Buddy’s Place opens tonight and faithful diners will find a
space that’s bigger, brighter and cleaner. In other words, an upgrade. The old knickknacks
that were collected on its walls traveled along with the restaurant to its new
location in the old Viceroy space at 600 N. Sheppard St. “We tried to
make it as much like [the old] Buddy’s as we could,” co-owner Marion Dealto says.

You’ll find the restaurant’s beloved stuffed buffalo head
— a creature with an exceptionally patient look on its face —
hanging in the back. You’ll also see its large George Washington head painting
signed over the years by an eclectic collection of celebrities including NASCAR
driver Rusty Wallace, the co-founder of Boston
Beer Co. (which makes Sam Adams) Jim Koch, and Grateful Dead founding member Bob Weir.

But where did G.W.’s head come from and who made it? Dealto couldn’t recall. “We’ve had it forever,” she says.

Those of you who went to VCU in the 1980s — and/or
friends of Gwar — might recall the artist. Jeff “Stretch” Rumaner was a graduate student in the sculpture department back
then and briefly (very briefly) made appearances in a few Gwar shows when the
band was starting out.

In 1988, an important First Amendment case came before the
Supreme Court. Students sued Hazelwood East High School’s principal
for preventing them from publishing articles about divorce and teen pregnancy in the school paper. Ultimately, the
Supreme Court decided that schools have the right to restrict students’ free
speech when they deem it necessary.

To remind people about the importance of the first
amendment, Rumaner stenciled 100 or so wood cutouts
with the iconic image of the founding father. Along with three friends, he
drove around town, and with a very long ladder, nailed the paintings high up on
telephone poles across town. Street art — before there was street art.

“The police tried to arrest us three times,” Rumaner says. “Every time, we told them they were part of the ‘George
Washington parade’ and they believed us.”

He adds (unnecessarily), “And we were drunk when we put them
up.”

Later, George Washington University bought four primary-colored
versions of the heads at a gallery show in Arlington.

Today, Rumaner owns two
restaurants in Kansas City, Missouri, called Grinders, was the star of Animal
Planet’s “Eating the Enemy” in 2012 and continues his work as a sculptor.

“Some of them are signed with my last name on the back,” he
says. “They should take a look.”