Community Corner
Old Glory Flying High at Novato Eatery After Mix-up
An employee accidentally flew an American flag in front of Maya Palenque upside down for a short time on Monday.
An American flag is flying high in front of a Novato eatery where a cultural misunderstanding on Monday stirred a minor kerfuffle.
Patch contacted the restaurant today after user Lori Silva on Monday morning posted that that Maya Palenque was flying the American flag upside down.
"What does this mean?" Silva's post read.
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It apparently means that the restaurant's staff are human and make mistakes just like the rest of us.
Manager Joe Dugan explained that an employee who's from another country wasn't aware that he was putting the flag up improperly when he displayed it alongside California Republic and San Francisco 49ers flags.
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"As (the employee) was changing it somebody called and said 'you're putting the flag up upside down,' " Dugan said.
"It wasn't upside down for more than a minute. That's how quick it was."
But as quick as it was, people tend to notice things like that. Dugan surmised that hundreds of people could have seen the flag improperly displayed because the restaurant is visible from the 101 Freeway.
And people tend to notice things like that.
"I'm the son of an army officer and I get it," Dugan said. "I completely get it."
Dugan noted that Maya Palenque is among just a few Novato restaurants that regularly closes for the Fourth of July.
