Open Carry Restaurants Cash In on the Gun Control Debate

dt.common.streams.StreamServer.clsGiven the tenor of the gun control debate in the United States, it had to happen sooner or later. As more retailers are doing what has been deemed more acceptable –usually by left-leaning advocates — and asking customers not to carry guns into their stores, the inevitable opposite reaction has now occurred.  This “man bites dog” scenario will be interesting to watch as it unfolds.  So often, it is the politically correct anti-gun activist who posts policies – yet here someone took advantage of the obvious gap and is using it rather cleverly.

Lauren Boebert, who owns Shooters Grill in Rifle, Colorado (and no, the location is not made up; it is real and open) told CNN she had no plans to become the “poster girl” for open-carry gun laws.  Yet, she has… and, so far, business is booming. Boebert said her choice had nothing to do with public relations for her eatery or for the gun control debate in the United States, but that it stemmed from a violent crime that occurred in an alley right behind her shop. After a man was killed, Boebert started carrying a pistol to protect herself. Today, she carries her subcompact semi-automatic on her hip as she waits tables and greets customers. No one bats an eyelash. After all, many of the other wait staff and customers also openly carry. Shooters is far from the only place this is happening.  The news of the open-gun policy, however, has put it on the map.

Now, while Boebert said this was all for personal protection, some restaurants are even offering discounts and specials for diners who come in armed. Taking what works for Shooters Grill, the Shiloh Brew and Chew in Tennessee, All Around Pizza in Virginia, Cajun Meats in Louisiana, The Cajun Experience in Virginia and many others all advertise openly as gun-friendly establishments. (Michael Bloomberg was clearly not the mayor of these places.)

If you noticed a trend in the locations and menu styles of the restaurants in question, you should not be surprised. This move is far more than a clever marketing gimmick; it is geared toward a wanting demographic and business owners are doing what they can to shore up their base, and give those folks a reason to come in and then spread the word.  Energizing word of mouth is a time-tested and primary PR protocol for any business that depends on repeat business. Most businesses do not need 51 percent of the population to patronize in order to make money. Politicians need 51 percent, yet a very successful business may need anywhere from 1 to 25 percent of a given population to make a lot of money.

Not being all things to all people works fine if your audience is big enough and loyal. In the case of the guns, too often conservative issues are ignored because business owners may be concerned with a liberal media backlash. There seems to be a sizable portion of people who think and vote conservatively, but are not as comfortable being as outspoken as their liberal colleagues for fear of financial reprisal.

There’s nothing quite like giving them a reason to cheer and onlookers a reason to come inside and try. These gun-happy diners are doing both … at least for the short term. There are indeed businesses not afraid to stand up for conservative issues.

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  • UCSPanther

    Gun ownership has been on the rise for years despite the efforts of numerous gun control groups.

    When you look at groups like IANSA, they are increasingly out of touch…

    • DaveGinOly

      Gun ownership and the number of guns in circulation have both risen over the last twenty years – a period of time in which all indicators of violent crime rates have dropped. We can’t say for sure that more guns equals less crime, but we can say, with complete certainty, that more guns does not equal more crime.

      • http://LiberalPandemic.wordpress.com/ Peter Pocket

        Actually we can and we have. It’s called case-cohort studies where you look at the crime rates in neighboring counties ans states that are alike in demographics and other SES factors with the exception that one allows CC and the other doesn’t. Then you compare trends in crime rates from before concealed carry laws were passed to afterwards. What you find is, on average, a 49% drop in violent crime in the counties, districts, and states that permit concealed carry after the laws were enacted while the crime rates in the adjacent cohorts are either stable or increasing as the criminals shift their illegal activities next door where gun free zones abound.

        The reverse effect is also seen when a municipal unit, anything from a town to a city to a county to a state, puts into effect gun-control laws. Crime rates go up.

        I subscribe to a daily email news updates from a site called “GunsSaveLives: Stories of Self Defense & 2A News”
        ( GunsSaveLives.net ) that has true stories about personal defensive use of firearms and highly relevant and timely information. It’s a good resource for current statistics and gun legislation under consideration in different parts of the country.

        I also subscribe to GirlsJustWannaHaveGuns.com and ClashDaily.com – both are run by Doug Giles, alias Clash.
        Good, clean, gun fun.

  • kiwi41

    This gives hope than eventually sanity and reason will again become the norm.

  • Paul of Alexandria

    I was having a conversation with a Progressive-liberal friend (old school chum) on Facebook the other day. She was complaining about my stance on concealed carry and allowing guns into restaurants and such, and was saying how scared she would be if she knew that people around here were carrying firearms.

    She literally thinks that any patron could, at any time, jump up and start firing randomly; that any person (or at least any conservative) can, without warning, snap and become a mass-murderer. That the only way to stop this possibility is to ban firearms for everybody everywhere.

    The key to understanding these people is to remember: conservatives think that liberals are stupid, liberals think that conservatives are evil incarnate.

    • R T Deco

      That is Krauthammer’s Second Law: “Conservatives think liberals are stupid. Liberals think conservatives are evil.”

      • Paul of Alexandria

        Ah, thanks.

      • CensoredSpeech

        One half of that is correct, “Liberals are stupid and evil”!

    • Harry_the_Horrible

      It is called projection.
      The Left is irresponsible and lacks impulse control. They project this on to others.

    • DaveGinOly

      Ask your friend this:
      When crossing streets in crosswalks, do you regularly step out into the street in front of stopped vehicles? Obviously, her answer will be, “Yes.”
      Now ask her this:
      If you’re not afraid of a person running you over just because he or she is driving a car, why in the world would you be afraid that a person would shoot you just because he or she has a gun?

  • R T Deco

    Who else got hungry reading this article?

    • Gee

      Not me – just ate though before reading it.

  • Gee

    Come to Israel and you will see open carry of automatic weapons. We don’t have a huge crime problem except for the African migrants that our courts won’t allow us to deport

    • Sheik Yerbouti

      If even Israel can’t push out the traitors, what hope have any of us?

      • Gee

        Yes – all we need to do is get control of the court system away from the minority leftists and we can do it.

  • TDC

    Are there legitimate stastics illustrating the amount of gun crimes committed by the person who registered the gun used in the crime vs. unregistered guns used in a crime or guns used in a crime by a person who did not register the gun used in the crime?

    • PatnTrucks

      “Gun Registration” to my knowledge isn’t done. Only people who wish to conceal carry get permits from the local sheriff or police dept. If you wish to open carry you don’t need any permit because people can see your weapon as can law enforcement. When you purchase a rifle, pistol or shotgun, the seller (business) runs a check, but there is no ‘gun registration’ that I’m aware of. Permits by persons, yes.

      • UCSPanther

        On the Canadian front in the fight against Gun Control, we have been working on loosening restrictions as well.

        Thus far, the Long Gun registry for the most part has been sent to the trash heap where it belongs and a push is underway to loosen restrictions on handguns.

      • TDC

        I guess semantics got in the way, my question is regarding statistics on crimes committed with legally owned firearms vs. crimes committed with illegally owned firearms.

      • DaveGinOly

        Guns are registered in some jurisdictions (e.g., Washington D.C. and Connecticut). What kind of guns are registered (handguns – as in D.C. – and/or “assault rifles” – as in CT) depends on the jurisdiction.

    • contemptuous Maximus

      John Lott is probably the best place to look

  • bigjulie

    This is EXCELLENT!!

  • Paul of Alexandria

    I don’t think so. It’s just that they simply don’t see the importance of such freedoms. Liberals implicitly trust the government. Remember, liberals are all Utopianists, believing that humanity is perfectible and that we can – really and truly – achieve heaven-on-earth, if only everybody would think similarly. They do not believe that politicians are corruptible; no liberal will admit that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (the ultimate reason for the Founder’s construction of the Constitution). At heart, of course, all liberals think that they are worthy of being in the ruling elite and even if they aren’t are buddy-buddy enough to catch a fair share of the crumbs that fall from the tables of power.

    No liberal will ever admit or even believe that anyone (anyone who is not an evil, insane conservative, that is) would ever want to defend itself from the government.

  • Patriot077

    I sure hope the crazy “Moms Demand Action” and “Everytown for Gun Safety” don’t find out about this place.

    Take a listen to Wild Bill reading some of their tweets. They are hair raising with no thought to life and safety.
    http://politibrew.com/politics/1119-wild-bill-gun-control-moms-advocate-making-false-police-reports

  • Ray Tort

    Next signs:
    Heterosexual couples: Welcome.
    Pro-life advocates are welcome.

  • reyol

    Conservatives came through for the owner of Chick-fil-a and he caved anyway – someone got to him. Lauren Boebert can expect a tax audit, revocation of business license or some sort of bureaucratic or legal harassment. The Left does not like being outsmarted.