Officials in Daytona Beach have approved a request sent by a local business owner to serve alcohol in his combination restaurant and indoor shooting range, CNN reports. Ron Perkinson, the man who sent the request, currently runs the Volusia Top Gun shop, which he opened a few years ago.
Perkinson tells CNN that the restaurant will be separate from the range, and guns will not be allowed near the café area. The facility will include lockers for patrons to lock up their guns, or will be asked to store them in their vehicle. In addition, the restaurant will scan the drivers licenses of those who order a drink, which will ban them from the range for 24 hours.
”It’ll be very, very highly scrutinized, I’m sure, but we’ll be on top of it,” Said Perkinson in an interview with WFTV. He claims that safety is one of the most important things to him, on account of his 10-year-old daughter. “It’ll be our number one goal to make sure that everyone’s safe.”
Despite Perkinson’s reassurance that the guns and alcohol will be kept separate, many people still have concerns. A recent survey by Study Hall Research found that 43% of diners between the ages of 25 and 34 spend more on drinks at outdoor bars. Many are concerned that the mix of easily accessible alcohol and guns will create a deadly mix.
”It’s not a bar,” Perkinson argues. He stressed that the restaurant will be, “on the scale of an Outback,” and ensures that alcohol sales will not be the focal point of the business.
Perkinson hopes to open the business in later November. The restaurant will have a capacity of about 170 people, and will include a full bar and outdoor deck. Once the construction is complete, the restaurant-indoor shooting range will be the third in the country.