Serving Ball State students for nine years, Bubba from Muncie Liquors has become an icon across the campus
Robert Lopez n Senior Chief Reporter
is real name is a secret. If you graduate he'll tell you, but otherwise you'll just have to call him Bubba.
"I've had the nickname since high school," he said. "A cousin gave it to me, but I don't know where he got it from. Probably the thing that surprises the most is my real name."
Bubba is a familiar face behind the counter at Muncie Liquors. For nine years he has served revelers coming in to buy their kegs and their fifths from the store at the corner of Wheeling and Riverside.
On a typical Saturday night, his full, round face looks out from behind the cash register. He usually sports a ball cap and a T-shirt, and his slight, friendly drawl helps loosen people up, even before they take that first sip.
"Bubba's a good guy," said Ball State student Andy Burd. "I come in here about three times a week, talk about women, the magazines in the rack, a lot of things."
"He's always really nice," Ball State senior Lindsey Madryk said. "He always asks me why I come in wearing my K-Mart shirt."
Though he likes to talk with the customers, he can be soft-spoken. Co-workers describe him as bashful, and he chuckles at the thought of talking about himself.
"I know you're shy, so I'm just filling in," co-worker Brad Canada told him jokingly during the interview.
But he remains popular nevertheless.
"Everybody knows Bubba," co-worker Chris Ottenweller said. "He has about 10,000 best friends. People come in here all the time and wonder why Bubba didn't come to their party."
"I get to know some people pretty personally," Bubba said. "I have been to a few parties. Every once in a while I'll go to one, but I've cut back."
A 32-year-old Muncie native, Bubba graduated from Southside High School. He held several jobs, including a four-year stint driving a bus for handicapped children, before settling down at Muncie Liquors in 1993, where he knew manager Chris Johnson.
"I miss the school bus job," he said. "Getting up at 4:30 a.m., getting here and working at 5 p.m. It was tough, but the kids were great."
He tends the counter five days a week. Thursday is usually the busiest night. Business starts picking up around 10 p.m. On a typical weekend the store sells about 60 kegs of Keystone Beer (the most popular brew).
One woman comes in and asks what's the cheapest whiskey they have.
"You can either go with Canadian Limited or Canadian Superior," Bubba says. "I'd go with Canadian Superior. It sounds better."
They both cost $6.99.
"I think this is the first time I've seen anyone buy it," he said.
What he likes most about his job is the variety of people who come in. He's amassed an interesting collection of stories over the years.
"The married woman stripping for me for a fifth of Bacardi, that was fun," he reminisced. "She didn't get the fifth but she got a shot of Yager.
"I've seen so many crazy things. On Halloween I got my picture taken with Sponge Bob Squarepants and Michael Myers. We have a good time in here. We want to have a fun atmosphere."
The biggest problems involve fake IDs. The excuses sometimes get creative.
"Most of the time they're like 'It's real, but' or 'That's me, can't you tell?'" Bubba said. "My favorite one is 'I got shot in the face.'"
The store has a board hanging next to the door pasted with fake IDs from various states. Employees receive a book each year on how to spot the counterfeits. Bubba has a few methods of his own.
"If they come in here and ask if we got cold beer, or if they don't know the sizes of their bottles; that's a giveaway," he said. "We get minors in all the time. I've called the police on some, but usually I just tell them to leave. They're cussing me out on the way to the door, but I've been called every name in the book. Nothing offends me anymore."
Others take the matter in stride.
"Half the kids I take IDs from come back in here after they turn 21," he said. "I might buy them a beer or a shot."
Customers often ask Bubba, who is best-known for the Daily News ads that feature him holding his boss's 13 year-old beagle, Sammy, about the quotes that appear alongside his mug. He offers a few words of wisdom.
"We've thought about using a couple that we've seen in other places," he said. "'Everyone talks about my drinking but never my thirst,' or 'Don't blame us for your hangover the next morning,' are some."
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