Would You Go Into A Restaurant Where All The Waiters Are Packing? More Importantly, Do You Really Think They Will Be Robbed?

1 Restaurant’s Kilt-Wearing Waiters Wear Something On Their Hips That’s Raising Eyebrows

No way around it.

If you live in Ogden Utah then you’ve likely heard about a restaurant where the men wear skirts (kilts) and the women (and the men) wear pistols on their hips.

Thats because Sea Bears Ogden Fish House is firmly committed to heritage and to safety. So the Scottish Fish House decided to let the mean wear authentic Scottish apparel while also letting them carry openly in the restaurant.

It’s either the safest restaurant in town or the most dangerous. It all depends on how you view the Second Amendment.

Sea Bears Ogden Fish House, a downtown restaurant on Washington Boulevard, is quickly becoming known for three things: the food, the servers clad in Scottish kilts and the sidearms those servers openly carry while they work.

Tony and Monika Siebers, of North Salt Lake, are owners of Sea Bears. They’re also staunch supporters of the right to bear arms. As such, servers at the restaurant – which, thus far, have primarily been immediate family members – are invited to open-carry the firearm of their choice.

“We support the Second Amendment,” Tony said.

The 46-year-old says they’ve been open-carrying at the restaurant for almost a year now. He calls it a safety issue.

“It’s a downtown business dealing with money, we’re closing down at night, my wife has to get to her car out back,” Tony said. “So we just said, ‘Let’s get our concealed-carry permits.'”

After going through a concealed-carry class and firearms training, and while waiting to receive their conceal permits, Monika decided to start open-carrying at the restaurant.

Tony admits that, in the beginning, he feared how customers might react.

“I was nervous – well, not nervous, but I worried – when my wife first started doing open-carry,” he said. “I thought, ‘Will people be offended and not want to come in?'”

Monika, 45, acknowledges the risk.

“Obviously, you’re taking a pretty bold stance,” she said. “The last thing we want to come across as is arrogant or flippant. And we don’t want to scare people.”

When Monika first started wearing her Smith & Wesson M&P; Shield 9mm on her hip, the Siebers got a lot of feedback.

“Almost all positive,” Tony said. “Once in a while, somebody is uncomfortable with it, but not very often. I can count two people who had a negative reaction.”

The interesting thing Sea Bears is discovering is having a firm, pro-gun stance actually seems to endear others to your business.

While being far from a gimmick, displaying a pro-gun stance in a restaurant invites people who want to be safe through your doors.

It also helps establish solidarity amongst other gun lovers, and that can be a huge boon for business owners.

Restaurants all across the country who have done what Sea Bears has done have all found themselves overwhelmed with support. And a lot of this pays off financially too.