Published: March 28, 2008 10:06 am            

Clinton event in New Albany can hold 350 people

Presidential hopeful will speak at 2 p.m. Saturday at Southside

A Saturday roundtable featuring Hoosier economy issues, home-style cooking and presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton can hold up to 350 people.

Clinton, who is seeking the Democratic Party nomination for the presidency, will be in attendance at a “Hoosiers on the Economy” roundtable at Southside Inn Restaurant Saturday. The restaurant was selected so Clinton would feel “at home” and able to eat country cooking, said Southside Inn Assistant Manager Donna Richey in a telephone interview Thursday.

“Hillary’s campaign contacted us because of our menu and asked us to get involved,” Richey said. “We’re all supporters of hers, so we were honored.”

Richey said a special menu was offered to Clinton, who likely will not attend with her husband — former president Bill Clinton — but it was declined. The restaurant serves country cooking such as country-fried steak and collard greens.

“She said not to do anything special for her,” Richey said. “She just wants to come in and feel at home.”

Richey — who is one of several female managers at the eatery — said they are rearranging tables so their legal maximum capacity of 350 can be reached.

“We expect people will want to camp outside,” she said.

Security for such an event requires careful planning and full details are usually kept private, said New Albany Police Department Sgt. Todd Bailey. Bailey said planning is ongoing for security, and that even though Southside Inn has street parking, special provisions don’t seem necessary.

“There’s plenty of street parking and garages all over downtown New Albany,” Bailey said. “Right now, there’s no special shuttle services planned.”

Richey said a lot of extra work is going into preparing for Clinton’s arrival, but it is all worth it.

“This is such an incredible honor,” Richey said. “We are all so excited about having this opportunity.”

Jonathan Swain, communications director with Clinton Press Office in Virginia, said earlier this week future visits from Bill Clinton, as well as the Clintons’ adult daughter, Chelsea, could possibly be in the works.

Officials answering the phone at Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain’s press offices Thursday said Indiana and Kentucky visits are still in the planning stages for those candidates, and that New Albany is not excluded from that process.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.