“You won’t find that on a map”: ‘George the Subaru Guy’ visits Jiggy Ray’s

Published 11:09 pm Wednesday, November 7, 2018

You have probably seen him.
George Wurtzel, a gentleman who calls himself ‘George the Subaru Guy’, plays a prominent role in the nationally ran 2018 Subaru Commercial “See the World.”
And Wednesday night, Wurtzel and his ‘sweetie’ of many years, Sharon Burton, were in downtown Elizabethton spending some time at Jiggy Ray’s Pizzeria.
“This is our third time down here in six weeks,” said Wurtzel, who currently resides in Michigan.
In the Subaru commercial, Wurtzel, who is blind in real life, plays the role of a blind gentleman who helps a young couple find the Peninsula Trial. In the commercial, Wurtzel takes the couple on a trip full of natural things that engage more than the sense of sight. It was Wurtzel’s first and only time in a commercial.
Wurtzel has been a woodworker and craftsman all of his life and is currently looking for a place in the Tri-Cities area to set up a gallery to show his pieces of work.
“What we are looking for is a building that I can have a gallery to show in, said Wurtzel. “We want a place I can teach and build out of and live.”
Wednesday night, Wurtzel and Burton attended the Mainstreet Program meeting that was held at city hall to see what the local business community is planning. Just the other day, the two stopped by the Coffee Company in Elizabethton where they met Elizabethton’s Cheri Tinney, who started the Downtown Farmer’s Market a couple year’s ago. Tinney and her husband, Michael Howell, is also in the process of opening up the Riverside Taphouse in Elizabethton. Burton and Wurtzel where at Jiggy Ray’s during a support rally for Tinney and Howell and their business endeavor.
“We asked her about the town because she is just such a great ambassador for Elizabethton,” said Bunton.
Wurtzel and Burton said that since their visits Elizabethton has become one of the places that they could end up moving to and opening up their gallery. The couple also met Karen Hitchcock who runs the Blue River Studio with her husband, Tom.
“Everybody has been so nice,” said Bunton. “We are trying to find a nice town to move to. Where there are good people.”
For more information about Wurtzel, visit his website GMWurtzel.com.

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