People Are Using These Clues To Figure Out The Political Leanings Of Their Favorite Restaurants
HuffPost
Like it or not, we “vote” with our dollars. Here's how to make sense of a challenging economy and a deeply fraught political environment.
For many years, restaurants, bars and other hospitality businesses generally tried to stay out of politics. The common wisdom was that it didn’t make sense to alienate potential customers in this famously low-margin industry, so staying politically neutral would prove a safer choice.
But the chaos stemming from Washington and spreading all over the country (and indeed, all over the world) has pushed many of us to “choose a side,” and the hospitality field is no exception.
“Many restaurants are trying to be as neutral as possible, but some (on both sides) don’t seem to care [about neutrality],” said Heather Turner, a hospitality consultant based in New England. “Their take on it is that they don’t want customers that lean in a direction they don’t agree with anyway.”
One such restaurant, the Old State Saloon in Eagle, Idaho, takes such pride in its MAGA beliefs that the owners made headlines at the end of last year for offering a month of free beer to any guests who could prove that they provided tips to Immigration and Customs Enforcement that resulted in the deportation of an undocumented immigrant.
On the flip side, Modern Times Cafe in Minneapolis spent Jan. 31 (the day of the ICE Out protests) offering free food and drink to protesters, rebranding as “Post Modern Times Cafe,” and announcing its intention to provide a “daily special” of a free meal to anyone in need until ICE leaves Minnesota.
