East Rand restaurant continues to turn away gay couples from date night
The Brakpan restaurant that wouldn’t allow gay couples to attend its “date nights” last year is back in the news after turning away two undercover journalists.
EWN reporters Victor Magwedze and Clement Manyathela posed as a same-sex couple to see what would happen when they tried to walk in to the Lake Restaurant event.
Arriving at the door, they were approached by a man who asked: “No offence please, but are you a same-sex couple?”
When they replied in the affirmative, the man explained that the message sent to those who booked for the event “says that we don’t allow same-sex couples”.
He went on: “It’s not that we discriminate but on our Thursdays we have that it is set that way… Any other day gay people come [but] Thursdays are like that… We only allow a man and a woman at a table.”
The restaurant’s co-owner, Sammi-Jo Amiras, then stepped in and offered to arrange a candle-lit dinner for the “couple” on any other night but was adamant that they were not welcome.
Mambaonline first reported on the restaurant’s discriminatory policy in November after a lesbian woman, Mia Agrela, tried to attend the romantic evening with her partner.
She made a R350 payment as requested, after which she received a notification with further details about the event. In addition to a “No T-shirts or Tekkies” policy it also stated: “No Same Sex Couples.”
Amiras insisted then that she did not believe that she was being discriminatory. “The event is designed for opposite-sex people, a man and a woman, to sit at a table,” she said. Amiras compared the situation to turning away thirty-something people from a senior citizens event. “Am I then discriminating against them,” she asked?
Amiras also threatened to sue Agrela for going public with the mater. “I will not let anybody demean our establishment. And if it means that I need to take Mia to High Court to stop her from continuing that, then that’s exactly what I will do.”
On Monday, Agrela told Mambaonline that she still intended to take the restaurant to court for discrimination. “I have an attorney… and we sent them a letter.” She said that the restaurant had not responded so, “I have now informed my attorneys that we need to go to the next step, which is going to court.”
Agrela added that she was “surprised” and “just so hurt” that the restaurant is continuing to reject same-sex couples.
Under the Equality Act, the denial of service on the basis of sexual orientation (amongst other factors) is illegal. In April 2015, the Equality Court in Cape Town ruled that owners of guesthouses cannot use their religious beliefs to turn away gay customers.
This discrimination is sickening! I vomit on the idea of discriminating based on ANY reason!
If it is not blatant discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation then what exactly is it about? Is a straight COUPLE somehow more a couple than a same sex COUPLE? If it is a couples evening and they turn away singles I could understand. But the people being turned away are purely turned away for the fact that they are not straight. Discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation and age is just disgusting and fueled by ignorance. These people must be stopped somehow!
Rights of Admission Reserved. It was a couples evening when man and a woman shares a table. What the hell is wrong with you people. Businesses have the right to choose who they allow to enter their establishment. If a homeless person without money turns up at a restaurant with money and management send him packing, is that discrimination? Wake up and smell the coffee, everything is not about being homophobic, they had the right to say we don’t allow same sex couples. Get use to the fact not everyone agrees with homosexuality.
Go and read the constitution which protects your rights to be ignorant, apparently. It’s doesn’t work that way. Right if admission “rights” do not negate the constitutional right to equality, in fact they are trumped by it.
Well I could say that tonight Christians are allowed but no Jews – or on Thursdays no blacks are allowed – and sundays only Indian couples – wake up and smell the coffe – just because you are a narrow minded bigot does not mean you can do whatever the hell you like -just because you don’t like it. That is why we have a consitution – to protect us from dem hillbillies dat jus hate dem fags and nigs.
Don’t waste your precious time eating in Brakpan. Went there once and still have heartburn and that was over a year ago. Go north darlings! Oh I see beloved Oscar Bendover has voiced his opinion again…lol he is such a diva! Love you Oscareena.
Indeed , Brakpan of all places – vomit inducing !