Chicago Gay Bar, Investigated Over Reports That It Bans Women During Busiest Hours

A gay bar in Chicago’s LGBT-centric Boystown neighborhood is under investigation by the state’s Department of Human Rights based on reports that it bans female customers during its busiest hours.

The bar, named Wang’s, is the latest of several establishments in the area under fire as a result of allegations that it is not welcoming to women. This, despite the fact that the East Lakeview neighborhood is heralded, in a way made very clear by the slightly phallic giant rainbow pylons that line the streets, as a place where all can eat, meet and mingle.

Just off the main Halsted Street strip of Boystown at 3317 N. Broadway, Wang’s is attached to a well-liked sushi restaurant. The relatively intimate space is candlelit and shrouded in plumes of fog and soft red light obscuring its shabby-chic, Asian-themed decor — paper lanterns, lavishly patterned wallpaper and a giant, ornate peacock mirror.

But one piece of “art” adorning the walls — a drink menu denoting “Men Only After 11 p.m.” — has been a source of frustration and anger for many area residents.

And though the controversial policy appears to date back nearly two years, it wasn’t until an inquiry from The Huffington Post that it came under scrutiny beyond about a dozen disgruntled Yelp reviews. Those reviews report women being denied service, treated poorly and outright being asked to leave during the bar’s busiest hours.

‘MEN ONLY’

Chicago Alderman Tom Tunney, whose 44th Ward encapsulates the Boystown commercial district, reached out to the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) after The Huffington Post informed him of the policy.

“Businesses within our neighborhood should be accommodating and respectful towards all patrons,” Tunney said in a statement.

Beyond being disappointing to women who want to drink at the bar, such a policy is illegal. Mike Claffey, a spokesman for the IDHR, confirmed that the state Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of one’s sex or other protected categories in places of public accommodation — including bars. The IDHR is looking into the matter.

“Anyone who believes they were denied or refused the full and equal enjoyment of the services of any bar or restaurant because of their sex or other protected category under the Act should contact the Illinois Department of Human Rights,” Claffey said in a statement.  Read More