Transgender woman says bar refused to serve her

A transgender woman said Tempe Tavern in Tempe, Ariz., refused to serve her Saturday. The woman said she walked into the bar to get a soda and instead was kicked out.

“All I wanted to do was see a horse race and have a drink,” Briana Sandy said.

But Sandy said she didn’t expect what happened.

“‘I can’t serve you any drinks,’ and I go, ‘What? What’s the problem?’ And she goes, ‘We don’t serve your kind,’ and I’m like, I didn’t just hear that. And then all of a sudden, this guy, who was I guess the bouncer, walked up to me and he goes, ‘You’re going to have to leave,’” she said.

Sandy said she thinks it’s because they realized she’s transgender because she said at first, the bartender was pleasant.

The bar posted a statement online Sunday, but then shortly after took it down.

“In regards to the internet mob mentality that has happened in the last 24 hours….We reside next door to an adult book store establishment, that creates a ton of problems. Drugs, prostitution, and overall riff faff,” Tempe Tavern wrote. “A person of the LGBTQ community came into the bar and was denied service. Unfortunately, the new bartender over reacted and assumed she was from said establishment.

“We have burlesque shows that feature many members of the LGBTQ community. We welcome everyone. This is unfortunate, and we completely understand our part in it. And we are sorry. But to paint with a broad stroke and say that we are a terrorist, hateful organization, is both inappropriate, and a lie. And furthermore, posts that share people’s addresses, threats of violence, and ‘anarchists’ that threaten violence towards children, is over the line.”

“It sounds to me like it’s some kind of a policy because I didn’t do anything other than walk in and ask for a drink, and I’m wearing a very modest outfit,” Sandy said.