A restaurant owner in Tennessee says that posting a “Guns Are Welcome” sign on the front door of her establishment has brought in new customers.
Sharma Floyd, owner of Shiloh Brew and Chew in Maryville, TN, posted the sign after reading about a store in North Carolina that was robbed after it banned guns.
“They had put up a sign that said ‘No Weapons Allowed’ and they were robbed at gunpoint two days later. The convenience store manager was shot,” Floyd told the television station WBIR. “That got me thinking”.
Floyd decided to put up a sign of her own, welcoming people carrying guns to her establishment.
Floyd was simply trying to keep her restaurant safe, but she soon learned that the sign was also good advertising. She has gotten at least twenty new customers since posting it.
“I have had so many customers take pictures of the sign, ask to meet me in person, and thank me,” Floyd said. “There have been as many as eight people in here at one time who I know for a fact had guns. And no one would have known it except I know them personally.”
Floyd isn't the only business owner who is finding that welcoming guns is good for business. In the town of Rifle, Colorado, a restaurant called Shooters advertises itself as a “gun-friendly” dining establishment. Guns line the restaurant’s walls, and one waitress even carries a Ruger Blackhawk .357 revolver with a bandolier of live ammunition.
These businesses are reacting to big chains like Target and Starbucks that have banned guns in recent months.
"As the owner, I wanted to stand my ground," Floyd told WBIR. "I have that constitutional right. If you like it, that's great, if you don't, I'm sorry for you. I can't change who I am."
Sharma Floyd, owner of Shiloh Brew and Chew in Maryville, TN, posted the sign after reading about a store in North Carolina that was robbed after it banned guns.
“They had put up a sign that said ‘No Weapons Allowed’ and they were robbed at gunpoint two days later. The convenience store manager was shot,” Floyd told the television station WBIR. “That got me thinking”.
Floyd decided to put up a sign of her own, welcoming people carrying guns to her establishment.
Floyd was simply trying to keep her restaurant safe, but she soon learned that the sign was also good advertising. She has gotten at least twenty new customers since posting it.
“I have had so many customers take pictures of the sign, ask to meet me in person, and thank me,” Floyd said. “There have been as many as eight people in here at one time who I know for a fact had guns. And no one would have known it except I know them personally.”
Floyd isn't the only business owner who is finding that welcoming guns is good for business. In the town of Rifle, Colorado, a restaurant called Shooters advertises itself as a “gun-friendly” dining establishment. Guns line the restaurant’s walls, and one waitress even carries a Ruger Blackhawk .357 revolver with a bandolier of live ammunition.
These businesses are reacting to big chains like Target and Starbucks that have banned guns in recent months.
"As the owner, I wanted to stand my ground," Floyd told WBIR. "I have that constitutional right. If you like it, that's great, if you don't, I'm sorry for you. I can't change who I am."
