I had an opportunity to speak to Lyle Feigenbaum, owner of the Scholar's Inn restaurant mentioned in yesterday's blind item. He assured me that the restaurant was not trying to drive away gay clientele and, instead, hoped to showcase the diversity of Mass Ave with it's new design.
After years of talking to business owners, politicians and the public about LGBT issues, I've dealt with several homophobic businesses. Mr. Feigenbaum is not your typical business owner. He was outraged that any of his employees would ever say anything remotely homophobic and assured me that if he found out which employee had made the comment, they would be terminated immediately. I am absolutely positive that Scholar's Inn is gay friendly and an integral part of the Mass Ave district.
Several local LGBT community leaders also e-mailed me to say that they knew Mr. Feigenbaum personally and unanimously vouched for his character and level of commitment to the community. Scholar's Inn, is a member of the Rainbow Chamber of Commerce, in fact.
Now - Scholar's Inn is a great place to eat. Who wants to go have a great dinner or cocktail?
Comment on this entry
Bil,
I'm glad you got to talk with the owner. Even before the remodel, Scholars Inn hosted a number of HIV/Aids educational seminars in conjunction with Bristol Myers Squibb, Tibotec Pharmaceuticals and possibly others. I have always been treated very, very well at Scholars and hope to enjoy many more enjoyable evenings there. The food was exceptional too.
JK Johnson | April 2, 2008 9:56 PM
From an email I received, it appears that SI IS participating in Dining Out for Life: http://www.damien.org/special2.php Can the Damien Center or SI owner confirm? If so, we should pack the place on April 24th!
DJ | April 3, 2008 9:44 AM
Yes, Scholar's Inn is participating in Dining Out for Life.
Bil Browning | April 3, 2008 12:13 PM
I wish I had checked the Damien Center's link like I normally do instead of relying on the national Dining Out For Life link for the original comment I made that it didn't look like they were participating (even though they have consistently).
Thanks for providing the link to the list--I always try to hit up at least one (or two!) restaurants on the list on the day of Dining Out... and then continue to be their customer yearround because of their support of the HIV/AIDS community, so hopefully this kind of support will continue from SI and all restaurants on this list. Thanks again, Bil, for checking into this!
HIV/AIDS advocate | April 3, 2008 2:49 PM
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