florida carry bar/restaurant

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ufstuddmuffin

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Now I know in Florida we cannot carry and sit at a bar. When I took my ccw course, the instructor told us that any restaurant such as Chili's or Friday's that is half bar half restaurant is legal to carry in as long as we don't sit at the bar.

My question is, at what point does the restaurant become a bar in the eyes of the law? Can a bar that serves food be considered ok as long as I sit at a booth and not the bar?
 
I believe that its any establishment that makes >50% of their revenue by alcohol and that must be posted somewhere in the restaurant/bar.

This is probably better posted in the legal section.
 
Here's what I do.

If it is clearly a restaurant, it is legal to carry as long as you do not enter the bar area.

IF it is a bar and no food, definitely not legal.

If it is a bar that happens to also serve food (like a pool hall, for example), I do not carry because I am unsure of the legality. However, most pool halls allow smoking, so I'm assuming that they make over 50% of their income from the sale of alcohol, thus carrying would be illegal.

Honestly, I've only ever seen ONE place posted for "no weapons" in the entire state and I've lived here for more than twenty years. Even then, it wasn't a strictly "no weapons" sign, it listed all of the property owner's rules, i.e. nobody under age of 18, no smoking, no soliciting, etc. - nothing that was legally binding.

I'd ask an attorney about this.
 
Bottom line: Bar - NO, restaurant - OK. Restaurant that serves liquor - not mentioned in the law.
 
FL carry law

here is the pertinent piece of where you are NOT allowed to carry:-

A license shall not authorize any person to carry a concealed weapon or firearm into any place of nuisance, police station, detention facility, courthouse, polling place, meeting of any state, county, municipal, or special district governing body, any school, any professional or school athletic event not related to firearms, portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, inside the sterile and passenger area of an airport, or any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law.
Click to expand...

Bolded text is my highlight, without changing the wording.

Hope this helps
 
I am not from Florida and I know nothing about the laws there but I do know that Chili's, Red Robin, Outback, Applebee's etc have separate bar areas and even though it is pretty open, you have to be 21 or older to sit in that area.

Now I would make sure to double check on the law and to be on the safe side don't sit in the bar area.
 
The Real Bottom Line Is If You Are Carrying A Concealed Weapon In A Restaurant/bar That Is Fine. If You Get Involved In An Incident And Were Drinking, That's Where Your Legal System Introduction Begins As Well As Your Civil Liability Crash Course Enters The Picture.
Believe Me I Am No Gun Expert, Actually Not An Expert In Anything Really, But, I Have Knowledge In This Area
 
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