Lawrence, KS. - The next time you’re downtown snagging some grub after a long night of drinking and/or partying, you might want to keep in mind that late night Massachusetts Street is a much different beast than it’s daytime counterpart. Most people already know this, of course, but what you might not know is that your chances of running into trouble and conflict are much greater when you go to a place that is still serving food after the bars have closed for the night.
“I’d much rather work mornings,” said Ben, a Mass. St. Jimmy John’s employee, who has had much experience working there late at night in the past. “We had two homeless guys get in a fight outside of here recently. We’ll get people that pass out in here. Stuff like that reflects negatively on us in the media, so we don’t hesitate to call the police, who usually get here pretty fast. We definitely don’t take shit from people.”
Clearly, drunken rowdiness is something that the folks at Jimmy John’s have come to expect when working late. However, a block away, the employees at Pita Pit seemed to have a different attitude about the whole experience of dealing with intoxicated customers.
“I don’t mind the drunk people, they just make me tired,” said Nick, a Pita Pit employee who works late nights on a regular basis. “You just have to be cool with them. If you keep a positive, but firm and professional attitude about it, then usually people will calm down. I feel like I can control the situation better if I’m sober and they’re drunk.”
Perhaps there is something to learn from what these two have said as a customer. Obviously, it can be difficult to act appropriately in a non-bar setting after spending a couple hours in one, but when in a potentially dangerous situation as a customer in one of these restaurants, it seems as if keeping a positive but serious attitude could help avoid further conflict.