LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Local Bar Under Fire |
by Rebecca James |
Since adding karaoke to its weekend bar program last summer, Rehoboth's Purple Parrot Birdcage has been the Friday night hot spot in town for men and women seeking an atmosphere somewhere between the club scene and sports bar mentality. When rumors began circulating after July 4th weekend that the bar no longer wanted to serve the lesbian community, most people were surprised...and angry. In an attempt to settle the gossip and sort fact from fiction, CAMP Rehoboth interviewed owner Hugh Fuller and one of the women who expressed dissatisfaction with their treatment at the bar.
The part-time female resident and her partner tried to enter the Purple Parrot two weeks ago; they were meeting another couple for drinks in the upstairs bar. The hostess at the front entrance to the establishment asked the two women to enter through the back door unless they were dining. They complied and circled the building to the rear entrance. There, the bouncer asked for a five dollar cover. Before they paid, one of the women asked to go upstairs and look for their friends. While she was gone, her partner noticed that the bouncer allowed several men to enter without paying the cover or asking for the bar's "Parrot Pass," a no-cover and meal discount card. The couple's friends had not yet arrived, so they returned to the front entrance to wait. While outside, the two women noticed other men entering through the front door to access the bar, not paying a cover, and not being asked for ID or a pass. They confronted the hostess who brought out owner Hugh Fuller. "I was shocked at what he said," recalls the woman. "I couldn't believe it." Among other things, the woman stated that Fuller admitted the discrepancies in policy because women "tore up his restroom, got into fights, didn't spend as much money, and didn't tip as well as men." The Rehoboth regular was not the first to publically complain about unfair treatment in the bar, but was one of the few women to express her dismay to the owner of the establishment. Rumors had been circulating a week or more prior to this incident. Fuller acknowledges that he said some things he was not proud of and that he handled the women's questioning poorly. He suggested that the idea that women were no longer welcome in his bar actually stemmed from the crowded Memorial Day and July 4th weekends. "I was concerned about the fire codes and overcrowding" by the women entering the bar all at once following the conclusion of another bar's huge "ladies tea" and asked that bar not to suggest that all of their patrons go to any one bar in particular. "We just couldn't handle that amount of people all at once." Fuller thinks that this request may have led women to assume that the Purple Parrot was discouraging women in general. The woman CAMP Rehoboth spoke with was mostly concerned with ensuring fair treatment and equal enforcement of the bar's entrance policies. "It's not the rule [regarding the entrance policies] itself, it's the application of that rule." She was upset by Fuller's angry words, but requested no apology. "I want the Purple Parrot to set an example for other [primarily straight] establishments...I don't want this to harm our community." Fuller has since printed signs to avoid future inconsistencies in his policies and offers an apology to the woman. "I don't want anyone to feel unwelcome heregay, lesbian, straight, whatever." He assured us that his bouncers and hostess will be especially careful to treat male and female customers equally. Another woman that complained about the bar has since spoken with Fuller and wrote via email that "everyone deserves a second chance as long as they are sincere...we made our point and he listened." For now, it is safe to assume that many patrons, female and male, will be sure to hold Fuller to his promise. Rebecca James also writes CAMP's Booked Solid column. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 11, No. 10, July 27, 2001. |