Ohio Brewery Cuts Ties With Bar Over "Safe Space" Message

An Ohio bar lost a contract with a local brewery after a photo of a message written on a chalkboard went viral. Lia Knox saw the sign behind the bar at Broney’s Alumni Grill in Athens and posted a picture of it on Facebook. The message, which was written on a chalkboard with the name of local brewery Rhinegeist on top, read: “If you’re looking for a safe space this ain’t it Cupcake.”

Knox tagged Rhinegeist in the post, and the brewery quickly responded to the "offensive message." The brewery announced they have "ended our relationship with this establishment and will not do business with them in the future."

At Rhinegeist, we are committed to our people and our community. Today, we were made aware of an offensive message written on a Rhinegeist-branded chalkboard at Broney’s Alumni Grill in Athens, Ohio. The content of the message was ignorant, disrespectful, and wholly inconsistent with our values as a company. As a result, we have ended our relationship with this establishment and will not do business with them in the future. We look forward to continuing to champion inclusion, respect, love, and equality. Thank you and have a great weekend.

The owner of Broney's apologized for the message and said that it was taken down immediately and he has launched an investigation to determine who wrote it.

As the owner I cannot apologize enough for the offensive sign that was written on the chalkboard Friday night. It does not reflect my personal feelings or the image I want my establishment to reflect. As soon as I found out about the sign it was taken down immediately and I am in the process of determining who wrote it and put it up. Again, I apologize to all that were offended and will work to make certain an incident as offensive as this never occurs again.

Photo: Facebook


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