Rum Runners has the unique distinction of being the only bar I have boycotted in the Greater Lansing area.
The bar itself is a two-level place, with the street level bar being a Top 40 dance club with a Pacific Island theme going on and the 2nd level being a dueling piano bar. Both floors are pretty much off the scale on the Meat Market meter, which makes the whole place annoying enough on its own. What really makes the place unbearable are the staff, particularly the bouncers.
I do not envy the thankless job of the bouncer. I have an appreciation for the difficulty and liability of their job. I have met many bouncers in many different bars and have very infrequently had disagreements with any of them. Rum Runners is the exception. Allow me to share a quick anecdote to illustrate my point.
One particular summer evening, we had just finished watching a baseball game at the stadium next door to the bar. There are about 8 of us in the party and we take a table on the nearly empty upper floor. Around the second or third round in, a bouncer approaches this humble author and advises him that his baseball cap is slightly askew. This is apparently in violation of some unwritten dress code rule and consequences for violation are to be bounced from the premises. I correct my hat’s orientation, but am again accosted by bouncer no more than 20min later and given my “final warning” about my hat. I’m assuming this is some sort of gang dress thing that they’re trying to prevent, but allow me to give them a bit of a tip: the pasty white Irishman dressed in a polo shirt and khaki shorts is probably not going to start shooting up the place. Nonetheless, I correct my hat again while verbally verifying that it looked acceptable with the man. Wouldn’t you know it, 20 minutes later my friend is receiving a warning on my behalf that I am about to be kicked out because of my hat shenanigans. At this point, I simply just removed the hat and exposed the bar to my infinitely more offensive hat hair.
Myself and other acquaintances have run into similar issues with the staff at Rum Runners. Combine this with paying a cover charge and fairly expensive drinks and you’ve got a boycott. Perhaps one day I’ll give Rum Runners another chance, but I simply see no reason to spend my money or my time there.
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