Jeff Ruby thanks Louisville.

By the way, I'm in the CGV airport and just had to listen to this silly situation discussed at length on ESPN.

[Robin Garr]

also, what in God's name does the fact that people have credit card debt fro eating out have to do with any of this? seriously.

Not that I want to see this debate turn hot - let's keep it friendly, folks! - but I did take Madi's hypothetical as a reasonable response to the rhetorical door you opened by pointing out that OJ, a sworn pauper, found a way to enjoy the Derby as a "celeb" and to eat out at a pricey dining room.

okay okay people, i think we can all agree that a business owner has the right to refuse service. this is an obvious fact. and im not disputing that.

the POINT that i am trying to make (and im playing devils advocate here) is the difficulty of drawing the line once you set a moral standard for your customers.

also, what in God's name does the fact that people have credit card debt fro eating out have to do with any of this? seriously.

Not that I want to see this debate turn hot - let's keep it friendly, folks! - but I did take Madi's hypothetical as a reasonable response to the rhetorical door you opened by pointing out that OJ, a sworn pauper, found a way to enjoy the Derby as a "celeb" and to eat out at a pricey dining room.

you did? O.J. owes 30 million to two families because he was found liable for killing them with a sword. In the other scenario people have credit card debt and still eat out. Analogous? Really? I don't see it, but in any event that is not the issue.

I see Madi's point that once you start down the path where do you draw the line, but making moral decisions is something that all of us have to do all of the time. I'm not sure avoiding a moral decision would be enough of a reason for me to serve O.J., and it certainly wasn't a barrier to Jeff Ruby refusing him service.

I'll say it one last time. Just as Anthony Lamas had every right to serve O.J. and not be criticized (I did not criticize him when it came up in a thread), Jeff Ruby has a right to refuse to serve him. That's all I'm saying, and all that I've ever said as an ultimate issue. Whether I really think anyone truly believes O.J. is innocent (cough!) is irrelevant.

[Robin Garr]

I'll say it one last time. Just as Anthony Lamas had every right to serve O.J. and not be criticized (I did not criticize him when it came up in a thread), Jeff Ruby has a right to refuse to serve him. That's all I'm saying, and all that I've ever said as an ultimate issue. Whether I really think anyone truly believes O.J. is innocent (cough!) is irrelevant.

Fair enough ... not much to disagree with there!

I'm mainly just gobsmacked that this whole thing turned into a national news story. Why should anyone give a ####?

Why should anyone give a ####?

good question. probably same reason that Anna Nicole Smith's funeral was nationally televised.

Ruby followed his own sense of morals/ethics on this, I'm sure. And as it is his restaurant, this makes sense.

Of course, we all take a chance when we act on our own sense of ethics -- it could help us or it could hurt us -- but that's not the point, is it?

On the Joe Elliot show tonight on WHAS 840 the topic was the OJ/Jeff Ruby thing. OJ left Ruby's place after being politely asked to leave and dined at Bistro 301 that evening. The owner of Bistro 301 said he would serve anyone who wasn't drunk or being belligerent but did understand Jeff's stance on the matter.

We all have our own moral and ethic code and what Jeff did is ok by me. It's his place and if he wants someone to not patronize his establishment, so be it. If he did it to me, it wouldn't be the 1st time I've been told to not come to a restaurant in town. It would be the 2nd.

More of the ongoing saga of his Juiceness, as reported by the CJ online.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbc ... 1/70509036

The CJ board is quite active about this matter. Take a look at your own risk.

http://forums.courier-journal.com/viewtopic.php?t=50263

I'm amazed at how much attention this is getting. It's even getting discussed on the off-topic portion of a gaming forum I read. And *not* originally posted by the handful of Louisville/New Albany residents that post there.

I'm amazed at how much attention this is getting. It's even getting discussed on the off-topic portion of a gaming forum I read. And *not* originally posted by the handful of Louisville/New Albany residents that post there.

When I originally posted this topic I had no idea it would be so popular and garner so much attention. Ain't America great?

Wow. I just read the posts on the CJ forums. Now I totally understand why Kentuckians are perceived to be non-intelligent rednecks. I'd like to knock most of those people over the head a time or two. However, it does make me appreciate the LHB forumites and the way everyone here handles themselves.

Wow. I just read the posts on the CJ forums. Now I totally understand why Kentuckians are perceived to be non-intelligent rednecks. I'd like to knock most of those people over the head a time or two. However, it does make me appreciate the LHB forumites and the way everyone here handles themselves.

It's almost mindboggling, isn't it? I go there for my daily ration of hilarity.

Whew! I certainly couldn't get thru the entirety of the thread.
But a food related question, Do we think that business at Bistro 301 or Basa will be hurt? Since Basa's new they really don't need bad press. It's hard enough getting a new business successfully launched.

[Robin Garr]

Whew! I certainly couldn't get thru the entirety of the thread.
But a food related questin, Do we think that business at Bistro 301 or Basa will be hurt? Since Basa's new they really don't need bad press. It's hard enough getting a new business successfully launched.

I doubt it. It's sort of like the anti-France flap a few years back. Just about all the people who swore off French wine didn't even drink wine. I don't see a fine-dining clientele as being particularly susceptible to that kind of hysteria.

I ate a lot of freedom fries in Paris last month.