OK, this is just weird. I am used to reading reports every day on disorderly bars in one place or another but usually the disorder is caused by drunk patrons, not the staff as the Kentucky Alcoholic Beverages Control Board found this week:
...most of the disputes were related to searches for stolen beer steins, which Hofbrauhaus buys for about $5 and sells for $15.90 with meals. Hofbrauhaus estimates that about 150 to 200 of these one-liter steins are stolen each week, and signs are posted warning patrons that purses and other items are subject to search. "Patrons who failed to produce a sales receipt or who declined to undergo a search were physically restrained," the board found. "The latter policy resulted in a pattern of confrontation and physical violence between Hofbrauhaus security employees and patrons."
Isn't it a bit weird that there are 150 to 200 stein thefts a week? Or that a place with "a pattern of confrontation and physical violence" is also called a "tourist attraction"? Have a look at their website, however - it does look pretty swell. Maybe they just have to drop the "pay ten bucks and keep the stein" offer on the menu. If my business was claiming to be the site of 7,000 to 10,000 crimes a year, I might think about it.
But, really... I blame breweriana fans.
Comments
Gary Gillman - August 25, 2011 8:49 AM
I'm planning to stop by there Alan in a few weeks, on my way to the bourbon festival in Kentucky. I've been to the Munich original and quite enjoyed it, the food more than the beer maybe, but I only had one type when there (the dunkel). What clinched this visit was that the beer is brewed under license onsite.
The story about the steins is interesting, that seems an awful lot to lose in one week, I agree.
This branch of the famous beer house is in Newport, a riverside town overlooking the Ohio from the Kentucky side.
Gary
Alan - August 25, 2011 12:13 PM
Excellent! A reconnoiter. Just don't get caught.
Stephen Beaumont - August 25, 2011 12:20 PM
Don't blame the brewerianists; blame the drunks. It's always amazed me that a little alcohol can skew people to the point that stealing suddenly seems socially acceptable.
I wonder what beer glass theft totals in the United States and Canada. Probably in the multiple hundreds per week, if not thousands, once you factor in all the specialty glass theft. And I wonder how many wine or martini glasses are also stolen.
Alan - August 25, 2011 12:22 PM
...and to what end? End of year dorm recycling bin filling and basement shelf dust gathering!!!
BTW, have you ever seen brewerianists out on a drunken tear? It is quite a thing.
Gary Gillman - August 25, 2011 12:31 PM
I shall report well and truly if you revisit the topic - but I always pay for everything I consume or take with me. :)
Gary
DanSmallbeer - August 25, 2011 7:41 PM
A good friend of mine once stole the welcome mat from just inside a karaoke bar in Miyazaki, Japan. To his credit, he asked me to help him take it back in the morning.