HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE PRIVATE CLUB THING TO VISITORS

HAD MY BROTHER-IN-LAW IN FROM OUT OF STATE FOR THE FOURTH WEEKEND AND WE TOOK HIM TO DINNER NEAR THE LAKE. HE ORDERS A BEER AND THE SERVER ASKS IF HE HAS A MEMBERSHIP. HE LOOKS AT ME LIKE SHE'S TRYING TO SELL HIM A TIMESHARE. I STARTED TO EXPLAIN THE WHOLE DRY COUNTY THING AND SHE JUST SMILED, TOOK A FEW DOLLARS, FILLED OUT A CARD AND HAD HIS BEER OUT BEFORE I FINISHED TALKING. NO BIG DEAL AT ALL, SHE'S CLEARLY DONE IT A HUNDRED TIMES THIS SUMMER.

HE KEPT SAYING 'WAIT SO IT'S A CLUB' AND I HONESTLY HAD TO ADMIT I'M NOT SURE I COULD EXPLAIN THE RULES PERFECTLY EITHER. I JUST KNOW THAT CLEBURNE COUNTY IS DRY SO RESTAURANTS DO IT THROUGH THE PRIVATE CLUB AND IT'S USUALLY A FEW BUCKS AT THE DOOR OR THE TABLE.

FOR THE NEWER FOLKS AND ANYBODY WHO HAS HAD VISITORS... HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN IT? DOES THE MEMBERSHIP CARRY OVER PLACE TO PLACE OR DO YOU PAY AGAIN AT EACH ONE? AND ANYBODY GOT A GOOD STORY OF A CONFUSED TOURIST AND A SERVER WHO JUST HANDLED IT. I FEEL LIKE THOSE SERVERS DESERVE A MEDAL IN JULY.

each place is its own club so yeah you pay again at each one. some of them keep you on file for a year tho so ask. i just tell visitors its a dry county thing and pay the few bucks 🍺 servers around the lake work hard in july, half of them are working two jobs

Harrisa's right about asking if they keep you on file. A couple of places around the lake just look me up by name now, and I haven't paid the membership in a while. Other places want the few dollars every single visit, so I never assume.

The way I explain it to visitors is that the county is dry, so the restaurant sets itself up as a private club and you become a member for the evening. I tell them it's not a cover charge and not a scam, just how the drink gets to the table. Once they hear it's a couple of bucks, they relax.

My nephew came down from Missouri a few summers back and thought the server was upselling him on something. She said, "Honey, it's just so I can bring you that beer." He paid, laughed, and tipped her about double. I think about that whenever I see how hard those girls work in July with the lake full. Tip them well.

ha the timeshare look is real. my cousin from Little Rock asked me if he needed to "register" lol. server just said its a club hun, 3 bucks, and he was fine. honestly the servers are the ones doing the explaining all summer so thats why they deserve the medal. also theres a few places around Heber and the lake still hiring for july and august if anybody knows someone lookng for work 🍺

The servers doing the explaining is so true. We had a travel ball tournament weekend a couple summers ago and half the other team's parents were from out of state, and every one of them had the same "wait, a club?" face at dinner. The server at our table just did her little speech, took the money, and moved on like she'd said it forty times that day. She probably had.

One thing I'd love to see is the places just putting a line on the menu or a little sign by the host stand, something like "private club membership $X, ask your server." Doesn't have to be fancy. It'd save the servers a few rounds of the speech and visitors wouldn't feel ambushed. Same goes for any new spots that open up, I always wonder if they've got it figured out yet or if it's the first thing that confuses people.

Also good call on the hiring, harrisa. Bussing and hosting are decent first jobs for older high schoolers around here, if anybody's got a kid looking for something before school starts back up.

"you become a member for the evening" is the best way I've heard it put, Barbara, I'm stealing that. Not a cover charge, not a scam, just how the beer gets to the table. Most people relax once they hear it's a couple bucks.

I get the confused-visitor thing a lot because I drag out-of-town friends to live music spots around the lake, and it's always the same sequence. They order a drink, hear "do you have a membership," look at me, and then the "wait, a club?" starts. I've gotten to where I tell them in the truck on the way there, because it goes way smoother. Same with the guys who come in off the Little Red after a day of trout fishing. Half of them have never run into a dry county and they're just thirsty.

Agree on the tipping too. The servers get put in the awkward spot of explaining state law and carrying six plates in July. Doubling the tip for a good explanation is fair, honestly.

TELLING THEM IN THE TRUCK IS SMART, I'M DOING THAT NEXT TIME. WOULD'VE SAVED MY BROTHER-IN-LAW THE TIMESHARE FLASHBACK. THE TROUT GUYS OFF THE LITTLE RED MAKE ME LAUGH, THEY SHOW UP SUNBURNED AND THIRSTY AND GET TOLD "DO YOU HAVE A MEMBERSHIP" BEFORE THEY'VE EVEN SAT DOWN.

ZACHARY'S SIGN AT THE HOST STAND IDEA IS A GOOD ONE TOO. EVEN A LITTLE LINE ON THE MENU, "PRIVATE CLUB, $3, JUST ASK" AND DONE. THE SERVERS WOULDN'T HAVE TO GIVE THE SPEECH FORTY TIMES A SHIFT.

ALSO THANKS EVERYBODY FOR ANSWERING THE CARRY-OVER QUESTION. EACH PLACE IS ITS OWN CLUB AND ASK IF THEY KEEP YOU ON FILE, GOT IT. I'VE BEEN PAYING AT THE SAME SPOT ALL SUMMER AND NEVER ASKED, SO I'M GONNA FEEL DUMB NEXT TIME I GO.

Don't feel dumb, Caleb. I paid at the same spot for most of a summer before somebody at the next table mentioned they keep you on file. Just ask next time, worst case she says "nope, three bucks" and you're out what you were already paying.

Zachary's sign idea is right too. A couple places I go do have it on the menu, but it's in tiny print down by the kids' meals where nobody looks, so it might as well not be there. Big and obvious at the host stand would be better. Honestly for the places that run live music it'd help even more, since half the crowd on a Friday night is people who drove in from somewhere else and walked straight to the bar.

Still telling friends in the truck, by the way. Saves the "wait, a club?" conversation every time. Hope the brother-in-law makes it back down before the lake clears out.