John Rich is building a brand on Lower Broadway. His bar, the Redneck Riviera is one of the most popular watering holes on the strip, and his new whisky, called Redneck Riviera Whiskey is flying off of the shelves. All of this in spite of his bar being smaller than most and the growing competition from bars like Jason Aldean’s and Miranda Lamberts.
People have gravitated to Rich’s bar because they like what they see and hear. The bar embraces America and patriotism. The inside is dotted with salutes to servicemen and first responders, as well as lots of patriotic imagery. In short, John Rich is in touch with regular Americans.
Regular Americans are finally making their voices heard. After the Bud Light debacle, Rich had to make some choices regarding the product because people simply weren’t buying it. At the CMA Fest, Rich had some interesting comments about Bud Light, Garth Brooks, and woke culture.
Rich said: “I think people finally had enough of woke culture being right in their face like a bullhorn every time they turn around. The last thing any man or woman wants is to have culture slammed right up in their face. They just don’t want that. So they rejected it, rejected it wholeheartedly, and we moved on to other beers.”
Rich is, of course, referring to the fallout for AB and their flagship brand Bud Light. After basically a week of zero Bud Light’s being sold in his bar, he reportedly had to send 118 cases and 8 kegs back to his distributor. Possibly the first time ever a Lower Broadway bar has had to give back beer. It was at that point that Rich simply stopped offering it.
@Garthbrooks just called anyone who boycotts @budlight "assholes". Really?!?! So you insult those who are against a 26 year old man who pretends to be a teenage girl.🤨 #BoycottGarthBrooks Let's see how well your bar does once it opens. @johnrich @KidRockhttps://t.co/i8o6V2jqI2
— 🇺🇲 MAGA – DJT – 17 – BREXIT 🇺🇲 (@tlshaw1997Q) June 9, 2023
Rich has no hard feelings towards the brand, but simply noted: “They made it a political social issue on what beer you drink, and I think that’s a sad statement on our country right now. But, hey, it’s their money. It’s their brand. They can market it however they want to, but Americans have responded in a very strong way.”
Rich also perfectly summed up his new brand of whiskey, and what it means to him: “Redneck Riviera is about God, family, country. We celebrate hard work, we celebrate patriotism. We celebrate what makes our country the greatest country that’s ever existed in the history of the Earth. We’re the only country that ever told its citizens that they had a God given right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Garth Brooks raised eyebrows recently and may face some backlash when his new bar, Friends In Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk opens later this year. Brooks had some nasty words for Bud Light boycotters, and reiterated he will be selling the beer at his place. The question is, how much? Rich isn’t optimistic.
While Rich and Brooks are friends, and Rich has nothing but praise for Garth’s intentions, he also thinks he might be in store for a surprise: “If Garth is serving Bud Light in his bar, that’s fine. Garth can do that. Garth might find out not many people are going to order it. And at the end of the day, you have to put things in your establishment that people are going to purchase if you’re going to run a successful business. So, he might find that out.”
Indeed, Garth Brooks might find out like Bud Light, Target, Kohls, and others have found out. Most Americans just want to listen to music, relax, and throw down a few drinks at the end of a hard work week, rather than have far-left politics thrown in their faces. John Rich knows, will Garth Brooks find out? Time will tell, and so will customers on Lower Broadway.
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