Local Texas Tavern in Controversy After Stopping Gay Hires

A tavern in Texas is facing backlash from the LGBTQ+ community after word spread the establishment's owners instructed a manager to stop hiring gay male servers. According to an audio recording obtained by The Dallas Voice, Redfield's Tavern in Dallas had seen an upsurge in business from queer customers since the start of the global pandemic, but the owners expressed concern about the number of gay employees and instructed the manager to hire more females instead of gay men.

"We are not going to try to be a gay bar to keep our business up," said one of the owners, later adding the group has "30-something investors" and that they "did not tell them we are going to open up [a] gay bar."

The Dallas Voice reported those on the tape had been identified by an unnamed third party as two male owners, Joe and Scott, and a woman named Lindsey, a former general manager, who "left in protest" following the dispute.

"I feel like we've hired people that are qualified more than anything, because we needed better service," the woman objected. "We got better service."

"I'm not hearing that the people we are hiring are really adding much as far as quality service," one of the others can be heard responding. "That's the feedback that I've gotten from people."

An incredulous Lindsey responded by asking if the pair wanted her to "fire everyone."

"We get female servers," came a response.

The audio appears to have been recorded in an outdoor setting. The voices are sometimes inaudible and drowned out by various background noise.

At one point the woman explained she'd been told profits would soar if Redfield's was a gay bar, but that she was "not trying to make the staff gay."

"Yes, you are," replied one owner quickly.

"If the gay crowd gets wind that we don't like gay people, we will have NO business," she responds.

The local LGBTQ+ community did get wind of the conversation, and the response was expectedly negative.

Later in the tape, one of the men can be heard saying that "if we hire someone and they don't fit our image, they won't be on the schedule or we will fire them."

The owners of Redfield's Tavern did not respond to requests for comments from The Dallas Voice.

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