A gay couple says they were asked not to return to a Texas restaurant because they "don't serve fags" there.
Collin Dewberry and Kelly Williams ate breakfast at Big Earl's Bait House and Galley Cafe in Pittsburg, Texas, on Tuesday, May 27, but after paying the bill, they said they were met with hate, KLTV reports. The couple said a waitress, who happened to be owner Earl Cheney's daughter, told them "We don't serve fags here," before saying: “Here at Big Earl’s we like for men to act like men and for ladies to act like ladies, so we want you to never return.”
A sign posted on the restaurant's door has a similar message.
“She’s a young lady, didn’t know what else to say, and they just kept on and she finally said we just don’t like fags," Earl Cheney told KLTV. He said he has no problem with gays dining at his restaurant, as long as they follow his policy: “You’re welcome to come and eat, but a man act like a man and a woman act like a woman ... That a man’s supposed to stand up and be a leader. He’s not supposed to be a woman. He’s not supposed to come in here in a dress.”
Cheney said the couple had been acting inappropriately, with one putting his leg on the other. He told CBS affiliate KRLD that one looked "really possum eyed at me." He said he doesn't plan to discipline his daughter but thinks the parents of Dewberry and Williams should "teach 'em how to act in public."
He also maintains he is not a bigot.
“Homosexuality, Blacks, Hispanics they all come in here — everybody comes in here to eat. I’ve served my country for over 20 years, I know what my freedoms are," Cheney told KRLD. “I’m not gonna have people coming in here with their butt showing; I’m not gonna have people coming in here naked; I’m not gonna have people coming in here having sex on the tables.”
Since news of the incident surfaced, Big Earl's Yelp page has been flooded with negative comments and one-star reviews, as well as a photo of the late Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps with the text "Fred Phelps Seal of Approval."
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