No selfie with Joe.
Charlotte business owner Mark Middlesworth saw an incoming call Saturday afternoon from a number he didn’t recognize. Then his phone died.
Hours later, after he charged it and sat down to watch a basketball game with his children, he checked his voice mail. That’s when he learned that Extravaganza Depot, the event hall he owns north of uptown, was being considered for a visit from Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday.
“I thought it was a joke,” said Middlesworth, a Democrat who describes himself as a Biden fan.
He called back and spoke with a Charlotte Area Transit System employee who confirmed that Biden’s camp was interested in using his event hall for Thursday’s “Grow America” tour, designed to promote investments in the nation’s infrastructure.[…]
He canceled plans to attend a family birthday party and spent about $1,000 to ensure compliance with fire codes. He spent hours consulting with “nitpicking” vice presidential staffers who he said agonized over drapes, chairs and signs – “they were very picky about their signs,” he said. The staffers wanted potted plants on the stage, but they removed them at the last minute, he said.
The Secret Service “investigated” Middlesworth and his employees, he said. Monday night, agents told him one of the background checks didn’t clear and they would have to move the event.
“So, I hang up the phone, have a drink and, 11 o’clock that night, they send me a text saying, ‘we‘re back on,’ ” he said. They never elaborated on what was amiss.[…]
About 130 people packed Extravaganza’s reception hall for Biden’s visit Thursday, Middlesworth said. Half of them had been there before, he said, but having newcomers in the door “is certainly a big plus.”
He wasn’t allowed to meet Biden or take a photo with him, he said. Biden’s staff told Middlesworth they had something better for him: A Joe Biden baseball cap and a signed “Grow America” poster.
“It’s not better,” Middlesworth said. “But, I got a nice hat out of the deal.”