Fortuitously named Rifle, Colorado leads the way in pandering to the open carry crowd. There’s gold in them thar (gun totin’) hills, as American gun manufacturers are well aware. Open carry fanatics have been meeting with nervous resistance as they try to infiltrate family style restaurants, but now they have a home away from home in Colorado. Shooter’s Grill is inviting them to come to where they’re accepted, and will feel welcome and right at home.
Nothing (apparently) is more ‘down-home’ than being served by wait-staff who are all packing pistols, strapped to their hips and legs old west style.
The front door bears the following: “Guns are welcome on premises. Please keep all weapons holstered, unless the need arises. In such cases, judicious marksmanship is appreciated.”
Lauren Boebert, who co-owns the restaurant with her husband opened the doors in 2013. She consulted her Christian friends about the name “Shooters.” Although many felt it sounded like a strip club, the name stuck. Said Boebert,“We called it Shooters and started throwing guns and Jesus all over the place.” So – Jesus is a silent partner, after being thrown around the place.
You’ll note in the interview that Boebert dismissed a question about safety. Asked what would happen if a bad guy or a child grabbed one of the guns worn by wait-staff. The owner replied that those accidents just “don’t happen anymore.” As for the children, they are taught gun safety. I trust she hasn’t read the article we featured Friday, about the 5-year-old Kentucky boy who accidentally shot his little sister with his brand new birthday present, a twenty two caliber rifle. One might presume that the boy was given a modicum of ‘gun safety’ training before his birthday.
My advice is to tip well, and for crying out loud, don’t complain about the service or the food. Speaking of food, the menu features such delicacies as the M16 burrito, the Swiss and Wesson grilled cheese, and “Locked and Loaded nachos.”
Details follow from an ‘Above Science’ article.
At Shooters Grill, you can decide whether your freshly made cherry pie comes with ice cream, but you have no choice on who delivers it: An armed waitress.All nine of the servers at the restaurant pack heat as they shuttle plates of food to diners, from Glock semi-automatics to Ashlee Saenz’s thigh-length Rueger Blackhawk .357 six-shooter. On the wall, posted alongside copies of the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights, is a sign declaring that those inside are still “proudly clinging to my guns and Bible.”
Owner Lauren Boebert, 27, says she didn’t start out to make a statement when she began carrying a pistol on her hip a month after opening Shooters a year ago. But through the months, her other waitresses thought it was kind of fun and they, too, started carrying in this town of 9,200 about 180 miles west of Denver.
“We don’t worship guns. We worship Jesus,” said Boebert, a 27-year-old mother of four whose husband works in the oil industry. “We’re here to serve people.”
Word is getting around about the unusual service at the restaurant, which earlier this year won a series of readers-favorite awards from a local newspaper for its home-cooked food that includes all-day breakfast and prime rib.
A reporter sent to cover that story in late June instead highlighted Boebert, Saenz and the other waitresses. Curious customers started pouring in. Monday afternoon, Robert Vedrenne ate an early dinner, drawn by that newspaper article in The (Rifle, Colo.) Citizen Telegram. A native Texan, Vedrenne wondered whether Boebert and her staff were just using guns to sell mediocre food. They weren’t. Menu items include the M16 burrito, the Swiss and Wesson grilled cheese, and “Locked and Loaded nachos.” “I wanted to see if this was gimmicky, or if it really was good food,” said Vedrenne, who is temporarily living in the area for work. “And it was good. I’ll be back.”Asked if he was bothered by the gun-carrying waitresses, Vedrenne twisted to the left, showing off the Beretta PX4 Storm .40 caliber pistol holstered at his side. “I’m from Texas,” he said. “This is normal.”
And that’s just how Boebert sees it. Rifle is hunting country with outfitters offering to help visitors track down and shoot elk and deer roaming the nearby high-country forests and canyons. Legend says the area got its name when a surveyor left his gun leaning against a tree and marked his map with “rifle” to remind himself where it was.In May, the Denver-based Chipotle burrito chain asked gun owners to stop bringing guns into the company’s stores following a series of demonstrations from strident Second Amendment supporters in Texas. And last year, Starbucks also asked gun owners to leave their weapons behind when buying coffee. However, in Rifle Boebert said the local Starbucks franchisee has no problem when she walks in wearing her Springfield XDS .45. For the rest of the article about Shooters Grill click here.