A Houston "breastaurant" had to shut down its Facebook page after receiving a diluge of complaints from users upset that it kicked out a patron with face tattoos.
Erik Leighton says that he and a friend were escorted out of a Houston-area bar because he has tattoos on his face, with the business citing concerns about gang activity in the area.
Bombshells opened its third Houston-area sports bar late last year. It’s known for waitresses in skimpy attire with an old-school pin-up feel, drawing comparisons to Twin Peaks, which itself has proven wildly popular in the Houston market.
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Leighton, a 27-year-old chemical plant worker and Pasadena resident went to the Bombshells near Fuqua on Saturday night after seeing Alan Jackson hours earlier at RodeoHouston (see review and photos). He and a friend Chad Moss, 22, entered the bar sometime around 9 p.m. Leighton says.
He had been there a few times before and was never told to leave because of his facial tattoos until Saturday evening.
He says that a police officer walked up to the table that he and Moss were sitting at and said that he needed to escort them out of the bar.
At the other Bombshells locations, including the one down Gulf Freeway in Webster, he says he has always been welcomed even with the tattoos on his face.
Leighton has tattoo pieces under his right eye, above his left eye, and one just below his lips, above his beard. He also has visible tattoos on his neck, hands, fingers, arms, and around his head. He’s pretty well covered for the most part.
Moss does not have tattoos on his face.
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“I don’t think I should have been asked to leave, regardless, especially escorted out by a police officer,” says Leighton. He wishes a manager would have explained it to him in person instead of a police officer. He isn’t sure what department the officer was with.
“He told us that the bar didn’t allow face tattoos,” says Leighton. He adds that he and Moss had not been drinking that night.
“We didn’t want to buy $10 beers at the rodeo,” he says.
A general manager at this particular Bombshells declined to speak with the Houston Chronicle over the phone on Monday afternoon. Messages have been left with its corporate office. The chain is owned by RCI Hospitality Holdings, which also owns Houston-based Rick’s Cabaret.
After the incident Saturday evening Leighton did take to Facebook to complain and vent about the incident.
People that didn’t even know Leighton or Moss began to inundate the bar’s Facebook page with complaints and support for the pair. The bar soon deleted the page and only the pages for the other locations remain on Facebook.
A member of the staff at the bar sent him a lengthy reply on Facebook telling him that they were sorry that he was offended by their policy. They did note that, according to them, most face tattoos are gang-related and that the area has had gang activity which sometimes leads to incidents at the bar. (RELATED: Houston gang tattoos)
The staff member even offered to meet with Leighton at the Bombshells in Webster to chat. They also apologized for any embarrassment he felt on Saturday.
They did stress that this location is a special case and they didn’t want gangs to “overtake” the establishment.
They are not in business to alienate potential guests, they wrote, and were looking at evaluating its practices and policies.
Leighton is an Idaho native who moved to the Houston area three years ago. He currently works at a chemical plant in Seabrook. He previously spent time as an apprentice piercer at a tattoo shop but says he decided to pursue something steadier once he moved to the Bayou City.
He’s noticed that staff at some bars he has visited with friends have been more apt to allow people with facial tattoos inside during slower hours as opposed to busier times. When he arrived at Bombshell’s Saturday he says it looked to be a typical weekend night crowd.
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“I know what I did by getting myself tattooed on my face and neck. It’s a lifestyle choice. But I work at a plant and they hired me and they took a chance on me,” he says.
He’s been at the same plant for about year, he said.
“I understand I look different and that I took things to a whole level by getting these tattoos,” he adds.
Meanwhile he says that he’s really only been hassled about his artwork at bars in the Clear Lake area south of Houston.
“We went to Midtown bars in Houston and didn’t have any issues,” says Leighton.
Leighton admits he was a little hot when he initially told his friends about what happened on his Facebook page.
"I'm not really upset now; I'm more or less trying to get the policy changed and bring attention to the problem," Leighton says.
