Free Chuey!

One positive aspect of the Royals games over the last few years has been Chuey Gomez. While the Royals were busy losing games, fans were kept entertained as Chuey, the lemonade guy, walked the stands yelling “lemonade lemonade lemonade!” followed by a loud “woooooooooo!”

It wasn’t long before fans caught on, answering Chuey’s “lemonade” call with a “woooooo!” call of their own. He quickly became a fan favorite and I’m sure he sold a lot of lemonade.

This season, there was a dispute between Chuey and the concession company and Chuey no longer works at Kauffman Stadium.

When Chuey came to KC, he could barely speak English, and his lemonade call was further enhanced by his strong Latin accent. He worked hard and made a name for himself. He learned the language. He became aware that he was more than a typical vendor, and expected to be paid as such.

When things fell through with the Royals, Chuey was not deterred. He started his own company called Gomez Concessions, Inc with his wife. Chuey will come to any event and sell cotton candy, popcorn, and of course lemonade at your event. Golf tournaments, little league tournaments, the Kansas City T-Bones (the Independent League team in Kansas City) are all events where Chuey will perform.

Meanwhile, the Royals have decided to rip Mr. Gomez off and have begun playing Chuey’s trademark “Wooooo!” over the loudspeakers during games this season. I think this is unfortunate. If the Royals want him to “Wooooo!” for them, hire him to sell lemonade. Otherwise, do not steal his trademark and let him make it on his own.