Tonight, my room mate and I were greeted very rudely at the Hooters in Denton, TX with the statement of, "You can't smoke those in here."

I have been to this same restaurant at least 5 times within the last three weeks, 2 or 3 times with cigars in my hand or already lit when I entered.

I approached the manager about this sudden change in policy and the obviously fabricated lines that were presented to me by a waitress.

My favorite: "Some people might be allergic to cigar smoke."

The manager assured me that he would have an answer for me the next time I visit.... I tried not to laugh.

Has any other BOTL/SOTL had a problem at Hooters or other chain restaurants not knowing their own policies?
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I actually had the opposite experience at Twin Peaks (same "idea" as Hooters) in Plano, TX this past weekend. First time eating there, went in with 2 cigars in my pocket to enjoy after the Mavs game. (Can't smoke inside the restaurant though) Waitress grabs my cigars out of my pocket and says "I'll be right back.. I'm not taking them I promise!". Comes back 5 minutes later and says the manager is a fan of cigars and wants to try the Cubao I had on me.. and was going to comp $30 worth of food and beer if I agreed. I did the simple math and $30 > $6 cigar.. so I agreed, he later came over and we had a nice conversation.

Not exactly what your question was pertaining to.. but I think it shows every establishment can be different. It certainly sounds like the waitress just didn't know WTH she was taking about.
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I've smoked cigars in Denton Hooters on several occasions - odd that they changed their policy.
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I live in CA so I would get that response no matter where I went. :-)
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Thats an amazing excuse. :-)

It always astonishes me that places allow cigarettes and not cigars or pipes, particularly lounges. If you are going to allow something that has been 'proven to be dangerous' not only the people smoking them but also others, why not allow cigars/pipes which are far less 'dangerous' and have a smell that is far less offensive? :-)
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Well, one of my more preferred waitresses there told me that one in particular had an attitude problem, but when the manager could not an answer a yes/no question, that's what made it really ridiculous.
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Did you light them anyway? Also, I would call the store right now and ask if they allow cigars and pipes and see what they say over the phone. :-):-)
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So have I, last Friday a guy walked past my table and told me that I just made him remember that he left his cigars in the truck, so in 10 minutes there were 2 tables smoking cigars with no issues.
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I have never had a problem smoking cigars at Hooters. Hell, we have even had a HERF at the one in Newport, KY back in November.
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Yeah! We can only dream about smoking in a restaurant!
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I can't remember when...
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Same thing here in New York.
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:-):-)
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Ain't happening in Florida bro. Although I must say I usually don't go to Hoots to smoke.:-)
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Can't wait to be in Denton soon. :-) I wouldn't be caught dead in Hooters; but there are plenty of other places to smoke.... :-)
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When I lived in Charlotte, NC. We could smoke at Hooters. The girls tended to frown upon it (even the ones who smoked cigarettes), but it was allowed. If the girls were hot (most of them were not) we would smoke the smaller cigars to be polite.
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no smoking anywhere indoor business here in my province in Canada, so enjoy it while you can :-)
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Blue Monkey, Memphis....85 people in there smoking and the guy comes over to me at the pool tables
and says..."I am not asking you to leave, but if anyone complains, I am going to have to ask you to leave.
We don't allow cigar smoking in here." SO I told him not to worry, he would never see me again. And he hasn't.
But he backpedaled and bowed and scraped about his qualification: no one had yet complained.
I told him I wasn't about to wait it out, I was either welcome in his estab or not...which was it? Like I
was going to stub out a Partagas Lonsdale cabinet sel. for his punk ass.
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Sweetest girl I ever knew was from Denton..Helen Culp. But when I lost
last weekend town priveleges in boot camp, I failed to meet her as planned
and she never spoke to me again. And I could not call her to tell her I was
being disciplined. ROMANTIC TRAGEDY.
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Although not a popular response, they at least made their own decision to not allow cigar smoking and were not forced to by the government. It was a free decision and now they will have to face the consequences. Just like we are still free to make the decision to eat their or not depending on how we feel about it.

Nothing personal, but we always complain about not allowing business owners to make their own choices but we also complain if they do make their own choices and they are not in our favor.

Just a thought...
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