We have spoken by telephone recently with Peter Castiglione and Andrew Silver, two of the three partners in Zocalo. This is the "Latin-influenced" restaurant now occupying the northeastern quadrant of the Central Place on Charlottesville's Downtown Mall.

Sunday afternoon, June 20, the production crew and some of the candidates from the 'American Candidate' reality-TV show (scheduled for the Showtime network this autumn) came to the Downtown Mall to do their campaigning. "They told us they weren't supposed to use a restaurant as a location for their taping," says Peter. "But our place looks so nice--we spend twice as much as anybody else on our patio, with shrubbery and so-forth--they decided to use it for a background for some of the interviews. And they hung out in this area and caught their traffic."

"Then they came back [after the forum at the University of Virginia] around 10:30 pm--we were closing, and they were looking for a place to unwind. So we stayed open for them, and fixed them some pizza and salads and stuff."

Says Andrew, "they were all sitting around, and I found myself at a table sitting next to [candidate] Lisa [Witter]. I was curious about the production, and about her political beliefs. I know it's supposed to be entertainment, but I wanted to see how serious it is. I grilled her pretty hard, about the major issues--gun control, abortion, the economy, President Bush--and I'll say this, she had no hesitation talking about her beliefs. I admire that a lot.

The owners are optimistic about their chance for TV exposure. "They taped here in the afternoon, and they had us all sign releases," says Andrew. "So who knows? Maybe we'll make it."

Says Peter, "I just bought a new house--[the previous owner] left a satellite dish--so I've signed up for Showtime, just in case." (Dave Sagarin, June 29, 2004)