Pump Bar

[barrettd]

I don't really see how these patrons are being 'lazy.' If I'm reading this correct, the lot is directly across the street from Pump Bar and certainly more convenient than the large parking space behind Pump Bar. It's a commercial parking lot with apparently no signage and gives the impression of being a place of public accommodation. I'd certainly see where patrons would think it's parking for all the business in the area. A quick glance at Google Street View seems to support my initial impression (at least from my point of view).

I can see a lot owner having the right (and desire) to restrict parking on their property, but common sense would tell them if they don't put up a sign then they are going to have this problem.

That's exactly where I parked on my only trip to Pump Bar. I made sure to look for signs warning against parking there but found none. That really sucks if the owner of the lot is just towing cars without any warning. I assumed it was a parking lot shared by the businesses in the area since there was no signage indicating otherwise.

[Pete]

Towing is one of the biggest scams around.

The tow companies approach a lot owner, offer to put up a few signs then split the ample proceeds on their victims.

[Pete]

Towing is one of the biggest scams around.

The tow companies approach a lot owner, offer to put up a few signs then split the ample proceeds from their victims.

[LakeEffect]

Towing is one of the biggest scams around.

The tow companies approach a lot owner, offer to put up a few signs then split the ample proceeds from their victims.

Yep. In Wichita Falls, TX, the primary towing company and the primary taxi company in town were owned by the same ownership group... get towed, need a taxi? Double-whammy profit...

[BBatesokc]

Towing is one of the biggest scams around.

The tow companies approach a lot owner, offer to put up a few signs then split the ample proceeds from their victims.

That said.... disrespectful vehicle owners can be a huge annoyance to property owners - and bar patrons can be some of the worst.... fights, broken bottles, trash, public urination, vehicles left overnight, etc.

A friend of mine owns a building downtown and literally every day they have to have vehicles towed from their lot. All but three spaces are reserved and people going to court park there (to avoid paying to park) and don't even bother to notice the (albeit small) signs posted that tell them they will be towed. I feel bad for some of them because its obvious they don't have any money to get they vehicle out of impound. But, they had no reason to believe it was a 'public' lot. They simply felt they'd blend in with all the other cars.

As for getting a cut from the tow company. I guess it happens, but I know this property owner and another property owner I know in Bricktown don't get a dime from the tow company's and have never asked or been solicited.

[PhiAlpha]

Looks like The Pump is at the center of a pretty stupid controversy brought on by ABLE and the OKCPD regarding the legality of bacon infused vodka they use in bloody marys. I could say a lot more about how stupid and infuriating this is, but I'll just leave it alone for now. Just when you thought our laws were improving...

Your tax dollars at work:

http://kgou.org/post/arrest-over-bac...hol-commission

[Anonymous.]

How is that not an Onion article?

[Bullbear]

and from the story I heard.. it was such a setup.. sitting and visiting with the manager bartender about the bloody mary being inquisitive.. then asking if they infuse in house and of course he says yes.. and BAM.. that's the story I heard anyways.. but either way its beyond ridiculous. I know many bars in town who infuse for bloody marys.

[PhiAlpha]

and from the story I heard.. it was such a setup.. sitting and visiting with the manager bartender about the bloody mary being inquisitive.. then asking if they infuse in house and of course he says yes.. and BAM.. that's the story I heard anyways.. but either way its beyond ridiculous. I know many bars in town who infuse for bloody marys.

The Oklahoman and other news outlets need to report on this...there needs to be a major uproar.

[LocoAko]

This might actually be the dumbest thing I've ever heard of being arrested for. Really. The article wasn't even clear... what exactly is the purported issue with the infused liquor?

[Bullbear]

This is what I saw on it.. seems stupid still.. they aren't manufacturing alcohol just adding flavor.

37-505. Manufacture, sale, possession, shipment, etc. prohibited except as provided in
act—Exceptions
A. No person shall manufacture, rectify, sell, possess, store, import into or export from
this state, transport, or deliver any alcoholic beverage except as specifically provided in the
Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Control Act

32. “Rectifier” means any person who rectifies, purifies, or refines spirits or wines by
any process (other than by original and continuous distillation, or original and continuous
processing, from mash, wort, wash, or other substance, through continuous closed vessels
and pipes, until the production thereof is complete), and any person who, without rectifying,
purifying, or refining spirits, shall by mixing (except for immediate consumption on the
premises where mixed) such spirits, wine, or other liquor with any material, manufactures
any spurious, imitation, or compound liquors for sale, under the name of whiskey, brandy,
rum, gin, wine, spirits, cordials, or any other name;

[MagzOK]

Yet another old school law that needs to be updated with the times.

[zefferoni]

Someone on Reddit summed up the spirit of the law pretty well, though it's ridiculous how it's being applied in this case:

As far as I know, and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, it's considered "changing the cask" which is an old but reasonable law given the times. From my understanding it's some laws from after prohibition that protect the consumer from consuming mislabeled product, whether that be someone watering down liquor, taking a bunch of leftover liquor mixing it all together and calling it something else, or taking some bourbon and throwing in a bunch of moonshine to stretch it out. These all involve taking the liquor out of the original cask it was sold in and putting it in something new or adding something to the cask. If I'm at work and I pour a shot and all of a sudden "oh **** I just poured the wrong liquor " it is illegal for me to pour that shot back into the bottle. Same goes for infusing, when I'm infusing vodkas at my bar (almost every bar does it now and it's bull**** grizz got popped for it ) I pour my liquor into a bucket, add bacon, jalepenos, whatever. Let it infuse one or two days and pour it into a new bottle. What happened at the pump, and this is just hearsay, is some neighbor was tired of them being so loud, got a cop buddy to talk to vice and busted grizz on some old bull**** law just to make a statement.

[jerrywall]

This happened a few months back. My little sis is the brunch manager there, and she is H O T over this. She also feels crappy about it since it was only used for brunch but it was another manager who was arrested, when the bottle wasn't being used, and was locked up.

I figure they targeted the pump because of their success.

[OKCinsomniac]

The manager was in jail for three days for this? This is a jailable offense? Yet another example that our criminal justice system in OK county needs reform.

[PhiAlpha]

This happened a few months back. My little sis is the brunch manager there, and she is H O T over this. She also feels crappy about it since it was only used for brunch but it was another manager who was arrested, when the bottle wasn't being used, and was locked up.

I figure they targeted the pump because of their success.

I have a feeling that neighbor complaints might have had something to do with it...

[HangryHippo]

i have a feeling that neighbor complaints might have had something to do with it...

nvm

[Pete]

Someone on Reddit summed up the spirit of the law pretty well, though it's ridiculous how it's being applied in this case:

Except we're talking about a mixed drink that has other ingredients added and they could easily dilute the contents as desired.

I could see how it applies to packaged products but not anything this is sold as part of a drink / dish.

[kevinpate]

It takes three days to bond out of county?
WTH?!?!

I can see that if someone has a hold elsewhere, or one has no friends or family, or someone gets snatched up at a DUI checkpoint when all the fam and buds are off to a lake, but daaaang, 3 days is a long time.

[jerrywall]

Except we're talking about a mixed drink that has other ingredients added and they could easily dilute the contents as desired.

It depends if they were modifying it in the original bottle or using a jar or something for the infusion. If it was legal to modify or dilute in the original bottle, then someone could use moonshine to stretch out whiskey (a common practice once upon a time and probably the basis for this law.) Now, an officer with an understanding of nuance and discretion would realize easily they're not doing this to rip people off or fool folks. To me they at most violated the letter of the law, not the spirit of the law.

Hopefully ABLE fixes this soon.

[Roger S]

Maybe instead of calling it bacon infused vodka... call it vodka infused bacon.... I'm not aware of ABLE having any authority over bacon.

[d-usa]

It takes three days to bond out of county?
WTH?!?!

I can see that if someone has a hold elsewhere, or one has no friends or family, or someone gets snatched up at a DUI checkpoint when all the fam and buds are off to a lake, but daaaang, 3 days is a long time.

What day did he get arrested? I wonder if this was a "arrested on Friday, didn't see a judge to get bond until Monday" kind of situation.

[IanMcDermid]

Arrested Tuesday night, released Friday afternoon. I've tried to keep as quiet as possible from fear of retaliation from the OKCPD. But a vice officer viewed putting strips of bacon into an otherwise full, unopened, and sealed bottle of vodka as a refil. Which, in our interpretation of the law meant watering down booze or pouring cheap stuff into a top shelf label. We merely altered the flavor. But the OKCPD is relying on the word "substance" in the 1980-something language for a refil. That's not in the spirit of the law. Furthermore. My manager was arrested, and myself brought on charges of city code 30-97 "keeping a disorderly house" which falls over brothels, pimping, drug manufacturing, bootlegging, and gambling. Punishable by up to 6 months in jail. So of course I took it to ABLE, which has no language about infusion or how it's supposed to be conducted. But I guess the "lets throw God knows what I to a giant vat with who knows what else" is the status quo and no one in the state has ever been brought on criminal charges until now. Just to clarify this was the OKCPD and not able that had a problem with this method. What vice is doing conducting able raids and interpreting state constitutional law: I don't know.

[pickles]

This pisses me off.

[Uptowner]

^^^ this