So you have just justified your reasons for not spending money in the city. Ironic as I will not spend my money in the counties. Sounds to me like you are an exclusive organization.
Have you ever tried to have one in the city? I suspect not.
The places I listed have been used by neighborhood associations and can seat the amount stated. Unless you want to pay extra you can not expect a good establishment just to hold space for your organization. I thought 2A was for everybody not just a select few. I'm not mad, I'm just sorry that you have not taken the time to learn all about the City of Richmond.
Kenny,
The problem(s) with holding an OC dinner inside the city limits are numerous, and none of them have anything to do with being anti-city or pro-county.
1 - we need a place that can accommodate an expanding crowd. That means not only seating but parking. As we hold these event for the purpose of socializing as well as exposing the rest of the customers to a normalizing display of firearms, we like to sit together. That means tables that can be moved together.
Do you have some suggestions of where we can get at least 24 folks together at no more than two large tables? (You do not have to make actual reservations, but we do need to know they can/will accommodate us.)
2 - we need a place that will accept OC by a fairly large group. There are a number of restaurants in the city where I am personally welcome while OCing. But I usually am a solo diner so pose less of a menace to the establishment or the other patrons. I have discussed possible OC dinners at some of the places I dine (I eat out at least 3 nights a week) and have been turned down on the issue of large numbers of people with guns, while getting the "but we know you and are happy to see you and trust you not to do anything bad with your gun" BS.
Do you have some suggestions of where we will be welcomed as a large armed group?
3 - We never know until the night of the dinner exactly how many will actually show up - in spite of "confirmed" and "maybe" posts. I can recall at least one dinner when we had significantly more than we expected and the overflow had to find seats eslewhere. It was a situation that made several folks uncomfortable/unhappy because we do like to be together as one big happy group. It is unfair to the establishment to either overwhelm them or "promise" a specific number and then show up with fewer diners. That is why we do not make reservations, merely tell them our best guess.
Do you have some suggestions of places that can be as flexible as we need them to be? Especially if the numbers increase in the day before the dinner?
Rather than put us down as "elitists" who do not like to support city restaurants, how about working with us? So far we have not found a place that meets our needs - maybe because we just don't know where to look. Apparently you are a city guy so you might know.
Also -
Unless you want to pay extra you can not expect a good establishment just to hold space for your organization.
How much more are we talking about? We are not a formal organization with dues and a treasury. We are a bunch of "normal folks" who will be bringing some kids and some friends, and who need to watch the household budget. Give us some info to work with so a decision/consensus can be reached about how high a tab we might be willing to accept.
And you might want to keep in mind that, as a group, we tend to tip closer to 25% than to 20%, just so we can increase the good feelings folks have about us. That might factor in to decision of the places you reccommend.
stay safe.
