It seems like one of these stories comes across our collective news feeds every few months.
A restaurant or a nightclub posts a dress code somewhere on the premises. Someone spots the dress code and takes a picture of it, then posts it to Twitter or Facebook and talks about how racist it is.
An extreme outpouring of conspicuous wokeness ensues. The establishment either apologizes or says “sorry not sorry.”
The answer doesn’t really matter since the wokeness will just be ratcheted up. If the answer is sorry, sorry isn’t good enough. If they don’t say sorry, well, they should have!
And this goes on until the whole thing ends up in the news.
This latest case is special because the restaurant in question has barely even opened yet and it’s pretty much getting canceled online.
The Choptank, a Baltimore eatery, opened to the public just this week, according to its Twitter feed.
However, a sign noting that its dress code proscribes “excessively baggy clothing, athletic attire, jerseys, brimless headgear and backwards or sideways hats” has already gone viral, and not in a good way.
It was first posted on Twitter by J.M. Giordano, who said that it was “CODED.” (You can tell he really meant it because it was all in caps.)
“An image uploaded on Twitter of the sign said to be on the restaurant’s gate shows an apparent dress code,” Fox News reported.
The Choptank, meanwhile, noted that its dress code was the same as that of other restaurants in Baltimore’s Fells Point neighborhood.
Being new to the Fells Point neighborhood, we simply implemented the dress code standard that is used by several other properties in the area including Barcocina, Bond Street Social Moby’s and The Horse You Came In On. Have a great day.
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Atlas Restaurant Group, which owns The Choptank, echoed this in a statement to Fox News.
“Our policy is no different than countless other bars in Fells Point, Federal Hill and many other bar/restaurants around Maryland including Seacrets and Tiki Lee’s both posted on their websites,” the statement said.
“There are also national properties such as Wynn Las Vegas (XS) that have similar dress codes in their entertainment venus. The most prominent African-American nightclub in Baltimore, Select Lounge has a stricter dress code as well. Baltimore City Public Schools has a similar dress code and language for their students.”
The restaurant group provided Fox News with a version of the dress code which was slightly different inasmuch as it didn’t ban baggy clothes. Still, same basic principle.
If you thought that was the end of this, you clearly haven’t experienced one of these dress code controversies before:
Y'all coulda saved yourselves some time @The_Choptank and just posted a "No Black People" sign. twitter.com/jmgpix/status/…
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Being new to the Fells Point neighborhood, we simply implemented the dress code standard that is used by several other properties in the area including Barcocina, Bond Street Social Moby’s and The Horse You Came In On. Have a great day.
“Everyone else’s dress code is extremely racist so ours is as well” is not a great answer.
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Being new to the Fells Point neighborhood, we simply implemented the dress code standard that is used by several other properties in the area including Barcocina, Bond Street Social Moby’s and The Horse You Came In On. Have a great day.
this is racist as hell and I will never enter your restaurant & will actively warn others away from it, have a great day
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Now, granted, there were plenty of other messages of support. But here’s the point: None of this should have been controversial in the first place.
I suppose the general answer in cases like these is that if you don’t like it, don’t go there.
That’s how capitalism works.
However, I find it somewhat curious that this outpouring of wokeness is directed at The Choptank by individuals who somehow think people of color all dress similarly and that they’re somehow being made to dress like white folk — people who also dress monolithically, and apparently all out of a Gap commercial from 1998.
There are plenty of white people who wear gym clothes or have sideways hats. There are plenty of white people who think that a Peyton Manning jersey is acceptable attire for any restaurant. Baggy clothing can — and is — worn by individuals of all races.
But, hey, let’s just abandon dress codes entirely. There’ll be no more restaurants where jackets are required.
You should be able to go into Le Bernardin wearing your gym shorts, a tank top and a ratty Yankees cap on backwards. Fancy restaurants will be a thing of the past.
Now, in the name of racial harmony, we can all go into any nightclub we want with flip flops and baggy cargo shorts.
By the way, if The Choptank is racist, they’re apparently very bad at it:
A great look at #TheChoptank patio from above!
We are thrilled to be part of this amazing Fells Point community. #CityNeedsIt
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Thanks to all the bands who provided the soundtrack for our soft opening this weekend!#TheChoptank will have live music 7 nights a week featuring some of the city’s most talented bands and musicians.
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Smiling because #TheChoptank is OPEN
Enjoy a cocktail, crush, or one of 20 draft beer selections while listening to live local music 7 nights a week
See The Choptank's other Tweets
#TheChoptank features 30 gas lanterns throughout the patio to create a timeless ambiance in the middle of historic Fells Point
See The Choptank's other Tweets
Ah, but I bet those were just token musicians to make them look good, right?
I guess I wasn’t woke enough to spot that. My bad.
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