Outback Steakhouse in Fairfax does NOT want our money

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KONY

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Fairfax, Northern Virginia
Hey there folks,

Just thought I'd report on my "attempted dinner" tonight at Outback Steakhouse in Fairfax. I sat down with the wife and "tried" to have a meal only to be approached by "Joey the owner" and told that "we can't allow guns here. would you mind leaving it in your car?" ... I responded, "oh I am sorry. I didn't see your sign" (because they don't have one). We got up and start on our way towards the exit and he calls over and asks me, "would you like me to have an appetizer waiting for you at the table?" ... I turn around half-amazed and half-annoyed and say, "oh, we aren't coming back, thank you". We ended up taking a nice drive over to Lone Star Grill and had a great meal at a gun-friendly establishment. I have no idea if this is corporate policy or just this location but it is quite obvious that they do not want our business. Oh well, they're not the only steak in town ... I just hope they have enough business acumen realize this.
 
For those who aren't familiar with VA CCW policies, one must open carry when in a resaturant that serves alcohol.
 
My experience...

Outback steaks are tough anyway. You did the right thing, and we should let these restaurant people know they are driving away good customers.
 
Well, I have only limited experience eating at Outback but this is just a stupid business move. there's just too much competition out there to alienate such a large contingency. Oh well, just makes the decision over where to eat easier.
 
I work for Outback, and as far as I know, there's no corporate policy prohibiting customer carry. I'm pretty sure it's up to the individual proprietor.
 
Is Outback a franchise operation with individual owners? sounds like the one owner or manager's work. The outback I have visited is not posted against concealed carry. But then, nowhere is, around here.
 
I sure do like the steaks at Outback....

mmmmmm.

Just thinking about about the NY strip, med rare, loaded (no pun) baked potato, and a salad with ranch dressing.

Oh, and maybe....3 of those loaves of rye bread with soft butter.

My heart aches for your tummy.

I like to get it to-go nowadys though. No need to pay $2 a soda, $3 a beer, or $5 per liquor, and I don't have to tip. Hell, at Outback, you don't even have to get out of your car if you phone it in ahead of time ;) Make sure you have you are abiding all state laws in your car with your firearms though!

I do love Outback - I've never seen a sign in KY or OH at any of their restuarants though. I think the manager was a pinko liberal anti gun ninnie whose father never loved him. :neener: Or, he was just uneducated!!!!

Keith
 
We have an Outback here and it was mediocre but I didn't like the way it was setup much. I go to Black Angus if the occasion calls for steak. I like the atmosphere better and the drinks seem stronger. :D
 
Who goes out to restaurants anyways??

I'd be needlessly exposing myself to hepatitis from their improperly washed silverware, plates, glasses, etc... or a flu virus from Mr. Dirt sitting a table away.

At home my cold brews are half the cost in restaurants, and I don't have to worry about DUI/DWI.

At home I can smoke at my leisure. New York banned smoking in all public places.

At home I can listen to the music I want for a change or pull a tv out back.

My bathroom is clean!

The landscape scenery I create is all natural and is more appealing than some dimly lit ceiling & wall atmosphere.

I'd be paying 2 to 3 times more for a the same food I could cook myself and it wouldn't taste anywhere as good as what I can get slow grillin'.

Although New York is CCW, I can open carry on my property, and nobody can tell me, "Please leave" or "Put that in the house".
 
Hmm, I am a "regular" during football season, but only for the takeout bloomin' onion. For my tastes Longhorn has about the best filet mignon money can buy, Outback can't compare.
 
Well, I'm gonna have to go and disagree with some of what's been said. I do think you should have been allowed to open carry in the restaurant. It's your right to open carry in your state. However, it's the right of the owner/manager to forbid your open carry on his private property. I think we can all agree on that. My disagreement comes in the question of the fiscal repercussions of their policy. It's sad to say, but I think in this day and time, those who would support open carry in Outback (at least enough to take their $ elsewhere) are in the minority. I think you'd have more customers who'd be appalled at the manager allowing open carry in the restaurant. I also think these people would be more likely to take their business elsewhere, and to spread the word to the hoplophobes to avoid that dangerous saloon, the Outback, like the plague. Can you believe they allowed A GUN! in there? Let me reiterate that I don't like the policy, nor do I agree with it, but I wouldn't say that it's necessarily bad business sense. I guess it also depends on the social climate in your area. Had it been me, I probably would have returned the gun to the car and finished my meal. I understand the statement made by leaving, but sometimes practicality and logic must reign. The statement really won't have impact to the owner unless it carries financial repercussions. As I stated earlier, I think the impact will be less with you leaving and telling us about it, than you being allowed to open carry and the one or two other families feeling uncomfortable to terrified and telling their cohorts about it. I think the likelihood of having to defend oneself during that 45 minute meal would be miniscule, far, far less than the risk of getting back in that car and heading off at 55 miles per hour in traffic. But then again, you could always walk and be safer (more protected). I don't know, some folks are going to say this attitude of giving in is what's plaguing RKBA. Some may call it traitorous. Some may agree with me. But to me, a good steak might be worth the 1 in N chance of an unprotected attack. That's all this had to be about. Not every inconvenience has to be martyrdom.
 
I'd be needlessly exposing myself to hepatitis from their improperly washed silverware, plates, glasses, etc... or a flu virus from Mr. Dirt sitting a table away.
Click to expand...

It's part of the public dining experience...go play in the dirt and build up an immune system! :neener:

I don't eat at restraunts all the time. I much prefer eating at home since I get what I want, when I want, how I want, and as much as I want for the fraction of the cost. Though it is nice to go to a restraunt once in a while with the family or friends. When they make a mess, it stays there!
 
In the business of serving the public, you play the numbers. If you think more people would enjoy non-smoking dining rather than smoke/no-smoke sections, you go that way. If you think more people would be put off by the sight of openly carried firearms, you run your business accordingly. Your 'rights' are going to get seriously trampled if they come between me and my paycheck.

Like it or not, MOST people are put off and ill at ease by being in the presence of someone openly carrying a firearm. "Why is this person armed? Is THIS place that dangerous? Is he crazy or what? Why isn't the managment doing something? I don't want to be around when he starts shooting!! My children/children/mother are frightened."

If you are in as frangable a business as hospitality, you can lose your whole business, decades of bone breaking work and life savings in about two heartbeats. On accidental discharge in your dining room might do it, would do it if a patron got hurt.

Whatever your 'rights' are, you do not frighten the women and children.

By the way, the steaks at Outback are grossly inferior. They are individually marinated in tenderizer and a spice mix to hide the taste of the tenderizer and then cryovaced. They might be in that cryovac pouch for months before they get to your table. Prime aged steak needs only salt and pepper to be at its most mouthwatering tender best. Prime aged steak in a non chain steakhouse or fine dining restaurant costs the operators three times as much as the chemical suprises that you get at chain steakhouses. You MIGHT pay twice as much. As always you pay now or you pay later. I had always rather stress my wallet than my digestive tract.

Someone convince me that the industrial strength tenderizers quit working when you bite into the steak!! Think about that one for a minute.
 
Like it or not, MOST people are put off and ill at ease by being in the presence of someone openly carrying a firearm. "Why is this person armed? Is THIS place that dangerous? Is he crazy or what? Why isn't the managment doing something? I don't want to be around when he starts shooting!! My children/children/mother are frightened."
Click to expand...

It's funny you mention this. I too think the general gun ignorant population thinks this way. One all too important oversight is, "Could he/she be an off duty police officer, or peace officer?" Extremely rare is the conclusion of their thoughts something positive.
 
Hi Jaysouth,

I just wanted to respond to your post. Please keep in mind that I mean no offense by my comments ... just offering my counterpoint.

In the business of serving the public, you play the numbers.
Click to expand...

If I was in the "minority" here in VA, we would not be as far along as we are in terms of RKBA issues.


Your 'rights' are going to get seriously trampled if they come between me and my paycheck.
Click to expand...

My dollars won't become part of your paycheck if you trample on MY rights. Now, if I am not in the minority as I assert in my previous argument, I think that will hurt.

Like it or not, MOST people are put off and ill at ease by being in the presence of someone openly carrying a firearm.
Click to expand...

I know lots of people that are "put off" by the sight of physically and/or mentally disabled individuals and some that are from a different ethnic background, is it ok to tell parties where such individuals are dining to "go make them wait in the car?" ... really being extreme here but I am just want to stimulate thought about where our rights end/begin.

If you are in as frangable a business as hospitality, you can lose your whole business, decades of bone breaking work and life savings in about two heartbeats. On accidental discharge in your dining room might do it, would do it if a patron got hurt.
Click to expand...

What do people think when they see the sign that shows you how to do the Heimlich Maneuver? ... "Geez, people choke in here?!! I am taking my money elsewhere!" Moreover, how many people you think die from choking compared to "accidental" discharges in restaurants each year?
 
Kony,

I understand your point of view, As a state, Virginia is very gun friendly and generally a good place for gun owners to live, however, if it were put to a referendum in f**kemfast county, VA, where this steakhouse is, you would be required to turn all your guns in for destruction and attend deprogramming classes to get you over it. That comment might be a little pithy from someone who is not politically correct, but I think reflects the reality that is large urban area, America. If you were to ask of any of the elite souls that live there, there is simply no need for citizens to have guns in this day and age. As high as the taxes are in f**kemfast, the police will certainly keep you safe.

My first hospitality operation was a blue collar beer joint in Arlington, VA, a long...long time ago. I had customers in that venue put at unease when there was new gun show and tell or trading going on. My last gig was 35 years later, a fine dining restaurant in Richmond. Even in Richmond, the annointed that frequent such places would not tolerate 'ruffians or undesirables' sitting around with guns in the dining room.

You are debating the court of public opinion in a specific region that is very ANTI-gun. Thank god that the Virginia legislature is controlled by the good old boys from South East VA. If those enlightned squires from Northern Virginia were in charge, the NRA museum would be in WVA and you would be banned from owning a picture of a gun.
 
jaysouth,

Point taken. I just feel that many things do not get done because folks are pacified by ccw permits. Tonight, my "permit" didn't mean squat as far as being able to eat where I planned so we still have lots of work to do here.
 
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