Backlash continues after owners of Dallas bar Redfield’s Tavern accused of homophobia

Backlash continues after owners of Dallas bar Redfield’s Tavern accused of homophobia The co-owner says the accusations seem unfair. “I don’t think we should apologize for not being a gay bar,” he says, “we want to be open to everybody.” Larry Farris, 36, of Dallas, waves a flag with printing that reads "#LOVEWINS" as men and women of the LGBTQIA community protest outside of Redfield's Tavern in Dallas, on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. Larry Farris, 36, of Dallas, waves a flag with printing that reads "#LOVEWINS" as men and women of the LGBTQIA community protest outside of Redfield's Tavern in Dallas, on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor) By Sarah Blaskovich 2:35 PM on Oct 26, 2020 As recently as last month, Redfield’s Tavern in Dallas was so popular on Saturday nights that patrons would wait in a line that would wrap around the building, even during the coronavirus pandemic. But on Saturday, Redfield’s Tavern was empty inside and out, its name painted over in black. Members of the gay community in Dallas are boycotting Redfield’s after an audio recording revealed its owners’ displeasure with the bar’s identity as an “overtly gay” establishment. Co-owner Joe Tillotson says in an interview with The Dallas Morning News that he did not know he was being recorded by Lindsay Schmidt, a manager who has since quit her job at the bar. In the recording, Tillotson tells Schmidt that he feels beholden to the company’s 39 investors. “We did not tell them that we were going to open and operate a gay bar,” he says. He’s referring to the large numbers of gay customers who had started hanging out at the bar after those on The Strip on Cedar Springs — the nucleus of LGBT-friendly establishments in Dallas — remained closed during the pandemic. ADVERTISING Redfield’s is about two miles away, in the Medical District. It’s open during the pandemic because it operates as a restaurant, whereas bars that make more than half of sales from alcohol remain closed in Dallas County. Piles of clothes, coal and flowers were placed outside the entrance to Redfield's Tavern in Dallas during a protest, on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. Piles of clothes, coal and flowers were placed outside the entrance to Redfield's Tavern in Dallas during a protest, on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. (Ben Torres / Special Contributor) “Redfield’s slowly became the go-to spot because it had such a huge patio,” says Dennis Jansen, a gay man and tax lawyer. In the audio recording, and again in a Dallas Morning News interview, Tillotson says he doesn’t have a problem with the bar’s gay customers. “We cannot say the following any more strongly: All members of the gay community are welcome at Redfield’s," he wrote in a statement. But he reiterated that he didn’t intend for Redfield’s Tavern to become a gay bar. “I don’t think we should apologize for not being a gay bar,” he says, “we want to be open to everybody.” Downtown Dallas is getting greener thanks to public-private initiative SPONSORED CONTENT Downtown Dallas is getting greener thanks to public-private initiative Parks for Downtown Dallas aims for 14 acres of new Dallas parks. Downtown Dallas is getting greener thanks to public-private initiative. BY Parks for Downtown Dallas The day after the audio recording was taken without Tillotson’s consent, he sent an email to the people in the meeting. Tillotson shared the email with The Dallas Morning News and it reads, in part: “I really want to clarify something because it continues to disturb me that the conversation about our staff, despite what we say, sometimes is mis-labeled or mis-understood. Nobody, including Scott [Cecil, co-owner] or myself or any partner or anyone on our staff cares about anyone else on our staff’s sexual orientation. It is a non issue.” Tillotson says in the recordings that Schmidt should try to hire more female employees, suggesting they might entice a more heterosexual crowd. Schmidt says in an interview that she was proud of the staff she hired, whatever their sexual orientation. “I balanced a lot of [expletive] from the owners to my staff, and did the best I could,” Schmidt says. “I did try my best to hide how they [the owners] really feel.” Redfield's Tavern remains closed for now, and its Facebook page has been taken down. The owners hired someone to paint over the name of the bar in black. Someone stuck a rainbow flag in the patio gate. Redfield's Tavern remains closed for now, and its Facebook page has been taken down. The owners hired someone to paint over the name of the bar in black. Someone stuck a rainbow flag in the patio gate.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor) A group of protesters gathered outside Redfield’s Tavern on Saturday night, engaging in what they described as a “funeral” for the establishment that had become “like Cheers” for the gay community, Jansen says. Jose Hurtado, a gay man who organized the protest, says the audio recording surprised him. “We really, truly did feel welcome there,” he says. “As someone who is part of the community, you already have a small niche — a group you hang out with. When you expand somewhere new and they start respecting you ... you want to go visit.” When the information in the audio recording was reported by the Dallas Voice and later by Out.com, Hurtado says he felt betrayed and called for the gay community to “cancel” Redfield’s Tavern. “You’re not going to get our business anymore,” he says. Jansen says he finds it odd that any bar owner would turn away business in a year when bars have struggled to stay afloat. “It’s very disappointing and strange, from a business standpoint,” he says. “They had a thriving establishment and they decided to not appreciate their customers.” Krista De La Rosa, left, greets Tiffany Algarin as she arrives to a protest outside of Redfield's Tavern in Dallas. Krista De La Rosa, left, greets Tiffany Algarin as she arrives to a protest outside of Redfield's Tavern in Dallas.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor) Tillotson and Schmidt both said the uptick in business sent them scrambling to hire more people. “We weren’t prepared to get busier like that," Tillotson says. "And we weren’t prepared for people to tell us we were a gay bar. We just wanted to keep doing what we were doing.” When asked whether Tillotson and his investors would consider turning Redfield’s Tavern into a gay bar, he said it wouldn’t work under the current ownership. “That’s just not a business I’m familiar with,” he says. He suggests that identifying as a gay bar would turn away straight customers. “Maybe what this neighborhood demands and needs is a gay bar,” he says. “We can’t, midstream, say ‘now, we’re a gay bar.’ ... That’s just not what we’re set up to do. To me, that would have been telling other people, ‘You’re not really welcome here. This is not a place for you.’” Jansen says he feels guilty for spending money at Redfield’s, a place where he says “our presence offends the owners,” in a city with a thriving gay scene. “You’re going to be socially ostracized if you go there,” he says, “even if you’re a straight person with gay friends. Given there are so many options, there’s no excuse to go there.” The bar remains closed because Tillotson says his staffers didn’t feel safe. They had been threatened verbally and online, he says. The owners don’t know yet if the closure is temporary or permanent.