texas state comptroller next year, he said. His campaign headquar ters will be in an office in his new restaurant. es soil ision distil®. rdinato By TIM FOARDE Battalion Reporter Al Gutierrez has announced he vill run for Texas state comptrol- ernext year on a conservative Re- TOgffli fata icived ratche ies H b ms to 4 es also vice to' UsM: Merchant runs for state office dousit mblican platform. Gutierrez, who owns and oper- tes businesses in Bryan and Col- ege Station, said he will begin his ampaign in January. The state comptroller’s office, le said, has been stifling the busi- iliess community, ignorant of mer- ahant’s needs, inefficient and oareless in its spending. Gutierrez said the state budget ensioiisi las gone from $16 to $46 million rainin'a since state Comptroller Bob Bul- ock entered office. He said he )lans to cut the budget in half. “Many people working for the OOOfl tate comptroller’s office will be laid off,” he said. “We can’t have 'IJj more and more government doing less and less. That is not the answer. “There are bureaucrats with a high school education making ;$30,000 a year, while some college professors make $15,000 after 12 t'ears of schooling. Government employees get paid more and do less than comparable workers in the private sector. Something is wrong in our society when we have this type of situation. “We have to cut out many of the ureaucrat positions and move hese people back into the labor force. They have to get to work instead of being a burden for ev erybody else.” The state comptroller’s office, in charge of collecting state re- enues and enforcing tax regula tions, needs someone with a busi ness background to function with out hindering the business com munity, Gutierrez said. “If you have an administrative head with common sense, who knows the business approach to things — how to get everything he can out of a dollar, not spending money on junkets, trips and care less spending — the department can run efficiently,” he said. “I don’t think making more and more rules, laws, regulations and <, »red tape helps anything. All this lllvl pdoes is stifle business.” Operators of small businesses employ over 60 percent of the na tion’s labor force, Gutierrez said. “We should have some of our own £ UG people involved in running the government. ” The state comptroller can help by giving businessmen more understanding and making things easier for them to operate, he said. “The common criminal, ” Gutierrez said, “has more rights than the businessman when it comes to the present state com ptroller’s attitude. A criminal is innocent until proven guilty. A businessman has to spend time and money in court proving he has met all the regulations and paid all his taxes. He is under constant suspicion. “The amount of red tape and paper work demanded is incredi ble. This makes it more difficult for merchants to run their businesses. They have no idea what it takes to run a business. This must be changed. “The government didn’t make this country. Hard work and peo ple with foresight within the free enterprise system have made this country successful. ” Gutierrez said he agrees with the conservative political ideas of President Ronald Reagan and Texas Governor Bill Clements. “I think Governor Clements is doing great. He is almost like the Lone Ranger, fighting the give away systems of liberal Demo crats,” he said. People opposing Clements try to paint an unpopular image of the governor, Gutierrez said, saying he is doing a bad job, but he said this is expected of political foes. “The people don’t think he is doing a bad job.” Gutierrez said he respects hon est government officials with re sponsible approaches to govern ment, more than party affiliation. He cited Democratic Rep. Phil Gramm as an example. “I think Phil Gramm is super. Party differences are not impor tant. Personal integrity is what is important. We agree on many issues and he said he would sup port me in every way he could. “We need sober, efficient, hon est government in all levels,” Gutierrez said. “I think a busi nessman that has been involved in commerce and has been success ful can do the job better than a politician who does not know or care about the needs of the busi- High Holiday Services conducted by Rabbi Bill Kraus from Dallas Monday night — Sept. 28 8 p.m. Erev Rosh Hashanah Tuesday Sept. 29 10 a.m. Wednesday Sept. 30 10 a m. (service conducted by students) Hillel Jewish Student Center 800 Jersey ness community. Gutierrez said the details of his campaign would be resolved in January when he registers for the November 1982 election. He said, along with budget cuts, his platform will emphasize more efficient use of state re venues through investment in banking systems, regardless of party affiliations. Increased trade with Mexico is another aim of his platform, Gutierrez said. “Mexico has needs, we have the goods, but red tape and regulations have hin dered trade relations. We need to open the borders and trade with them. “We will cut down office space, eliminate wasted travel and take the business approach to things in general.” Gutierrez said he can win the race for state comptroller in 1982 against Bob Bullock. “He has angered the business community so much, I don’t think there is five percent of the business commun ity who will vote for him. I don’t tbink there will be any trouble beating him.” HEALTH NEWS X Back and Leg Pains? By Dr. Stephenson i // ■A Suffering with low back pain with pain occa- _ sionally running down the groin and back of your legs? These symptoms can be brought on by bad posture, an auto accident or fall, or by something as simple as a cough, sneeze, lift ing or a wrong sudden movement. If not cor rected promptly they will lead to serious health problems. Bed rest, corsets, heating pads, pain pills and muscle relaxants are not the answer. They only oner temporary relief and do not correct the underlying cause, which is a spinal fixation. These fixations can and do bring on degeneration and thinning of the spinal discs if not treated properly. Don’t Ignore these danger signals: * Lower back and leg pain* * Difficulty In breathing * Recurring headaches and nervousness * Numbness in hands, leg* or feet Painful joints & restless nights Neck shoulder o arm pain If not corrected, theee can teed to more serious complications. (cVLMS Dr. Stewart D. Stephenson, d.c. 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