Want Guns With That? Chefs Find Politics Hotter Than Kitchen
By
KIM SEVERSON<time datetime="2014-03-31" class="dateline">MARCH 31, 2014</time>
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Pete Matsko, center, at his
bar, Backstreet Pub and Grill in Clemson, S. C. A new concealed-weapons
law in South Carolina turned his pub into a battlefield in America’s
culture wars.
Credit
Mike Belleme for The New York Times
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CLEMSON,
S.C. — Pete Matsko expected a little pushback when he posted a
sarcastic sign banning concealed weapons from Backstreets Pub &
Grill, his beer and burger bar in this college town, but he did not
expect to become a national target.
Within
weeks, he was slammed with so many online attacks and harassing phone
calls that he changed his number and started asking the police to open
his mail.
A
new concealed-weapons law in South Carolina turned his pub into a
battlefield in America’s culture wars. Like an increasing number of bar
and restaurant owners around the country, Mr. Matsko discovered that his
politics can matter more than what he serves.
As
the position restaurants hold in American culture grows, so too does
the list of issues on which chefs are asked to make a stand. Refusing to
bake a cake for a gay wedding, requesting that a woman not breast-feed
at the table or trying to prevent a diner from wearing a gun can have
serious business implications.
"It’s
almost like restaurants have to have a political strategist on board
now when they put together their marketing plan,” said Andrew Freeman, a
San Francisco-based consultant to the restaurant and hotel industry.
Here's a better idea Mr. Freeman: Don't throw broad-brush insults at large groups of people you haven't met.