Credit: Photo Courtesy of FourSquare

A northeast Ohio bar is under fire for their choice of wall decor and are being pinned for glorifying drunken driving after patrons began complaining about the bar’s collection of OVI license plates, visibly displayed on a wall in Mentor’s Stadium Grill bar.

Fox 8 News ran an article earlier this morning, illustrating the very negative reactions of community members toward the plates, particularly from people who had lost relatives to drunken driving accidents.

Julie Leggett, executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, told Fox 8 that the display has essentially become a wall of honor- an “honor,” perhaps, that others would strive for.

Shari Rymer, the owner of the Stadium Grill and a two time OVI offender hereself, says her decor isn’t meant to promote an environment of irresponsibility. She says she takes drunken driving very seriously and even hosts AA meetings there. The plates are actually meant to encourage patrons not to drink and drive, she says. What’s more, it’s her bar and she can decorate it the way she likes, she said.

What do you think? Do the plates promote an environment of drunken driving even if it’s not Rymer’s intention? Should she take them down? Keep them up? Leave your comments below.

You can sorta make out the bar’s collection of yellow license plates in this photo- they’re back behind the bar:

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  • Photo Courtesy of FourSquare

This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2013.

Alaina Nutile is the Web Editor who oversees all digital content and social media initiatives for Cleveland Scene Magazine and Detroit Metro Times. Before joining the staff in June 2013, she interned at Business Insider in New York City, and at La Hora in Quito, Ecuador. Alaina is a graduate of Kalamazoo College in Michigan, where she double majored in English and Spanish. Her interests include Japanese food, Breaking Bad, and career development advising.

5 replies on “Northeast Ohio Bar Under Fire for Glorifying Drunken Driving by Displaying OVI License Plates”

  1. AA meetings at a bar? Does this not strike anyone else as a bad idea?

    As for the plates, who cares. I can’t imagine that seeing one hanging on the wall is going to make anyone deliberately try to acquire one of these badges of dishonour themselves.

  2. Definitely don’t see how it’s an honor wall? But I can definitely see it being a deterrent against drinking and driving.

  3. I definitley see it as being against drunk driving. Its like a reminder about the consequences when you are at the bar decifin to drive home or not. People just love to get offended and worked up about nothing

  4. Keep them up, just make it a little more obvious why you have them up, maybe a nice witty sign, AA meetings in a bar? Not so much a good idea.

  5. I can buy the “deterrent” argument, but then to immediately jump into “it’s my bar and I can decorate how I want” is a little suspicious to me. I wouldn’t worry too much about it though, this bar doesn’t seem like the busiest of places, at least according to the photo.

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