Gun-toting owners at Utah eatery show support for Second Amendment

Tony Siebers, left, Monika Siebers and son Collin Siebers wear kilts and carry guns at Sea Bears Ogden Fish House in Utah. (Sea Bears Facebook page)

When patrons stroll into Utah’s Sea Bears Ogden Fish House they typically have one of two questions, co-owner Tony Siebers said: What’s with the kilt or what’s with the guns?

That’s because the restaurant workers – Tony, his wife and co-owner, Monika, and their four children – wear kilts around their waists and guns on their hips, KSL reported. The symbols are nods to the Scottish fare and the family’s stance as staunch supporters of the right to bear arms.

"We're big supporters of open carry and the Second Amendment," Tony, 46, told FoxNews.com during a busy lunch rush on Monday. "Out here in the West it's a little more common."

Tony said the business hasn't had any issues with customers that may be uncomfortable around guns. And, more often than not, he said the customers are carrying, too.

"People continually come up to the counter and say, 'Hey, I like that you carry and I've got my concealed license and I'm carrying, too,'" he said. "It's all been positive dialogue because we have like-minded people who really support the Second Amendment and support open- or concealed-carry."

The family first decided to bring guns into the business about a year ago to ward off any would-be criminals while the Siebers counted their money after closing or restocked supplies. But while they were waiting for concealed-carry permits to be approved, Monika began openly carrying, according to The Standard-Examiner.

Tony wears either an EAA revolver or SCCY 9-mm. and his 22-year-old twin sons Collin and Chase both favor .357 Magnums. Monika carries a Smith & Wesson M&P 9-mm. in her holster. The couple’s other children, son Austin, 19, and daughter Toli, 14, don’t carry.

Tony told FoxNews.com none of his family has ever had to use their weapon and he's had no problems with customers who carry, either.

"Never ever," he said. "And like I said, it's not those people you worry about. They use it for protection only."

Sea Bears got its distinctive nickname due to the couple's three boys, as "Siebers" turned into the playful "Sea Bears."

“When they were growing up, their friends gave them a nickname,” Tony told KUTV. “They said, ‘Oh, the sea bears are here.’ That’s where the name came from.”

The restaurant opened two years ago in Ogden, a city of about 85,000 people that sits around 10 miles east of the Great Salt Lake. The menu mostly boasts Monika’s creations, but the fish and chips is the eatery’s staple item.

“We’ve been in this location for two years and this location has been really good to us,” Tony told KUTV. “It keeps getting better and better.”