It’s been a weird morning. I was listening to NPR this morning and jamming out to the show, “Marketplace,” when I heard about Felony Franks, this hot dog joint in Chicago where Jim Andrews, the owner, hires ex-inmates and gives them a chance in the restaurant business. The menu is prison-themed with names like “Misdemeanor Weiner” and “Convicted Chili Fries” that don’t hide Andrews’ mission to help out his community in a non-traditional way. I walked out of my car, still thinking about what I’d just heard on NPR when I ran into a friend who told me about her crazy mugging story in New York City. The guy who stole her cell phone was sentenced to jail for three months after the cops found him.
Why don’t we have something like this in Dallas? I can see why some critics don’t find the concept cute, but it’s hard to deny the fact that Felony Franks is still doing the community a lot of good. Check out this WSJ vid: