CALGARY — A Calgary restaurant is feeling the heat after a staff member allegedly asked a homeless man to leave its Kensington-based Original Joe’s location.
The homeless man, known as Shawn, was eating a meal a good Samaritan purchased for him when a bartender reportedly told him to leave.
“[The] homeless gentlemen asked if he was being asked to leave because he was homeless. To which the bartender replied, ‘yes, you’re dirty and you stink, and you look offensive to people,” Ryan Gartner, a guest in the restaurant at the time of the incident, told Global News. Shawn told the media outlet he left quietly, because he didn’t want to cause a scene.
In a statement on the company’s website, Jordan Prescesky, VP, Original Joe’s, said the guest central to the incident is familiar to his staff and often visits to exchange coins for paper money. “The guest enjoyed a meal and beverage, however, shortly after,” said Prescesky, “our bartender indicated he became disruptive with staff and patrons and was asked to leave the restaurant. We’re taking the accusation of derogatory remarks made to this individual very seriously and are investigating the matter.”
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