Entrepreneurship at Its Most Florida

There are business ideas that change the world. There are business ideas that make you rich. And then there are business ideas that get you featured on every major news outlet while also prompting a call from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission before you've even printed your first menu.

Meet Daryl Hutchins, 54, of Okeechobee, Florida, who in early spring submitted a business permit application for what he calls "GatorThru™ — America's First Drive-Through Alligator Petting Zoo." The application included a hand-drawn logo, a projected revenue model written on a Waffle House napkin, and a two-page safety plan that featured the phrase "guests assume risk" a total of fourteen times.

The Business Plan, As Explained by Daryl

According to Daryl's application (obtained via public records request and also because he posted it on Facebook), the concept works as follows:

  1. Customers drive into the property in their own vehicles.
  2. Staff present gators of various sizes through the car window for "supervised tactile interaction."
  3. There would be a menu. The "gator package" starts at $15 and includes one medium-sized alligator and a complimentary beverage.
  4. A "premium experience" at $45 includes a photo op with "Big Earl," a 9-foot Florida alligator who Daryl describes as "mostly chill."
  5. Children under 10 get a free coloring book.

Regulatory Response

The permit was denied. However, it took four separate agencies to deny it, which Daryl considers a partial win. The responses included:

  • Florida FWC: Cited roughly 11 specific statutes that GatorThru™ would violate.
  • County Zoning Board: Noted that Daryl's property is zoned residential and a petting zoo of any species is not permitted.
  • Florida Department of Agriculture: Asked, politely but firmly, that Daryl not contact them again about this.
  • The CDC: Reportedly weighed in via a strongly worded letter about salmonella, which Daryl found "a bit much."

Daryl's Response

Undeterred, Daryl has filed an appeal. He has also launched a GoFundMe titled "Help Me Fight Big Government and Open GatorThru™" that has raised enough for a modest legal consultation and two large pizzas.

"People drive through car washes. People drive through fast food. People drive through banks," Daryl told a local news crew who showed up, apparently expecting exactly this. "Why can't they drive through and pet an alligator? Someone's gotta ask these questions."

Why This Is Quintessentially Floridian

Florida has a long and storied relationship with alligators. There are an estimated 1.3 million wild alligators in the state — roughly one for every 16 residents. The state even has a regulated alligator farming and harvesting industry. Floridians and gators have coexisted, uneasily but persistently, for centuries.

So while GatorThru™ is objectively inadvisable, it is also, in a very specific Florida way, completely understandable.

Current Status

As of publication, Daryl has erected a sign on his property that reads: "Future Home of GatorThru™ — Coming Soon (Pending Some Paperwork)."

Big Earl was not available for comment but was observed sunbathing near the proposed drive-through lane.