Cecilia D.
Google
I came here based on strong recommendations from queer BIPOC friends. My partner and I are also queer and BIPOC, and we came around 1am hoping to relax and enjoy a good drink.
At first, everything was fine. We ordered drinks and were chatting with our friends whom we cane with, a few minutes later someone connected to the owner came and started talking to us. There was a white man sitting nearby who was clearly beyond his limit stumbling, slurring, and visibly intoxicated.
At one point, he got up to use the restroom and as he returned from the restroom, he attempted to shake hands with one of our friends (who is masc-presenting). My friend declined, which should not have been an issue. The man appeared offended and returned to his seat.
Shortly after, while a conversation was happening with the owners friend being from the South, this man overheard and began interjecting. The bartender a white woman attempted to lightly correct the white man in a baby tone. The white man then loudly spoke to the point where he was spitting stated he was “from South, I’m from south Tacoma,” leaned towards our group and said the N-word with the er multiple times.
My partner is Black. Our friend wife is also Black. Multiple people at our table clearly heard it.
I immediately spoke up and asked if anyone was going to remove him after he said a racial slur. Instead of action being taken, the owners friend dismissed and gaslit the situation, claiming the white man didn’t say it despite several of us hearing it clearly.
Feeling unsafe, we chose to leave and closed our tab. While paying, the bartender apologized to one of our friends but did not apologize to my partner, who was also directly targeted. There was no urgency, no removal of the intoxicated man, and no accountability. He was allowed to stay and continue enjoying his drink while we the people harmed were the ones forced to leave.
At the time, there were was only 4 BIPOC people in the bar, and the rest of the patrons were white. While I didn’t expect other patrons to intervene, I did expect the bar especially a Black-owned cocktail bar to prioritize safety and address blatant racism immediately.
It is deeply disappointing and upsetting to experience something like this as a queer BIPOC person, especially in a space that is recommended as safe and inclusive. Allowing racist behavior to continue without consequence sends a very clear message, and unfortunately, it wasn’t one of care or protection.