The "tricked out" car draws glances when it pulls into the parking lot. From the moment the car's occupant steps out, however, it's the purple wig that draws the most wide-eyed stares. The stares belong to excited and eager kids. The purple hair belongs to the star of the evening. "Twinklz the Clown" is in the house.

A clown for slightly more than four years, Twinklz (also known as Jennifer Gardner - not to be confused with famous actress Jennifer Garner) has developed an incredibly loyal customer base. She works Kids Night at four area restaurants: the Chick-fil-A and Golden Corral on Highway 78, the Chick-fil-A on Scenic Highway and the Chick-fil-A Dwarf House on Pleasant Hill Road. Moms with small children often follow her to more than one location.

"I went into the restaurants, and told them what I could do for them," Gardner says. "Obviously, they thought I'd be good for business."

Twinklz' repertoire includes face painting, balloon animals, and "tattoos" that can easily be removed. To guarantee their turn with Twinklz, children take a numbered "smiley face" sticker and then patiently await their turn.

On a recent night at the Highway 78 Chick-fil-A, a steady stream of children entered the restaurant and immediately began to look for their friend. Shouts of "Hi, Twinklz!" echoed throughout the dining area. Twinklz greeted each child by name.

Bryan Shepard, owner of the Highway 78 Chick-fil-A, believes Twinklz is a money maker. "Oh yeah," Sheppard says, "She's very popular. I'd disappoint a very large group of regulars if I didn't have her here."

Actually, he did.

When he first took over his store, Sheppard thought he couldn't afford to have Twinklz during the slow summer months. Soon, he found out he couldn't afford not to.

"I'd have parents with kids come in, say 'Where's Twinklz?' and leave as soon as they saw she wasn't there." To Sheppard's chagrin, they left without ordering anything.

He put her back on the schedule as soon as he could. "She's an awesome personality for the store. She's pretty valuable."

One person who agrees is Faye Davis, owner of Clay Time, a mobile ceramics studio.

Davis - who was contracted to provide children's entertainment at the 40th birthday bash for Ted Turner's son - immediately hired Twinklz. "She was wonderful," Davis says. "The parents wanted to do their thing while the kids did their thing. Twinklz was able to keep the kids entertained and away from the adults."

In addition to the Turner bash, Davis has also hired Twinklz for birthday parties and a spring break party. Unlike restaurants, business actually picks up for Twinklz during the summer with birthday parties, vacation bible schools and company picnics.

Most of Twinklz' business comes through referrals from parents who see her at one of the Kids Nights. The Twinklz Mobile also garners its share of attention.

The wind-up key on the back of the blue VW spins when the car moves. Gardner plans to upgrade it. "I'm going to put eyelashes over the headlights.

And I want bubbles to come out of the exhaust pipes - but I can't find anyone who can do it."

At the Scenic Highway Chick-fil-A, the Twinklz Mobile wasn't in the parking lot on Kids Night. It had broken down earlier in the week. That didn't keep a steady stream of kids, with parents in tow, from coming in the restaurant looking for their favorite clown.

A father of two who entered and saw Twinklz told her, "We didn't see your car, but we came in anyway hoping you were here."

When Nicole Swaggart, mother of six, entered the restaurant, she didn't even know about Twinklz. "This was our first time," Swaggart says. "We'll be back because of her."

To a restaurant manager looking to boost business, comments like those are - literally - money in the bank.

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