Hit the nail on the head. Like I said, it’s fine that he has a differing opinion, and expressing the opinion about not requiring vax cards doesn’t make him an asshole. It’s his [literal] shit talking of another much longer standing, much more beloved local business that makes him the asshole. And no offense to some commenters here, but if you truly don’t see that - might say something about you, too. 
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Seems like a smart simple marketing angle. Not a big deal and the PR guys probably couldn’t care less. Seems odd to make a stink about it. Affects no one, other than people who get triggered politically somehow.
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Incorrect. It quite literally can and did cause more troll-ish IG users to flood the PR’s own posts with their politically triggered ranting. Again, the Cardinal guy could’ve expressed his exact same opinion about not requiring vax or masks completely without involving another local business. THAT is what made him an asshole.
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You’re probably right and I agree. His spots have always been regular stops for me. I fell in love with Raleigh when every bar was divey and no frills. Now everything is so trendy and I’m getting older, so when I’m looking to grab a beer with friends its usually at a Cardinal or Person St. Just feels more authentic to me.
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The only mention of Player’s Retreat in the post was in the screenshot of the N&O article. Cardinal could have blurred out the name of the pub in the image which would have been less personal, but the post can easily be taken as a dig at the policy, not the establishment. The post about Trophy was an obvious dig on the establishment, and their employment policy. The comments of course got nasty, which happens on every comment thread including this one from time to time, but the post itself was hardly “shit talking”
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He knowingly painted other local businesses in a negative light when he could have made the exact same point without name-dropping. He has a fanbase that now feels like they have to pick sides on something they previously might not have felt they needed to pick sides on. What else would you call that?
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I guess it’s the free market at work, if you want to look at it that way. As a parent of a kid too young to be vaccinated, I know which place I’d prefer to support at this time.
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Ayeeee! I can’t read the article but I’m SO excited for this one. I hadn’t realized they’d closed at the beginning of the pandemic (without reopening). Tried to go there recently and my heart was crushed. Thought it was permanent.
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Sounds like great concepts and he won me over with the a prince poster.
Hi Colby,
I would call it free speech. I also rebut that it wouldn’t be the “exact same point” if vax passports weren’t specifically locally relevant. Cardinal could have kept it anonymous and said “SMH, a local establishment is requiring proof of vax”, but that doesn’t carry the same saliency.
Distasteful? Yes; but it raises an important point for many, many people.
It would be different if vaxed people weren’t unknowingly contracting and spreading the virus. If it were only the unvaxed testing positive, this wouldn’t be a relevant debate. The statistics would speak for themselves.
I trust my direct experience more than any media or pharma corporation. Last week I hosted 14 friends for a Xmas gift exchange. 1 brought COVID unknowingly, which resulted in 6 additional cases, all of which were breakthrough and some of which had received their 3rd dose. I did not contract it despite the most prolonged exposure and no vaccination, due to acquired natural immunity. I have several other similar examples.
Although I don’t totally agree with the brashness of the communication, I support their right to point out these issues that do affect many Raleighites. It may not be a struggle to be unvaxed here in Raleigh, but it certainly is in NYC, SF, and other cities. These policies have been implemented very quickly, and it understandably raises red flags in many people’s minds.
I know this causes a lot of eye rolling, and that doesn’t bother me. In my view, it’s worth the discussion.
I appreciate the opportunity to have this type of open discussion about such a push-button topic. May all Raleigh businesses and citizens prosper in 2022.
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This is going to be my last comment on this subject before I upset the powers that be (sorry, Leo).
I think this is where people get confused about free speech.
The First Amendment protects you from legal repercussions, but it does not protect you from social repercussions (so long as those repercussions are within the bounds of the law). In other words, it is his legal right to be a jerk to another small business, and it is my legal right to call him a jerk for doing so.
To put it another way, if I were to hop on this site one day and start replying to every single comment with “well I think you’re a cotton-headed ninny muggins,” I’m legally allowed to do so. But that’s not how we roll here, so Leo is within his rights to boot me off the site for being a jerk (albeit, a very odd one). I would like to think that trashing other well-meaning local establishments is not how we roll here in Raleigh, and therefore, yes, I think Jason was being a jerk.
Don’t make this about the vaccinations. I don’t personally feel strongly one way or another about whether or not a small business requires you to be vaccinated to enter the premises. Each business has the right to make their own decisions in that regard. But, if you’re going to be rude about that decision, expect other people to call you rude. It’s their right to do so.
No hard feelings man. Hope you have a good new year!
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Trigger warning:
One restaurant makes a public stand which included interviews with the owner from local news agencies.
Another bar posted a picture of the article and said they would be going in another direction.
Gets called an asshole. 2021 in a nutshell. I can’t wait for 2022!!!
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yall are really getting wound up about this. even unvaxxed can still sit outside at PR right? like theres like zero victims in all of this. (well, maybe the unvaxxed in general but thats a whole different thing.)
It’d be nice to just let this convo die. Would it be considered a covid 19 death?
Anyways I’m excited about Mitchs Tavern and wonder if they’ll do anything with the balcony. The tavern is such a unique atmosphere. Hope they don’t clean it up too much and lose that old, musty vibe completely. Does this area of Hillsborough have parking improvement plans? Usually cumbersome to navigate and find parking on weekend evenings.
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I promise this is the last time I do this. I promise. The last. 
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This topic was automatically opened after 39 hours.
Not sure what was in the Bizjournal story because I can’t open it, but I read yesterday that Mitch’s is going to be run by the folks at MoJoe’s. By the looks of MoJoe’s, they don’t seem to be the sort of outfit that will spruce up the place and kill its vibe.
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This is good news. The “all servers serve all” model results in fantastic service. I think they do very well in tips because the service is good and the place is well run. Many of the servers have been around a long time. One of my go tos.
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Saw this on another thread, but looks like it wasn’t covered here. Bloc83 is adding a few retail tenants: First Watch, Yoga Six and 321 Coffee. FW will be a welcome addition to the neighborhood.
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Apologies if someone already posted this somewhere, but I was thrilled to see that J. Betski’s is planning to reopen this year (same theme/cuisine) at 1916 Bernard St. This is unfortunately out of DT, off of E. Whitaker Mill Rd., but is not too far away. I loved this restaurant and am excited to see them reopen.
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