Scottish restaurant bars those with symptoms of ‘COVID-19, racism, homophobia, or transphobia’
Wee Mexico in Dundee wanted to let customers know that "anyone is welcome here"
A restaurant in Scotland has been celebrated online after urging customers not to enter if they have symptoms of COVID-19 or homophobia.
Wee Mexico in Dundee, Scotland, celebrated reopening following the country’s coronavirus lockdown with a sign asking customers with COVID-19 symptoms to refrain from entering.
But that’s not all. Wee Mexico’s sign went even further, urging: “Please do not enter if you have symptoms of COVID-19, racism, homophobia, [or] transphobia.”
Speaking to Dundee’s Evening Telegraph, Wee Mexico general manager Ben Wyatt said the restaurant had experienced incidents of discrimination before, and felt it was important to make the sign.
“We saw the idea online and felt it was something that reflected our values — we were not trying to make a political statement and we certainly didn’t mean to cause any offence,” Wyatt said.
“We have quite a diverse group of staff and this is something we stand for and we figured our customers would agree with it, and as the sign says if not we are not particularly keen to have them in here.”
The sign, erected in August, has since gone viral on social media, drawing both positive and negative reactions.
Wyatt said the restaurant was “not expecting such a huge response but it is a bit upsetting to see people not taking it as well as others. The majority have had a good reaction to it, it is only the minority that are not.”
He also offered a rebuttal to those who had complained about the sign and its message, saying Wee Mexico “wanted to spread the message that anyone is welcome here.”
“Businesses shouldn’t get involved in political issues but this is against hate and bigotry towards others,” he said.
“We have had issues here before — a while back some customers complained they were being harassed based on the way they looked and we had to kick the perpetrators out straight away.”
Tomorrow we’ll be back open for business for the first time in 6 months! We’ve changed a lot of our ordering systems so…
Posted by Wee Mexico on Friday, 14 August 2020
Read more:
Anti-LGBTQ activist in charge of ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ at Department of Education
Man dies while attending ‘overcapacity’ unofficial Atlanta Pride party
Trans woman sues American Airlines alleging employment discrimination
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
