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🤚 ‘We’re not kicking anyone out’
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🤚 ‘We’re not kicking anyone out’

ORDER UP. On the menu: Some hot, steamy politics. (📸: Courtesy of the 5 Point Cafe)
(Courtesy the 5 Point Cafe)

‘WE’RE ALL SO READY TO ATTACK EACH OTHER’

The comment appeared on Tuesday. Readers of the Fox News Facebook page were talking about the Virginia restaurant owner who kicked out Trump press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and a man named Paul wrote something Fox News readers really didn’t appreciate. Sanders, he implied, was “Not allowed in my restaurant ever!

And what restaurant is that? Paul’s Facebook cover image suggested an answer: Seattle’s iconic 5 Point Cafe.

Best advert yet to not visit your restaurant,” went the nicest of hundreds of responses to Paul’s comment. “We will spread the news sir.”

And spread it they did. Several 1-star reviews started appearing on the 5 Point’s Facebook and Yelp pages Tuesday. There’s just one problem. “Paul” isn’t the owner of the 5 Point. Seattle’s David Meinert is.

“Oh, the internet,” David posted on Facebook Wednesday, explaining what happened. And he cleared the record: Contrary to what this Paul guy implied, the 5 Point welcomes “pretty much” everyone. “We’re not kicking anyone out because of their political views,” David wrote.

As for David’s own views, he’s not shy about sharing them. “While I lean left, I’m a political pragmatist and have been boycotted by the left and the right for different stances I’ve taken,” he wrote on the Fox News thread. In 2013, he ticked off folks on the right when he declared his eateries (he owns several) to be gun free zones. In 2014, he ticked off folks on the left when he tried to convince local servers that a $15 minimum wage without a trip credit would threaten their tips. (He said he also supported going to $15 quicker than what passed.)

To a lot of people, the story about the restaurant that kicked out Sanders is about way more than Trump. It’s about how we coexist in a society so divided, it can feel like people with different political views are doing intolerable harm to society.

Can welcoming pretty much everyone still be a thing? We’ll see. In the meantime, we called David to hear more. >> Check out our story on theevergrey.com for full-length quotes. << Some highlights:

  • “I want to be a place that’s tolerant of diversity and that includes a diversity of views. I also don’t think we should take each other’s political views so serious.”
  • “I don’t know Sanders. She could be a lovely person for all I know. She seems like a fool.”
  • “You can be right wing in Seattle and come eat at the 5 Point. You might sit next to transgender sex worker who’s a socialist, but everyone’s welcome!”

So what’s happened since the mix-up?

  • Fox News Facebook page followers figured out their mistake, felt bad, and shamed others into doing their research before they “destroy someone’s rep and business.”
  • Yelp took down several 1-star reviews while David’s friends posted a few new 5-star ones.
  • Debate on the 5 Point’s Facebook page heated up, with some locals really not liking David’s take on all this.
  • And OH YEAH: After we messaged him about his comment that started all this, “Paul,” whoever he is, deleted the comment and changed his cover photo. When we got in touch with Paul, he said he didn’t mean to imply he was the owner of 5 Point. “It was a spur-of-the-moment generalized hypothetical comment,” he wrote us. “I’m guilty of [having] a 5 Point cover photo… I just can’t stand Trump is all.” 

If you owned a restaurant, would you kick someone out for their political views? Join the conversation — thoughtfulness highly encouraged! — on our Facebook page. See something else going on in the city that outlines this strange political time we’re in? Hit reply or email us at [email protected].

NOW HERE’S WHAT’S GOING ON IN YOUR CITY

‘Mean world syndrome.’ A recent Seattle University survey measured Seattleites’ fear of crime and found something interesting: People in the statistically safest neighborhoods are the most afraid of being victims of violent and property crime. So even though crime rates are low in places like Magnolia, northern Ballard, Pigeon Point in West Seattle, and South and Mid-Beacon Hill, people were more scared of this than average. Why? Because of something that Jacqueline Helfgott, a Seattle U criminal justice professor, calls “mean world syndrome,” which makes our brains tell us the world’s more dangerous than it is. What’s freaking us out? “Reading or watching a lot of news, or hyperlocal websites like Nextdoor.com, where neighbors frequently post about crime,” Jacqueline told FYI Guy Gene Balk. 😥 (The Seattle Times)

‘Get them to care, get them to smile back.’ Someone experiencing homelessness approaches you. What should you do? South Seattle Emerald reporter Rachel Ramsey offers two tips she got from some unsheltered neighbors:

  • Remember that “we’re just people trying to get out of a crappy situation,” said Ivy, who’s experiencing homelessness for the first time  
  • Acknowledge people, make eye contact, and say hi, said Chad, a veteran.

“The complexity of preventing homelessness can make the challenge feel insurmountable,” Rachel writes. “But if we simply give in to the overwhelming feeling of ‘I don’t know how to help,’ we fail to recognize that we can create change through our everyday actions.” 💕 (The South Seattle Emerald)

Have you herd? The Northwest Trek Wildlife Park just welcomed some new residents: six adorably fuzzy bison calves. Greg Gilbert, a photographer for The Seattle Times, hung out with the herds near Eatonville and watched the new babies munch on grains and go for walks. Want to see ‘em in person? It’s a bit of a road trip, but it might just be worth it to see the cuteness up close. (The Seattle Times)

Even happier hours. Looking for a new after-work haunt? Check out this list of the essential happy hour spots around Seattle. It has a little something for everyone, including polenta fries at Burgundian in Tangletown, “naanwiches” at Poppy in Capitol Hill, and comfort food and cocktails at West 5 in West Seattle. 🍴(Eater Seattle)

PARTNER EVENTS

👂  Wednesday, July 11: Learn how to hear feedback and use it constructively at this Impact Hub Lunch + Learn (Pioneer Square)

Want to partner on your event with us? Here’s how.

AROUND TOWN

TODAY

🏞  Stay up late to bike in the dark (Ballard to South Lake Union)
🎟  See a burlesque tribute to femme fatale Mata Hari — through September 30 (Downtown)
🎟  Watch Batman take on Shakespeare in “Bat-Hamlet” — through July 1 (International District)


TOMORROW

🎈  See awesome vintage cars and hot rods (Greenwood)
👋  Don cosplay at a Volunteer Park picnic (Capitol Hill)
🗣  Speak out against immigrant family separation (SeaTac)
💪  Pat yourself on the back for recycling like a pro (
West Seattle)
🏞  Go on a walk to support an International District food bank (Seward Park)


SUNDAY

🎈  Check out all things handmade at Urban Craft Uprising (Queen Anne)
⚽  See former Seattle Sounders star Obafemi Martins in action (Tukwila)
🗣  Show solidarity with detained families at the Northwest Detention Center (Tacoma)
🎶  Head to the Peninsula to hone your fiddle skills — through July 8 (Port Townsend)


Going to one of these? Take us with you! Email a pic to [email protected] or tag #theevergrey on Instagram. See more upcoming events on our events page, and add your own events with an Evergrey membership.

THAT’S IT FOR TODAY, FOLKS

We’ll see you in July! — The Evergrey

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