The Serfs are Grateful for The Crumbs their Owners Throw at Them

The Soviet-style government regulation of the restaurant industry in my town is truly absurd.  After given permission by our wise and omniscient overlords to open up bar service at restaurants, those that did put maybe three to six bar stools at a bar that holds 30-40.  Just to be safe one establishment, City Oyster, placed huge plastic shields between every two seats, creating an animal-in-a-cage feeling.  Rumor has it that they will also do away with dishes and silverware and just throw a piece of meat on the bar in front of you when you order food.

Another establishment, Johnnie Brown’s, an open-air bar/restaurant, hired security guards with gigantic letters saying “SECURITY” on their shirts to kick anyone off the public sidewalk who slows down to listen to the live music.  They also have a very charming large sign on the sidewalk that says “Mask Up or Move On!”  Even people who have “masked up” are still kicked off the sidewalk.  Of course, the private “security gaurd” has no more legal right to kick me off the public sidewalk than I do of him, but the city government assigns a cop to stand around to make it appear even more Cold War East German-ish.

I have mentioned the absurdity of all this to bartenders and restaurant managers and their response always seems scripted:  “We’ll take whatever we can get,” they uniformly say.  They are grateful for whatever crumbs our wise and omniscient overlords throw their way.

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7:55 am on September 21, 2020