Last month, we reported on the “Controversy Over Guns and Coffee” in Loudon County, Va. The local government was resisting allowing the owners of Bullets and Beans gun shop to sell coffee to its customers. It appeared promising that the shop would finally be able to sell caffeinated beverages.
Alas, it was not to be.
After more than two months of meetings, rescheduled votes and anticipation, the Bullets & Beans gun shop in Hamilton is officially prohibited from selling coffee.
The Town Council voted unanimously Monday night to deny shop owner Kevin Jones the special use permit he applied for in August 2017 that would have allowed him to sell coffee in the Retail Sales and Service Commercial District, since town zoning for that district prohibits food sales in buildings adjacent to residences.
Although the council previously announced that it would vote on a trial period that would have allowed Jones to sell coffee for six months while town staff assessed the impact it had on the town, the council voted to end the coffee selling idea altogether.
In a not-so-shocking admission, one of the Councilman who voted against the shop, confesses that the opposition was based on guns not coffee,
Councilman Craig Green said that the pushback wasn’t necessarily because of opposition to a coffee shop, but because of opposition to a gun shop.
That admission is especially onerous and proves the gun-grabbers will resort to any tactic in their fight against legal gun ownership.
The outcome doesn’t surprise me though. I had the opportunity to drive through Loudon County before the recent elections. Based on the content of the the prolific political signs I saw, the area is home to a large population leftists.
Since the residents got their panties in a wad over guns, it’s only fitting that the shop owners will get the last laugh.
Jones and his wife, Tammy, said that they’re now going to work on a plan to sell lingerie in the 108-year-old bank building, which they can do without special approval from the council.
See “Hamilton Council Denies Bullets & Beans Coffee Sales; Owners Opt to Sell Lingerie” for the story.