A 52-year-old Maryland man sues a local bar for banning him because he’s ‘old and white,’ sparking a culture war

A Maryland man sued his local bar for discrimination after he was permanently banned based on his age and race, a new lawsuit claims.

Dan’s Restaurant and Taphouse has sparked a full-blown culture war in the small town of Boonsboro, Maryland, after a bartender allegedly kicked out the customer because he’s an “old white guy.”

Neal Glessner, 52, used to spend at least $500 a week at the local restaurant, but filed a lawsuit against them in federal and state court, alleging he suffered discrimination from the staff on February 18, 2022.

However, the owner, Charlotte Aufdem-Brinke, claims that there were “repeated instances of disruptive behavior against members of our team” that triggered the ceremonious ban.

Mike Skinner, the manager working at Dan’s at the time, verbally barred Glessner and his friend from the premises and called police, in a clip recorded on a body camera.

He allegedly exclaimed to Glessner’s friend, Joseph Michael, who happened to be the newly appointed Assistant State’s Attorney, ‘You old white guys act like you own everything. Out of here!

The couple had complained about waiting 40 minutes for a takeout order.

In unearthed body cam footage, Michael is heard saying: “I’m happy to go… but I just need to know if I’m banned or not.”

Manager Mike Skinner replies: ‘Yeah, you’re banned. He is not allowed to come back here.

Though not captured in the footage, Glessner alleges the manager continued: “All you old white men act like you own everything.” Just go away. Neither of you is welcome here.

Neal Glessner, president of a technology company, said in a statement: “Anyone who thinks this is about BLM, Trump or any other political issue is ignoring the facts so they can further an agenda that is not mine.”

The ordeal has sparked a proxy war in the sleepy town. On Saturday, a group of a dozen protesters, led by Shawn Porter, stood in front of the restaurant holding signs that read: “Old White Lives Matter” and “It’s OK to be White.”

And the group was holding up a big red sign that said, ‘No soup for you! No old farts! along with a reference to the ‘Soup Nazi’ from the comedy show Seinfeld.

The battle between the opposing factions has also been expressed online. Dozens of locals in the small town have gotten involved, giving their input, while both the plaintiff and the defendants provide near-daily status updates.

Skinner, the manager, gawked at the small number of protesters who protested against his workplace, while the owner, Aufdem-Brinke, boasted that business has never been better.

It also claims that the consequences of the ban have been a “coordinated personal attack on our business.”

Meanwhile, Porter, one of Glessner’s main supporters, has been updating his followers on a series of dramatic monologues and stirring recordings from the protest, posting them on YouTube.

The restaurant was closed over the weekend to give staff a ‘much needed break’ and they wrote on their windows: ‘They tried to bury us but they don’t know we are seeds’.

According to the lawsuit, since being banished from the restaurant, the plaintiff “has become aware of approximately half a dozen other white males who have been banned from Dan’s for unexplained reasons.”

Glessner said she has suffered, and will continue to suffer, “irreparable financial loss, humiliation, shame, mental and emotional anguish, and relationship strain” after the ordeal.

Charlotte Aufdem-Brinke, who co-owns it with her ex-husband Daniel, wrote on social media: “Dan and I opened our restaurant in 2012 based on a shared set of values ​​and a clear vision of what we wanted this space to be.” . We wanted to offer Boonsboro a place where everyone feels a sense of belonging.

‘Mister. Glessner has filed a frivolous lawsuit and, through a continual barrage of social media posts and fringe media appearances, has leveled a series of false, baseless and absurd allegations against our team.

‘The Dan’s Taphouse team works hard to provide a welcoming experience for our guests and a workplace where our team members are treated with respect. Any behavior that violates those standards is unacceptable. Mr. Glessner was asked to leave our restaurant due to repeated incidents of disruptive behavior against our team members. Nothing else. Nothing less.’

Speaking to DailyMail.com, Glessner added: ‘There is a deep chasm in our typically tight-knit community. Unfortunately, Dan and Charlotte Aufdem-Brinke are trying to paint me as an angry racist deliberately moving to dismantle their business with what they call ‘a frivolous and baseless lawsuit’. This could not be further from the truth.

While I feel that Dan and Charlotte discriminated against me based on my age and race and have enough evidence to prove this in federal court, they have an undeniable history of mistreatment and discrimination against many others in our community based on age. race and political affiliations.

“While it’s easy for owners to say they insist employees treat team members and guests with respect, you don’t need to look any further than the social media posts from restaurant management and staff to see the hate speech and ‘retaliatory attitudes’ on his personal accounts.Clearly, his insistence on respect is little more than an empty promise.

‘Shame on Dan and Charlotte for condoning this kind of behavior and standing up for it now. As owners of a well-known establishment in our town, isn’t it the moral and ethical responsibility of the Aufem-Brinke to respect everyone equally, not just those they consider ‘worthy’?

‘I don’t want to continue the negative back and forth that is tearing our wonderful community apart. More division in our community is not what we need.’

In response to the lawsuit, Aufdem-Brinke told DailyMail.com: ‘Neal Glessner’s lawsuit is beyond absurd and is based solely on his animosity towards my personal views and our advocacy of social and economic justice.

“Their relentless efforts to promote the lawsuit in far-right media outlets such as One America News Network, and the harassment on social media by far-right agitators such as Shaun Porter, are simply an effort to intimidate a small successful group”. businesswoman and community activist in submission.’