Conservative smoothie bar charges liberals extra

George Burnett makes self-identifying liberals pay a dollar surcharge, which goes to conservative causes

Published January 15, 2013 10:38PM (EST)

The sign in George Burnett's smoothie bar (screenshot via HuffPost Small Business)
The sign in George Burnett's smoothie bar (screenshot via HuffPost Small Business)

George Burnett, owner of a smoothie and juice bar in Vernal, on the Utah/Colorado border, has an unusual charging policy. Self-identifying liberal patrons of the I Love Drilling smoothie bar are charged $1 extra for drinks, money that Burnett donates to conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation.

"We have a fiscal problem in this country. We've got to deal with it or we don't have a country, so to kind of help make that point, just a little bit, I charge (liberals) just a little bit more," said conservative Burnett. His policy has received a dose of online criticism, but all three open liberals he has encountered in his shop have paid the fee.

"We had a husband and wife come in, he was conservative and she was liberal, and he paid conservative for himself and liberal for her," said Burnett. Vernal, reported local KSL news station, is a community "getting its first glimpse of another oil and gas bust."

 


By Natasha Lennard

Natasha Lennard is an assistant news editor at Salon, covering non-electoral politics, general news and rabble-rousing. Follow her on Twitter @natashalennard, email nlennard@salon.com.

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