Restaurant Owner In Clemson Doesn't Like Guns

Apparently, he doesn't like making money either.

As you may recall from my earlier breakdown of the new CWP law, bars and restaurants in SC who don't want patrons to carry concealed simply need to post a standard sign to prohibit CWP on their premises.

The legal sign you need to post looks like this:

That's the legal sign. In fact, it's the only sign that carries any legal force. Any deviation from this sign renders the sign ineffective. It's also pretty straightforward. Not a lot of editorializing.

However, the super-genius running this place in Clemson decided to post this sign:

Not a legal sign. Also, weapons-grade stupid.

Now, I have no problem with folks who want to prohibit carry in their establishments. Freedom of speech, freedom of association, it's all good. This guy is fine to do whatever he likes with his business, just as I'm free to go where I want - or not go.

The good news is this guy is going to get a very good real-world example of how the free market works. People on the left love to say that the free market needs to be regulated. Well I have a little secret for them - it is.

The free market is not regulated by a few people in some office in Washington, DC - it's regulated by everyone. My guess is that the free market in the upstate of South Carolina is going to deal with this restaurant, and this guy will either take this offensive sign down, or he'll go out of business.

On another note, where this guy goes terribly wrong is his intolerance about the whole CWP issue. I'm sure this guy is a stereotypical leftist who thinks that tolerance and diversity are great things -- except when your thoughts are not Approved Thoughts. There's no room in this guy's world for people who disagree with him on an issue. They're "losers" and "douche bags" not deserving of his tolerance.

This happens all the time with the left. Thoughts that aren't Approved Thoughts™ are de-legitimized and  mocked, but are never dealt with on the merits. For example, if you don't believe in man-made global warming, you're a "Denier" who doesn't believe in "Science". It goes on and on.

The left is all about tolerance and understanding until you step out of their Approved Thought Group and have an independent thought of your own.

But please, tell me more about how the conservatives are the ones who are so close-minded.

Good Advice from the Shop Tart

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Why it pays to be a regular at your favorite restaurant.

McDonalds in Prague

It looks like it was outfitted by Ikea.

If You Can't Take the Heat, Stay Out of the Kitchen

In the last year, Columbia restaurants have seen competition from food-trucks. To be specific, there are currently four (4) licensed food-trucks serving the Columbia area: Pawley's; Bone-In; 2-Fat-2-Fly; and Alfreso Mobilista.

You would think that four little ol' food trucks wouldn't really cause too much concern to the established "brick and mortar" restaurants since the Columbia metropolitan area is a pretty well-populated place. Not so fast my friend.

I have previously documented the City of Columbia's attempt to regulate the food trucks at the behest of the Columbia restaurants. Now, the Columbia Restaurant Association is lobbying the City of Columbia to push even tougher regulations on food trucks.

The association for Columbia’s brick-and-mortar restaurants is asking City Council to place more restrictions on mobile food trucks that are becoming increasingly popular around the city.

Food trucks should remain half a block from stationary restaurants — 200 feet to be exact — and about four blocks (1,500 feet) from a restaurant that serves the same kinds of meals as food truck vendors, the Columbia Restaurant Association recommended in a Nov. 2 email to council members.

Further, the association wants food trucks to meet fire safety standards and other permits that immobile restaurants must meet.

This is a microcosm of the crony-capitalism we see at the Federal level. Columbia restaurants are trying to use the power of government, under the guise of "regulation" to construct barriers and increase costs to competitors in the marketplace. Rather than simply compete with the food-trucks on a level playing field, the restaurants are trying to use their lobbying power to drive their competitors out of business.

Also, the City Council doesn't need to be wasting time on restaurants vs. food-trucks unless they have every other more important issue already squared away. On the list of priorities for the City Council, regulating food trucks should be about #5,482,389. We have much more serious problems than whether the Bone-In BBQ food truck sets up "too close" to Harper's.

The restaurants don't want the market entirely free - they want assistance from the local government to help them. You know what: Fend for yourselves, you babies. Don't come in and ask the local government run your competitors off and have my tax dollars pay for the enforcement, because that's what they want to happen.

It is time for a substantial part of the government (at every level) to start saying: "Hey, it's not my job to do this." The problem is human nature intervenes and politicians at every level love grabbing more and more power over every aspect of daily life. Whenever you ask them to, they're usually happy to oblige.

I love restaurants in buildings, but that's not the point here. It's not the job of the Columbia City Council to take on the job of where food trucks can and cannot be. Everyone comes to the government with their hands out looking for a favor. Whether it is for subsidies, regulations on competitors, or whatever, it needs to stop.

Fend for yourselves, Columbia restaurants.