Black customers accuse Houston's Gaslamp bar of discriminatory cover charge; bar says 'no'
Source: Houston Chronicle
Black customers accuse Houston's Gaslamp bar of discriminatory cover charge; bar says 'no'
The bar claims the men were charged to keep a favorable female-to-male ratio inside
By Mike D. Smith and Craig Hlavaty
Updated 5:14 pm, Monday, September 14, 2015
Three black men say a popular Midtown bar charged cover charges only to non-white patrons and turned other minorities away under the guise of "dress code violations" Friday night.
An attorney representing the bar said that bar did not act in a discriminatory manner and always assesses covers for certain parts of the bar and reserves the right to turn away anyone who doesn't meet specific dress requirements.
Brandon Ball, Dan Scarbrough and Ken Piggee all three attorneys said that when they approached the doors of Gaslamp, at the corner of Brazos and Hadley streets, the doormen immediately told them that to enter, they had to pay $20.
Deciding against it, the trio went to a nearby bar and later walked by Gaslamp. "We're looking, and there are white people going in and getting their hands stamped," Ball said. "They were going in and not paying anything."
Read more: http://www.chron.com/entertainment/restaurants-bars/article/Black-customers-accuse-GasLamp-of-disciminatory-6503980.php
MrScorpio
(73,631 posts)And yeah, I just made that phrase up.
TexasProgresive
(12,165 posts)yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)Geeky guy forget it. This has been going on for years. Why do you think many will have the "beautiful" friend go first and hope you can cross the velvet rope. I am not sure this will be a successful case.
7962
(11,841 posts)When I was younger, I always told my friends I would NOT wait in a damn line just to get in a club.
remember the Studio 54 days? That was the normal procedure. Pick & choose
Recursion
(56,582 posts)Nothing new under the Sun, I'm afraid.
http://www.amazon.com/Floating-City-Sociologist-Underground-Economy/dp/1594204160
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)If that's true, it's sexual discrimination. If not, it seems to be racial discrimination.
Either way, a sucky practice by the bar.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)msongs
(67,544 posts)MrBig
(640 posts)For this particular bar, I do think it was racial discrimination - they have a history of it.
I've heard at other bars, they practice racial discrimination in an attempt to get a certain racial mix within the club. In other words - if the bar on that particular night has a lot of PoC, they will "work the doors" to try and bring more white people in, and vice versa. Regardless, the whole thing reeks of racism
Recursion
(56,582 posts)That's why I stick with dive bars. Like, the ones where the "menu" is "<- whiskey beer ->" written in lipstick on the mirror behind the bar.
Reter
(2,188 posts)Many bars charge a cover for men only, and offer cheaper drinks for "ladies night."
Travis_0004
(5,417 posts)Cover for everybody, or cover for nobody. All sexes and races pay the same price.
MrBig
(640 posts)Even before this story went viral, there were repeated accusations of this type against this bar. I remember a short while ago, the same behavior was taking place at a lot of bars in the Washington Avenue area (big bar scene in Houston). A friend of mine was one of the victims who experienced this discrimination back then.
For such a diverse city (and for those of you not familiar with Houston, it is an extremely diverse city), it really saddens me to see this type of behavior still so prominent.
Judi Lynn
(160,755 posts)They are in the wrong business if they can't operate within the law.
christx30
(6,241 posts)for decades. Ladies night, to attract men, who buy them over priced watered down drinks.
One of, like, 150 reasons I don't go out anymore.
Snow Leopard
(348 posts)Me and and my group of whites got charged cover but I noticed none of the blacks were. I actually thought it was kind of funny. Their business, their call. Still had a great evening.
Judi Lynn
(160,755 posts)Snow Leopard
(348 posts)Travis_0004
(5,417 posts)On Tue Sep 15, 2015, 10:25 AM an alert was sent on the following post:
"My group of whites." How did you get them out of their parents' basements? n/t
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=1207505
REASON FOR ALERT
This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.
ALERTER'S COMMENTS
Just change to "group of blacks" and then make your decision whether to hide or leave.
You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Tue Sep 15, 2015, 10:35 AM, and the Jury voted 2-5 to LEAVE IT.
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