Mary Blackwell enjoys her free meal as the first bald woman to get the "Bald Guys Eat Free Special" at Gary's Uptown Restaurant on Wednesday. (Amy Weddell/News-Sentinel)

Media attention brings a bevy of baldies to Lodi restaurant

Dozens of bald men and one bald woman came to Gary's Uptown Restaurant and Bar on Wednesday evening on the strength of worldwide media attention that has put Lodi on every bald person's radar.

On Wednesday afternoon, film crews from KXTV Channel 10 in Sacramento shot footage that was fed to "Good Morning America" for a segment that may air this morning, according to Channel 10's news desk.

Most people came in because they heard on TV, radio and in newspapers about the food discount offered to balding and bald men on Wednesdays.

"We were totally, totally blown away and absolutely shocked that it went international," said Gary Arnold, the restaurant owner who started the deal to boost sluggish sales on Wednesday nights.

The story was picked up on the Associated Press wire and transmitted to scores of TV stations and newspapers across the country. From Corpus Christi, Texas, to Anchorage, Alaska, and everywhere in between -- people know about the little restaurant in Lodi.

In today's global news network, people from thousands of miles away could hear about the bald discount even before Lodians knew it existed.

Steve Greer, a 57-year-old Lodi bald man had never heard of the Wednesday special until his brother from Marysville, Wash., caught the story.

"His brother called him up and said, 'What's this I heard about bald guys?'" said Rose Deak, Greer's dining companion for the evening.

A sea of naked heads inhabited the dining room, where patrons were proud to capitalize on their baldness.

"Finally, some small thing the bald man can cling to," said Christian Robertson, of Lodi.

A photographer was floating around the dining room, snapping pictures of the bald men for a media company that sells photos to tabloids in 50 nations. As his flash went off in the dim dining room, one had to wonder whether the shine from the baldies' heads created a glare.

"No. I don't have a problem with that," said Jan Knapik, the photographer, who came up from Los Angeles to take the photos.

The media attention brought so many out Wednesday that hostesses were blaming the press for wait-times of up to 45 minutes.

"I want to eat before bedtime," grumbled one bald man as he exited the establishment with his party. But most were glad to wait for their tables in the waiting area or in the bar.

Neon lights gleamed off the chrome domes of men lining the bar Wednesday night.

Among the men, however, was a woman, who just may be Gary's first female patron to take advantage of the special. Mary Blackwell, of Manteca, was sitting at a bar table surrounded by friends and family before being shown to her table.

"I've been shaving my head for 10 years. I want to eat free," she demanded before bursting into raucous laughter.

Patrons waiting to be seated fantasized about famous baldies who might be drawn to the establishment due to the media attention. Patrick Stewart? Jesse Ventura? Yul Brynner from "The King and I"? ... No, he's dead. Most patrons were impressed with the shrewd marketing gimmick which packed the house that night.

"It's a great thing because I used to work in restaurants and you always have a couple days that are slow," said Mike Atwood, of Stockton, who was dining with his wife, two young kids and 6-month-old son Patrick, who has a head of soft, wispy brown hair.

"He already has too much hair to qualify for the discount," said Jennifer Atwood, his mom.

Gary's Uptown Restaurant was full of bald men and one bald woman Wednesday. (Amy Weddell/News-Sentinel)

Heather Baines, 25, of Lodi, seems to be an expert on the hair subject. She works at a salon in downtown Lodi where she says clients and hairdressers have talked about the discount, but no one has come in yet to get their head shaved for a free plate of chicken fettucine.

The attention just may put Lodi on the map as one of the best bald-friendly cities in the U.S.

"I was joking the other day that we used to be known for just wine, now it's wine and bald guys," said Arnold, the owner of Gary's.

Baldies from Sacramento, Tracy and Modesto have made the pilgrimage to Gary's, and Arnold expects Bay Area folk to show up soon, since he just did an interview broadcast there.

Arnold said a razor company has called him a couple times to talk about sponsoring a new head-shaving razor.

He recently did a call-in show for a radio station in Australia, when it was 3:40 p.m. here and the next day there. "People were calling in and asking, 'What if I have a comb-over?' They had fun, cute questions, and talking to people on the other side of the world was great," he said. A Google search for Gary's Uptown Restaurant and Bar turned up close to 300 results from the Web, ranging from TV news stations to blogs and promotions and marketing sites.

The Tri-City Herald newspaper in the Tri-Cities area of Washington featured the story on their Web site -- filed under the heading "weird."

"I don't know, maybe it was a slow news day. Presidential campaigning hasn't kicked into high gear yet and people are tired of war news. Maybe this is a fun story to distract people for awhile," Arnold said.While it's become a popular haunt for the bald, one patron has an idea to make the restaurant even more successful.

"The only thing they need to do here is give out sunglasses -- it's blinding in there," said Karen Green, of Lodi, who came with her two grandchildren and her bald husband, Wayne, in tow.