Closing Time At Microsoft's Campus Pub 393
theodp writes "Just three days before the Spitfire pub was to open on Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division campus, TechFlash reports that Microsoft got cold feet and pulled the plug on the project, leaving the bar's owner and his 22 employees in the lurch. 'I am completely stunned and disappointed by the decision,' said now lease-less owner Jonathan Sposato, who's stuck with space built out as a pub, complete with a giant bar, a fireplace, and eight beer taps. (He says it wouldn't be economically viable to refit it as a restaurant.) Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos confirmed the company's sudden change of heart: 'The goal was always to create a cool gathering place for employees, but to do so in a manner that's consistent with a business environment. We decided we should do something more appropriate, and that meant not having a pub.' The new pub had been in development for more than a year."
Re:Sad reality (Score:5, Informative)
Uh. Well, that might be true, but I don't think so. I have lived in Redmond all my life - all 20 years, and I have only met one Mormon - and he wasn't that religious either.
Tyranny of the Minority over the Majority (Score:5, Informative)
Thanks, Mormons.
No, not really.
Not flamebait either - local Mormon leaders have been quite vigorously, though quietly, campaigning against the pub, and, apparantly, successfully. Assholes.
Which Washington do you live in? (Score:4, Informative)
Wait, what are you smoking? There aren't that many Mormons in the Seattle or east side area on the whole, and nobody cares what they think about drinking. When I worked at MS, the Muslims had a more visible presence (they had a prayer room), and nobody cared about offending them when the Friday beer parties rolled around.
but in a silently ultra-religious state like WA
Again, Huh? For the most part, Washington pretty liberal in religious terms, but the few religious conservatives we have are not silent. Just ask MS about their good friend Rev Hutcherson and his famous anti-gay MS boycots.
I find it rather hard to believe that MS would cave to any religious group after the local PR fiasco that resulted in the whole Hutcherson affair.
Re:Sad reality (Score:3, Informative)
I don't think they are thinking of Mormons or religious tolerance or anything. Many Islamic employees are present too and many of them don't do the alcohol thing either because of religion.
But MS is attempting to get bail out money for a bridge connecting two campuses across a busy highway separating the them. I'm betting this pub looked too much like posh benefits like resort business meetings or GM jumping on private jets to go to Washington and ask for money and so on that MS decided to can the idea for fear of backlash if they got the bail out money.
I also think your fear of the "religious" might be a bit unhealthy. MS, or the pub owner would have had to of gotten a liquor permit [wa.gov] to sell the beer/alcohol. If the religious underground was going to stop them, it would have been at that time, not in some covert operation 3 days before the opening that only you and your mental might could recognize and expose. Seriously, think about that. They are not out to get you. And if they were, you would know it long before you spent the time and resources necessary to open in 3 days. The story would have also been about some church forcing MS to drop the bar instead of about MS dropping it.
Re:Bars are a business and a meeting place (Score:5, Informative)
Saying the UK is not part of Europe is like saying Hawaii is not part of the US.
Not true, politically speaking. The USA is a federal republic. The European Union is a free trade agreement between supposedly sovereign nations in the process of surreptitiously morphing into a federal republic in the hope that nobody will notice. In the EU, you don't use the 'f' word unless you want a political scandal.
For added spice, several of the member countries are ex-colonial superpowers who, historically (at least since the end of the Roman Empire), have had closer ties with Asia, Africa and the New World than their European neighbors.
Not that the states of the USA are particularly homogenous, but if and when the United States of Europe emerges it will be a very different animal.
Re:From a "good" mormon -- (Score:2, Informative)
For those who don't know much about the 'bridge'.. The city of Redmond applied for stimulus funds, not microsoft. They did not consult microosft before doing so. And well, it's their job to apply for such funds so no big deal. The overpass connects two public roads to ease a clusterfuck of traffic around MS. It's not private and won't belong to MS. MS is already contributing money to co-fund its construction.
Re:Last Post (Score:2, Informative)
They could always turn it into a coffee or juice bar. I don't buy the line about it not being financially viable.
Even by Slashdot standards, that's an unbelievably stupid comment. Even if there was ZERO cost to conversion, even if the guy would actually MAKE money out of the conversion process, an alternate business could still be non-viable. It depends on expected sales levels, profits per item, etc. in selling a different product. You can't just swap a pub with a juice bar or an Italian restaurant for a McDonald's or a theatre for an ice rink and expect the only effect on business to be the conversion costs. People who aren't complete imbeciles research the market and actually create a business based on what they find; the fact that you hope for success with one product doesn't mean you can just plug in any alternative at the drop of a hat.
Re:Sad reality (Score:4, Informative)
Um, it actually is true. I grew up LDS, although not active now. Someone who grew up LDS can see the little signs of Mormonism - CTR rings, Families are Forever stickers, the outline of the special garments that Mormons wear underneith steet cloths, etc. The fantastic health benefits for the entire family are a huge incentive for folks with large families. I work at MS, and know a large number of people who are LDS.
Re:Last Post (Score:3, Informative)
Due to Washington State's somewhat draconian Liquor Control Board, all bars have kitchens here. You can't get a license to serve alcohol in Washington State unless you also serve "full meals" which are prepared on the premises.
Some local bars are in trouble [thestranger.com] for skirting the rules by serving overpriced TV dinners that no one orders; most simply have a small grill and deep fryer to make burgers and jalapeño poppers. A few even just serve microwaved chicken wings, which probably wouldn't be enough if the L.C.B. wanted to challenge their liquor permits.
So the big deal wouldn't be adding a kitchen, the big deal would be removing the bar/taps, and the associated renovation of the dining area. As well as a near-total change of staffing.