Lace up the gloves, Dan.

Restaurateur Jim Mitchell delivered that message Thursday to Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato.

The owner of Mitchell’s Restaurant, Bar & Banquet Center on Ross Street, a popular Downtown hangout for government workers, wants the politician to turn pugilist.

Still upset about the county’s 10 percent tax on poured alcoholic beverages, Mitchell challenged Onorato to a boxing match next month. They would exchange blows during an amateur event at the Downtown Hilton hotel.

The stakes would be high.

If Mitchell won, he would want the drink tax repealed. If Onorato prevailed, Mitchell said, he could have the countywide smoking ban that a court overturned in May after Mitchell and another restaurant owner filed a lawsuit.

“I figure I smoked him in the first fight; he floored me with the drink tax in the second fight,” Mitchell said. “Now, it’s a winner-take-all, final fight rubber match.”
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