A gay couple dining at one of Washington, DC’s most popular restaurants was stunned this past Thursday evening when their server refused to bring them an order of dessert with two spoons because ‘it wouldn’t look right with two gentlemen eating out of the same sundae.’
Ron Gage, 55, and his companion, Henry McKinnon, 58, were enjoying dinner at the Prime Rib, an eatery that boasts of being one of the top five romantic restaurants in the country, according to The Washington Post.
The evening was progressing swimmingly as the two men dined and even joked around with their server.
After finishing the main course, it was time to order dessert.
Ron Gage (left), 55, and his companion, Henry McKinnon (right), 58, were stunned last Thursday evening when a server at a Washington, DC restaurant refused to bring them a sundae with two spoons because two men sharing dessert ‘wouldn’t look right’
The evening was progressing swimmingly as the two men dined and even joked around with their server at Prime Rib, a well-known DC eatery
‘When it came time for dessert, we asked for one sundae with two spoons,’ Gage said
‘When it came time for dessert, we asked for one sundae with two spoons,’ Gage said.
The server ‘said he would bring it in two separate dishes. He said “It wouldn’t look right with two gentlemen eating out of the same sundae. It doesn’t go with the ambiance of the restaurant”.’
The two men simply did not know how to respond.
‘We were speechless, we nodded,’ Gage said. ‘We weren’t expecting it.’
Earlier in the evening, Gage and McKinnon engaged in friendly banter with the server.
After the dessert fiasco, they kept their conversations to a minimum.
The restaurant’s (above) general manager, James MacLeod, told the Post that he planned to reach out to the diners. ‘I cannot believe that a waiter would have ever said anything like that,’ MacLeod said. ‘There’s no way we would condone anything remotely like this’
The two men then left the server a 15 percent tip – even though they usually tip 20 percent.
Still stunned over what just transpired, they left the restaurant without saying a word of protest to the manager.
‘I’m kind of embarrassed to say we didn’t say anything,’ McKinnon said.
‘It just took us back to such a shameful place, in a way.’
After sleeping on it, the two took to social media and expressed their anger over what took place.
The restaurant’s general manager, James MacLeod, told the Post that he planned to reach out to the diners.
‘The waiter in question is Bulgarian, and he does speak four different languages,’ said MacLeod.
‘I am not sure if he got confused as to what he was saying, or how he was saying it.’
‘I cannot believe that a waiter would have ever said anything like that,’ MacLeod said.
‘There’s no way we would condone anything remotely like this.’
The bad news for MacLeod and Prime Rib is that it’s unlikely the couple will return to the restaurant after their unpleasant experience.
‘It was so humiliating,’ McKinnon said.
‘It was unbelievable how it made us feel.’