San Francisco, California
October 2006

Metro Minty Fresh

My Host Is: Matt C.

Next: Matta...Where?

After a somewhat bumpy trip from LA we were more that happy to have arrived in the SOMA (South of Market) district of San Ferisco.

After a quick tour of the city we headed on over to MetroMint headquarters. Tiki Jr and I were greeted warmly by the staff and given the VIP treatment the whole day.

The coolest thing was the employee perk - all the MetroMint water we could drink! My preference was peppermint. Tiki Jr was hooked on the spearmint. As you can see by Tiki Jr's face in the above shot, he was loving it, that is, when he wasn't running off to the john from over consumption. Gonna have to watch him from now on. (I first heard about MetroMint at Coolhunting.)

Now this guy Evan is important, he is the sole reason for MetroMints growing success, according to him. We didn't have time to go in to that.

After a lengthy discussion on the virtues and benefits of mint consumption with Evan, our guide, Jon, informed us that it was time to move along.

It was great talking with you Evan...this guy could talk about mint for hours and apparently does according to Jon.

Ok - the visit pretty much went off without a hitch until it was lunch time. Jon apparently must have had someplace to be. He was showing us the freezer and just seemed to vanish.

Well Tiki Jr, not always being the brightest block of wood, proceeded to lock us in. I don't need to tell you it got downright cold in there. Of course, Tiki Jr took it as an opportunity to drink more MetroMint.

By the time someone walked by and let us out I had started turning blue and Tiki Jr was about ready to burst.

No visit would be complete without the product photo shoot.

I am rather pleased with the shot above. Tiki Jr and I were told that these shots may actually become a part of their marketing campaign and I was given the honorary title of Metro-Gnome. Wait till Gnomar hears about this!

We had a great time. Jon informed me, privately, as we were leaving that evening, that Tiki Jr had consumed nearly 20 cases of MetroMint. 20 cases...unbelievable! He also confided that the "all you can drink MetroMint policy" may be discontinued as an employee perk because of this incident. I must say that I am rather embarrassed by Tiki Jr's behavior and hope that the perk remains.

Tiki Jr, speaking in his own defense, stated that he must consume lots of water to reduce the risk of spontaneous combustion.

Thanks MetroMint guys & gals!

Bud & Tiki Jr

(Thank you Matt for participating and distributing MetroMint on the island of Hawaii now!)

(Photos: Jon W. / Dialogue: Tony V.)