I have been to tavern 29 4 times now. Honestly the food was good, and the view is nice. Why would I give a one star review? I always noticed the staff seemed to be walking on eggshells. They always seemed to be more human roombas and less bartenders. This was unfortunate as most people go to the bar to socialize. Then I began to hear about the owner and her foibles. It has been said she tells the staff not to talk to customers to much and she has a demanding cleaning regime. These were rumors. Now I will relate the objective and observed reason I will never come back to this bar, ever:
I was finishing my last beer when My friend came in. He is Hispanic. He is a union mason and therefore makes far more than my teacher's salary. He is a good and hardworking man who takes care of his family. I have coached his kids. He is well liked because of his good nature and easy smile. I was about to leave but I told him I would always stay to have one more to talk to him. He insisted on buying my beer over my objections. He also bought the other four people at he bar a drink each. He is always generous and a good tipper. We were almost finished our drinks and everyone was enjoying his company, we were having a great time. He is very good company. Then I noticed the manager receiving a text. Then the bartender gave him his tab. The manager took my friend outside and asked him to leave. The manager said he needed to leave because his shirt was to dirty. He is a working man with a job that will leave spots on your shirt. He had those spots on his shirt from earning the money to spend at this bar!
I was mortified as were the other 4 patrons. We are all white collar anglos, we have never been subjected to this sort of treatment. We were embarrassed to see it inflicted on another person especially a person as nice as this. They left their drinks on the bar and left. They told my friend he shouldn't have to pay for their drinks because the owner had kicked him out for such a snobby and possibly bigoted reason. They wanted to pay so none of his money would go to the owner. He reacted with class, and insisted on paying anyway. He just pointed to his clothes while he paid and said "I am to dirty to drink here." I will go home.
This is not Manhattan. This is the middle of no where in West Virginia. If a working man can't come into a bar in clothes he got spots on from laboring for the money he wants to spend at that establishment I certainly will never go to that bar.
***Update**** statement from the owner regarding this was: "He had some grease on him a few weeks ago which got on another customers clothes from the seat he was in." No apology, no remorse. That is what she has had to say about herself.
Perhaps have your human roombas who aren't allowed to talk to customers, take a rag to the stools while they do their endless rounds of cleaning, while not talking to customers. So in closing if you want to go to the snobbiest, most unwelcoming bar in all of West Virginia make sure you have a clean shirt. Working class people are certainly not welcome here. read more