I was there with my mom and two daughters. We had been seated a while and were waiting for our food. I was open carrying as normal. The manager came out and said, "We don't allow guns in the restaurant." I replied, "Sure, no problem." and covered my gun. That was not enough for the manager. He told me that, as company policy, they do not allow guns at all. Since I was with my mom and girls, we did not leave, but I put my pistol in my van and returned.

The manager was at the register and I approached him to inform him this would be the last time we visited his establishment and further, I would let other permit holder know of his desire to keep all gun owners out of the restaurant. I told him, as law-abiding citizens, we want to respect the wishes of those who wish to discriminate against gun owner by staying away from their business and spending our money elsewhere. I was loud enough that others in the restaurant could hear, apparently, as a couple of people sounded some support. The manager was pretty shocked and stammered his okay and turned and walked into the back. We ate our meal and left.

By the way, there were no signs banning guns.

Probably worth a letter to their corporate HQ about this particular experience -- I doubt they have a corporate policy prohibiting their customers from carrying weapons... particularly since they're all over the Midwest..

b

+1 to this, and it's nice to hear that there were others in the restaurant who agreed with you!

-Mark

Contact with Perkins has been initiated.

I got a call from the regional manager today. Bottom line, per his boss, they do not want gun owners in their stores spending our money. I asked if that included those who conceal and he said they want no guns, period. They would rather we take our money elsewhere than carry a gun, concealed or open, into their restaurants. I thanked the man for his honesty and told him I would pass on their wishes.

I've been informed by a colleague that it is Perkins company policy to not allow law-abiding handgun permit holders to carry a handgun, either concealed or openly, in your restaurants. This is certainly personally disappointing, but as a NRA and MADFI Certified Instructor, rest assured that I will abide by, and more importantly, pass on your company's wishes to all of my students. I will also make sure that nationwide gun forum members on sites such as opencarry.org and The High Road know about your policy, so that they may respect your wishes and take their business elsewhere.

There are over 60,000 permit holders in the state of Minnesota alone. I'm certain that your competitors will welcome the business. After all, in order to possess a handgun permit, we must have clean criminal records, no history of domestic violence, and must be approved by our county sheriff. We also have received state-approved training in the function and legal aspects of firearms use, which is required to be regularly updated. Can you say the same of your other customers?

Thank you for your time,

-Mark R. Okern