LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Meadowthorpe Elementary School student Nash Johnson is an energetic kid who knows what he wants.
"I just wanted to friend my friends on Xbox and play the Xbox," the 8-year-old said.
But to get an Xbox he needed some green. To get that, he needed a job... so over his fall break, he applied to be a dishwasher at Drake's new Leestown location.
"That had to be the easiest job I knew," he said. "Also, I'm very good at washing the dishes."
"That kid is not afraid to fail," Nash's mother Belinda Johnson said. "He is a go-getter."
Belinda had no idea Nash was going to send that application. But, in a way, it's not all that surprising.
"Financial literacy is really important in our household," she said.
Nash has jars at home where he learns to save, give and spend. Getting the job at Drake's was how he was going to get more cash in his 'spend' jar.
"He's like, 'I can get more money if I go get me a job,'" she said. "That's going to get me more money than doing my chores at home, that $5 a week gets me."
Drake's couldn't give Nash the job because employees have to be 16 years old, but COO Mark Thornburg did invite him to orientation where Nash got that Xbox he had been dreaming about.
"I was like shocked, very shocked," Nash recalled.
"His personality just shines and it could not have happened to a better person," Thornburg said.
Nash got what he wanted that day, but not everything.
"I wish I had the job and the Xbox," he said. "I do have the Xbox but I wish I had the job!"
That's the kind of work ethic Belinda hopes he carries with him forever.
"Don't be afraid to jump out there and go for it," she said. "Go get it. You want something, go get it."
Drake's Leestown is hosting its grand opening on Monday.
