IN: After Robbery, Papa Roux Restaurant Offers 25% Discount to Gun Carriers

 

There have been a number of restaurants that have provided discounts and special deals for armed customers, both concealed and open carry.   In a recent case in Indiana, the obvious utility of advertising the presence of armed customers was not lost on a Cajun restaurant owner in Indianapolis.      From indystar.com:

The Eastside restaurant owned by Bouvier was robbed Saturday night, the first time that's happened in the popular Cajun eatery's eight years of business. Now, Bouvier is offering a 25 percent discount to customers who can show a concealed carry permit.

"I don't want Papa Roux to turn into the O.K. Corral," Bouvier told The Indianapolis Star by phone Sunday morning, "but I don't want to be an easy target."   

Bouvier announced the discount offer on his Facebook page Saturday night, shortly after learning of the robbery. "If thugs are going to come in and threaten OUR extended family with guns, you'd better believe I will use every trick I know to protect (our family)," he wrote. The message drew more than 1,000 likes by 1 p.m. Sunday.

As we observe on Internet polls, the intensity of Second Amendment supporters is many times greater than disarmists.  Ordinarily, Second Amendment supporters will out poll disarmists 3-10 to one.  Papa Roux's experience is paralleling those results:

"A few loyal customers have said they’ll be avoiding Papa Roux because of my stance, and that's a little disheartening. But it's minuscule compared to the overwhelming support," he said. "It’s a shame that some people feel they need to stay away. They’ll go out to eat with the possibility that a criminal will bring a gun in, but they’ll stay away if they think customers might be carrying. That’s weird to me.

As with the size of portions, cleanliness, staff attitudes, prices, and taste, restaurants gain a reputation for being easy robbery targets or places to avoid.   Papa Roux had never been robbed before Saturday, the 25th of October, 2015.  The restaurant has been in business for eight years.   Owner Art Bouvier is taking reasonable steps to see that it does not happen again.  Robberies are bad for business; but Papa Roux has made a smart move to turn this lemon into lemonade.  Not only are  they likely to gain an number of loyal, well heeled customers, but it is hard to buy this level of media attention.

Update: The response to Papa Roux is keeping the staff working at maximum capacity.  The the response has been so great, that the owner, Art Bovier, put up a sign asking customers to be patient.  From wthr.com:

At noon Monday, there was a steady stream of customers heading to Papa Roux, many with a license to carry that would earn them a 25-percent discount. There's a sign on the door asking customers for patience as Papa Roux deals with a tremendous amount of media coverage since the story broke on Saturday.

"The word needs to get out,” said owner Art Bouvier, speaking about those people in line with a license to carry a handgun. 

“It seems like the world is coming to a place where a lot of people are taking advantage of goodhearted people and just coming in and taking and taking, and maybe it's time we stood up to that,” said Tina Miller of Indianapolis.

Disarmist organization, Moms Demand Action, funded by NYC former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, tried to push opinion in the opposite direction.  Shannon Watts, a corporate public relations executive who heads the organization, lamented the restaurant policy on a local TV show.

Definition of disarmist

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