Man Kicked Out of Restaurant Over Gold Teeth, Threatens To Sue

[thelakelander]

I'm not crazy about gold teeth, but let the guy eat at the restuarant for crying out loud.

By Marci Gonzalez
WPTV/NBC News Channel

WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- A man is filing a discrimination suit against a popular West Palm Beach, Florida bar. Shawn Anderson claims it's an issue about race and teeth.

Anderson said he was asked to leave Roxy's on Clematis Street Wednesday night because of his gold teeth. The manager explained Roxy's dress code bans 'grills' -- gold teeth covers.

Anderson feels this rule intentionally targets the black community.

"I think it's discrimination against me because I'm black and a lot of black people have gold teeth now," he explained.

John Webb, the owner of Roxy's, defended the policy.

"It's not discrimination. He just didn't comply with the dress code," Webb said.

Anderson says he plans to file the lawsuit in the coming weeks.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/florida/news-article.aspx?storyid=99402

[second_pancake]

I'm not crazy about gold teeth, but let the guy eat at the restuarant for crying out loud.

I agree with the owner.  The owner didn't make the rules up as he went along, they were known and posted rules.  The man should have complied with the dress code and then there wouldn't have been an issue.  Business owners have the right (or so it's said, anyway) to refuse service to anyone.  Is it always fair?  No, but it's their right.  If you, as a patron, don't appreciate it or 'like' it, you have the right to frequent another establishment and put your money into places whose rules and beliefs you support.

The business owner didn't tell the man he couldn't eat there because of his skin color, he told the man he couldn't eat there because of his attire.  The man clearly has some sense of entitlement to think he's above the rules.  Would you expect to get served if you walked into New York's, Tavern on the Green, wearing swim trunks, flip-flops and a wife-beater tank top?

[thelakelander]

The owner did make the rules and evidently the guy's teeth are permanent and not removable.  This is like me owning a buffet restaurant and saying fat people aren't allowed to eat there.  Or someone telling me I can't dine in their establishment because I have a tatoo.  If I were this guy I wouldn't eat there anymore.....and I'd sue the hell out of them.

[second_pancake]

This is like me owning a buffet restaurant and saying fat people aren't allowed to eat there.

More appropriately, this is like you owning a buffet and saying portions are limited to one plate, one serving of each item.  The owner, again, didn't say he couldn't be there because of his race.  He said, "no gold teeth".

Or someone telling me I can't dine in their establishment because I have a tatoo.

Yes, it's exactly like this, and I defend anyone's right to create these rules.  It's their business.  If they don't want a dining room filled with tattooed people, and/or people with piercings, they have the right to create and enforce those rules.  That's not to say they might do a hell of a lot more business without those rules, just that it's their right...and this if from someone who has tatoos and piercings.

If I were this guy I wouldn't eat there anymore.....and I'd sue the hell out of them.

I agree, if I were him I wouldn't eat there.  Why would I want to support a business that didn't want me there in the first place?  As far as suing, the guy really doesn't have a case...or SHOULDN'T anyway.  It's too bad that his teeth are permanent.  Maybe he could have called the restaurant prior to showing up, explained that he does not have a "grill" but rather, has permanent gold teeth, and they may have made an exception.

[Jason]

Sounds to me like there is much much more to this story.

[second_pancake]

Stephen, you're a business owner.  Are you saying that it would be good business to open an establishment in Ortega, serving authentic French cuisine, having spent thousands of dollars on interior design, training of staff, and then not having a dress code of any kind?  As a consumer, when I want swank, I go to a restaurant that specializes in it.  I don't expect to see people (regardless of race, ethnicity, or sexual preference), in torn sneakers, faded t-shirts, torn jeans, and dirt under their nails, sitting next to me.  I expect to see people that look pretentious and snooty, lol.  Conversely, when I've just rolled out of bed at noon, haven't showered, still have dirt on my feet from gardening the day before, throw on my husband's cargo shorts, a tank-top, expose my unshaven armpits, and go out for lunch; I'm going to go eat someplace where I fit in and there is no dress code.  I'm not going to go out to Avondale and walk into Sterlings and expect to be served.

You should know that when you open a business, you do so with a vision.  You know exactly what kind of place you want it to be, the clientele you'll be catering to, where it will be located,  and you set your prices accordingly.  Anything less would just be a waste of your time and resources.  Obviously, this business owner set his rules according to his vision.  If there are more blacks that come forward, without grills, that say they were turned away, then you may have a point, but until then, I support the business owner.

[midnightblackrx]

I'd be suing the hell out the DENTIST I were him.

[thelakelander]

Roxy's is an irish pub on Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach.  

http://www.roxyspub.com/

We're talking about a London Bridge type establishment here, not Ruth Chris.  They are serving hamburgers, nachos and loaded fries, not filet mignon, not that this should matter anyway.  

My order of potato skins are going to taste the same regardless of whether its a guy with few real gold teeth, a yuppie, a 300lb woman, or a tree hugger eating in the same bar.

I guess the major difference is lumping this as a fashion statement, similar to coming in with no shoes, but to me this is more like banning someone for having glasses instead of contacts, or for missing teeth, in an attempt to "weed" out a certain demographic the restaurant owner personally doesn't like.

[second_pancake]

Roxy's is an irish pub on Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach.

OMG.  I guess he should've worn a Celtics jersey, lol.  Thanks for the info.

My order of potato skins are going to taste the same regardless of whether its a guy with few real gold teeth, a yuppie, a 300lb woman, or a tree hugger eating in the same bar.

True, they might taste the same but your dining experience is going to be a hell of a lot different, don't you think?  If you went into an Italian restaurant and the decor depicted pictures of beer steins and people dancing around a maypole, and the staff all wore liederhosen, wouldn't it be weird?  When you go to Ragland's in 5-points and a family wearing dockers, Cole-haans, and polo shirts walk in, don't you take a second look and think, man, that looks odd?  Ok, so maybe it's the designer in me talking, but I do all those things.  Yes, it's weird that this restaurant is so casual and yet has this dress code, but again, I don't blame the guy for enforcing his rules. 

Have you guys been up to Amelia Island lately?  The Palace has a very strict dress code now.  They won't allow any men wearing tank-tops to enter.  Interesting, considering tourism is the island's primary source of income and this is FL where it's not uncommon to see guys walking around public streets with no shirt at all, and the Palace is a bar that no longer serves food.  But, I know the manager personally and they've had some problems with specific people (non-race related) who are causing them to lose business.  So, while the decisions are obviously made in an attempt to control the clientele, why does it have to be "race related?"

[thelakelander]

OMG.  I guess he should've worn a Celtics jersey, lol.  Thanks for the info.

Yeah, maybe they would called him a "boy" and told him to go out back and order instead of completely throwing him out, lol.

True, they might taste the same but your dining experience is going to be a hell of a lot different, don't you think?

No.  As long as everyone sticks to their business, which is eating food, then my experience will be the same.  If someone is getting loud or making a scene, then that's a different story.

Yes, it's weird that this restaurant is so casual and yet has this dress code, but again, I don't blame the guy for enforcing his rules.

I don't equate having gold teeth or braces in your mouth the same as wearing a wife beater or no shirt at all.  They're apples and oranges to me.

So, while the decisions are obviously made in an attempt to control the clientele, why does it have to be "race related?"

Its probably has more to go with blantant ignorance of lifestyles outside of his, more than it has to do with race.  However, race gets thrown into it because someone having gold teeth is more likely to be of African American descent.

[second_pancake]

Im sorry, Pancake, but these things rarely cross my mind.

But, they DO cross your mind on occasion   I guarantee you if I walked into the establishment formerly knows as, Boomtown (no disrespect, just really don't know the current name), you'd do a doubletake

[second_pancake]

Yeah, maybe they would called him a "boy" and told him to go out back and order instead of completely throwing him out, lol.

I can't believe you're so anti-Irish!  For shame.

[second_pancake]

Incidentally, last time I was in Paris, dining on authentic French Cuisine, almost all the nicer establishments were playing american Hip Hop.

What the heck does music have to do with dress code???  I'm confused, but the French restaurant you went to in France, liked the music and they chose to play it because it depicts the type of atmosphere they're trying to acheive.  I guess I don't understand what point you're driving.

[second_pancake]

and yeah, as a business owner, we do have dress codes.

What are YOUR dress codes?

[second_pancake]

Meaning that whatever may pass for sophisticated in ortega isnt necessarily a universally shared concept.

I for one, try not to eat in the racist restaurants in the city.

Precisely.  So, why is everyone so quick to judge the owner by saying he's a racist when it may very well just be his idea of sophistication (or in this case, Irish Pub), which has less to do with gold teeth and more to do with general preference of what the owner wants/does not want to see while he's there.

shirts with sleeves, and shoes, general state of cleanliness.

It lets even our ortegan diners join us.

But, sadly, does not allow ME to be there because I very rarely have sleeves on any of my shirts   Everyone has their own definitiion of "cleanliness" so there is no generalization about it.  My brother-in-law thinks clean is when he runs a comb through his unwashed, greasy hair.  Many East Indians don't use deodorants, and many women don't subscribe to a shaving regimne.  So, who's to say that given the situation, you turning away someone for not being "clean" could be misconstrued as racist, sexist, or anti-hippy?