New Zealand bar owner tells couple to go to ‘gay bar’ if they want cocktails

A bar owner told a couple to go to a “gay bar” if they wanted cocktails — a response that has been labelled “verbal assault”.

A New Zealand couple out on a date night have accused a bar owner of “verbal assault” for telling them to go to a “gay bar” if they wanted cocktails.

Glyn Barry and Gordy Watson told Stuff.co.nz they had stopped at the White House restaurant in Wanaka, an hour north of Queenstown, earlier this month for an entree and a cocktail before picking up their daughter.

The restaurant was fully booked but they were offered a spot near the bar. Mr Watson asked owner Peter Scott if there was a cocktail list.

“The guy said, ‘No, we don’t do cocktails. There’s a gay bar down the road’. I said I didn’t know there was a gay bar in Wanaka, so he named it as Lalaland,” Ms Barry told the website. “I don’t want to be moaner but … he’s in the hospitality industry and standing behind a bar, and it didn’t come across in a friendly manner.”

Ms Barry, who is a also a chef, said it was an inappropriate comment “in this day and age”. “We just went out for a nice night. It made it sh*t really. It was a bit of a verbal assault,” she said.

Glyn Barry and Gordy Watson were shocked by a restaurant owner’s response when they tried to order cocktails. Picture: Facebook

White House owner Peter Scott has apologised for causing offence.

Mr Scott told Stuff.co.nz he couldn’t recall the exact comment but it would have been lighthearted. He said they had visited on a particularly busy night, and with only two bar staff, he had no time to make cocktails.

He said the White House was “very gay friendly”. “We don’t put a sign up, but we get a hell of a lot of gay men and women here because they like the extremely relaxed atmosphere,” he told the website. “If I have caused any offence to anyone I would unreservedly totally apologise.”

The story received a mixed reaction from readers, with some agreeing the comment was out of line but many stepping in to defend Mr Scott.

“Reading between the lines, this couple walked into a packed restaurant to then only order an entree and asked to be made time-consuming drinks not on the menu when they could see the staff were under pressure and got a less-than-enthusiastic response,” Nikki Dougherty wrote on Facebook.

“How surprising. Comment was not appropriate but not worthy of a news article I don’t think. The owner of the White House is kinda well known for not pulling his punches, if they live locally I’m sure they would have known that to be honest.”

Fran Panda wrote, “There are ways of politely saying, ‘I’m sorry we are unable to provide cocktails tonight’. I’ve worked in many areas of hospo and it’s often how you go about communicating with the customer. Being polite and reasonable can get you a long way. Discrimination does not.”

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