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So I have a a doosy for y'all. There is a new restaurant that opened here in San Angelo, downtown, called "Bean on the Bayou." Its address is 36 E Twohig, San Angelo, Tx 76903.

I walked up to eat there this evening with my wife, and noticed a red 51% sign in the window. I know this is a restaurant, not a bar or the like, so I became curious. I asked the hostess if she knew if the 51% sign was enforceable being that they operated as a restaurant. She said that it was, and I asked if my wife and I could just sit in the outside seating on the sidewalk instead. She called for a manager, he said no, and my wife and I found somewhere else to eat.

Curiosity got the best of me, and I really want to eat there since it's the only cajun food in town, so I came home and checked TABC. They have this listed:

License #: BG681843

Trade Name: MESQUITE BEAN CAFE & CATERING COMPANY / CONCHO HOST
Owner: CONCHO HOST INC.
Location Address:
36 E TWOHIG AVENUE SUITE 105
SAN ANGELO , TX 76903-6496
Mailing Address:
PO BOX 2563
SAN ANGELO , TX 76902-2563
County: Tom Green Orig. Issue Date: 1/25/2008
Status: Current Exp. Date: 1/24/2014
Wine Percent: 17
Location Phone No.: 325-716-1639 Gun Sign: RED
Subordinates:
Related To:

Now, the name of the restaurant and on the storefront is, "Bean on the Bayou.", and after asking a friend, I learned that it is also operated as Mesquite Bean Cafe. I had no idea bout this, but the signage for the address is legit. The whole thing confuses me..

My conclusion: I guess it's all gravy. I emailed them and asked, but haven't heard anything back from them. Either way, I'm going to avoid them.. but I am curious on y'alls take on the whole thing? Have you came across this before, where you have 2 businesses operating in the same building?

When the business files for a license, if they specify that they will receive 51% or more of their revenue from the sale of alcohol, then they will be issued a 51% license. The area they specify for patrons to drink will be the area off limits. So, if they provide a drawing of the whole building to the TABC for the license, then the whole building is off limits for CHL. At such time the TABC does a check on sales receipts, if they find the business is not making 51% from alcohol sales for on premise consumption, then they will be forced to switch to a blue license and sign.

Keith B wrote:When the business files for a license, if they specify that they will receive 51% or more of their revenue from the sale of alcohol, then they will be issued a 51% license. The area they specify for patrons to drink will be the area off limits. So, if they provide a drawing of the whole building to the TABC for the license, then the whole building is off limits for CHL. At such time the TABC does a check on sales receipts, if they find the business is not making 51% from alcohol sales for on premise consumption, then they will be forced to switch to a blue license and sign.

Can one file a request to have said business audited for sales %? If so, does anyone know how?


Edited for spelling

bronco78 wrote:

Keith B wrote:When the business files for a license, if they specify that they will receive 51% or more of their revenue from the sale of alcohol, then they will be issued a 51% license. The area they specify for patrons to drink will be the area off limits. So, if they provide a drawing of the whole building to the TABC for the license, then the whole building is off limits for CHL. At such time the TABC does a check on sales receipts, if they find the business is not making 51% from alcohol sales for on premise consumption, then they will be forced to switch to a blue license and sign.

Can one file a request to have said business autistic for sales %? If so, does anyone know how?

I think you mean audited. LOL Businesses have to file their total sales and total alcohol sales receipts with the TABC. You can contact the local TABC office and tell them you believe the business is not gonna be 51%, however, since they are new it probably won't go very far until there is a history of filled revenue for them to audit.

Keith B wrote:

bronco78 wrote:

Keith B wrote:When the business files for a license, if they specify that they will receive 51% or more of their revenue from the sale of alcohol, then they will be issued a 51% license. The area they specify for patrons to drink will be the area off limits. So, if they provide a drawing of the whole building to the TABC for the license, then the whole building is off limits for CHL. At such time the TABC does a check on sales receipts, if they find the business is not making 51% from alcohol sales for on premise consumption, then they will be forced to switch to a blue license and sign.

Can one file a request to have said business autistic for sales %? If so, does anyone know how?

I think you mean audited. LOL Businesses have to file their total sales and total alcohol sales receipts with the TABC. You can contact the local TABC office and tell them you believe the business is not gonna be 51%, however, since they are new it probably won't go very far until there is a history of filled revenue for them to audit.

LOL, darn auto correct.. Yes that was supposed to be audited.

Thanks

Just do what Tom Gresham from the Gun Talk radio show suggests: call them, ask for the manager, and tell them you were turned away from the door. When they ask how, explain the sign on the door.

pmcdn wrote:Just do what Tom Gresham from the Gun Talk radio show suggests: call them, ask for the manager, and tell them you were turned away from the door. When they ask how, explain the sign on the door.

I don't know how much that will work if they are truly a 51% business. If they are I think they are required to post the sign. Aren't they? Can a business choose not to post a 51% sign?

Anyway, it sounds like this particular place is going out of their way to prohibit CHLs from carrying and doing so by trying to blame the TABC rather than just put up their own 30.06 sign. Spineless in my opinion and I would avoid them and tell as many of people I could why including them.

C-dub wrote:

pmcdn wrote:Just do what Tom Gresham from the Gun Talk radio show suggests: call them, ask for the manager, and tell them you were turned away from the door. When they ask how, explain the sign on the door.

I don't know how much that will work if they are truly a 51% business. If they are I think they are required to post the sign. Aren't they? Can a business choose not to post a 51% sign?

Anyway, it sounds like this particular place is going out of their way to prohibit CHLs from carrying and doing so by trying to blame the TABC rather than just put up their own 30.06 sign. Spineless in my opinion and I would avoid them and tell as many of people I could why including them.

It has nothing to do with them wanting to keep CHL's out. Since they are licensed as a 51% establishment, they must post the 51% sign by law; no exceptions. Sign or not, the location is legally off limits to CHL carry and if you enter while carrying, you are breaking the law. You only get a defense to prosecution if you enter a 51% business because you don't realize they are 51% as they had no sign posted and end up arrested for it.

pmcdn wrote:Just do what Tom Gresham from the Gun Talk radio show suggests: call them, ask for the manager, and tell them you were turned away from the door. When they ask how, explain the sign on the door.

That's great advice for gun shows that post a 30.06 sign to exclude people who passed a written test, a shooting test, and a background check. It's not very good advice for a 51% business that is required to post the 51% sign and can be penalized by TABC for not posting the suite of signs required for their license type.

snatchel wrote:Gun Sign: RED

There's your answer. Remember it doest matter if they are 51%. What matters is the sales as determned by TABC.

The business will retain the 51% sign (and license) until they renew their license. This is done either annually or biennially. At that time, they must again specify how much they received from alcohol and other sources. If they are new, the change could not take place until then because they might have some activity planned that could change it and the sales are based on total annual sales.

Also, believe it or not, this could be like the bowling alley question. It is indeed possible that the owner started two different businesses, one for the alcohol and one for the food. There are some possible reasons for this, such as liability for selling alcohol. I doubt it in a case like this but it is possible.

From reading their website, the Bean on the Bayou used to be called the Mesquite Bean Cafe and they are located in the Cactus Hotel which used to be the Hilton Hotel in San Angelo so the 51% sign sort of makes sense.

The 51% sign probably included the bar in the hotel lobby.

The food sounds pretty good. If I lived closer I would check them out. Hopefully they will sort it all out before the CHLers put them out of business.