Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Babylonian Encounters: Bartoli's Breads & Bakery



Timeframe: Season One and After

Location: Two locations: one in Blue Sector, Central Corridor, Segment 10 (just opposite the entryway from Customs), one in Red Sector, Deck 28, Segment 8 (just aft of the Lower Zocalo).

Name:  Bartoli's Breads

DATA FILE

Infamous with station personnel for baking and serving "the worst bread in the universe", Bartoli's Breads & Bakery's kiosk in the Central Corridor is a quick stop for pastries, sandwiches, and coffee for new arrivals on the station. Bartolli's also has a full bakery and restaurant in Red Sector for shoppers willing to take a few small steps off the Lower Zocalo. You will always find a Centauri or two buying pastries there.

Both locations are indeed very popular with the station's alien residents. Bartoli's markets itself as offering "real human treats, just like the first Bartoli's Bakery back on Earth." This slogan has led to jokes about "Bartoli's pastries being people." While most humans think the pastries aren't very good, the aliens don't seem to mind, and the price point is high enough to make up for the lack of repeat human customers. Business is so good in fact, that Bartoli's near-Zocalo location is a sit down restaurant. Some of the canned sandwich meats are actually quasi-fresh.

Owner Luciano Bartoli is meticulous about paying his bills on time, unlike many station vendors, and he has leveraged this reputation for punctuality and reliability into a side business in catering. Bartoli's provides pastries and sandwiches for many station conferences, with the exception of those held in the Babylon Hilton. The delivery business means that Bartoli's personnel have the run of many areas of the station, including a number of very secure areas. You can find them making deliveries almost everywhere it's safe to go.

PLOT HOOKS

  • Station authorities have received anonymous complaints from humans about the food at Bartoli's: specifically, that the fillings in some of the pastries contain Centauri spoo. Regulations require the authorities to mount a food inspection since some humans have food allergies to this popular food (and we use the term loosely). 
  • Bartoli's delivery staff have recently been observed several times bringing new packages back from a delivery location. Sometimes the packages are brought all the way back to the bakery, while at other times, the packages get delivered to a third location. These deliveries often involve Centauri customers, but also sometimes Security personnel. Station authorities want it investigated...discretely.
  • A group of Narn toughs has on several recent occasions roughed up Centauri patrons at the Bartoli's location near the Zocalo. Luciano Bartoli has had enough. He decides to hire some muscle (and brains) of his own to figure out who these ruffians are, and teach them a lesson. 


OGL MECHANICS

ASPECTS:
  • High Concept: A favorite stop for aliens and new arrivals
  • Trouble: The worst bread in the universe
  • We pay our bills on time
  • Fresh canned coffee and meats
  • The run of the station

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