Sign in Park City bar causes uproar on social media

Sign in Park City bar causes uproar on social media

(Liz Pyper Newman)


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PARK CITY — A sign in the window of a Park City bar caused a stir on social media after a California woman posted a picture of it on Facebook.

Elizabeth Newman said in an interview she was in Park City visiting family July 18 when she saw the sign in the window of The Cabin, a bar and concert venue. The sign read, “Rendezvous Whiskey. . . I like my women like I like my whiskey. . . ready to pass out!” Newman said she felt the sign was inappropriate and that it glorified taking advantage of women who have been drinking too much.

According to Newman, she went into the bar and asked to speak to the manager, but was told that he was unavailable. She spoke with a male employee, asking him if he thought the sign was appropriate. She said she was told “not to take it so seriously and that it was just a joke.” Newman said the man ended the conversation and she left the bar, but when she returned the next day, the sign was still up.

“I understand that it’s meant to be a joke, but when you are making a joke about rape, you are trying to get someone to laugh about rape,” Newman said. “That is, at its core, a harmful message to rape survivors who may walk by and see that sign.”

Newman took a picture of the sign and posted it to the Facebook page of The Cabin. After posting, she said she was attacked in the comments by someone posting from The Cabin Facebook account. The post was later removed.

“I was honestly just hoping they would take the sign down,” she said. “But instead, I started to see personal attacks towards me and some of my friends.”


These signs were up before we even got here, and they should have been taken down. But in the 2.5, 3 years in the ownership before The Cabin took over, we never had a single complaint. All the offensive signs had been removed since that day. We used to have a lot of quirky signs like that. We had one on the sidewalk that people would stop and take pictures with, but I took them all down in fear of being misinterpreted.

–Chris Cinka, The Cabin marketing director


The Cabin marketing director Chris Cinka said in an interview, he had issued an apology after he discovered the aggressive comments on Facebook and the sign has since been taken down. Cinka said he and his co-workers bought The Cabin in May and the sign had been part of the decor of the original owners when the business was known as Lindzee O’ Michaels Mixologist.

“These signs were up before we even got here, and they should have been taken down,” Cinka said. “But in the 2.5, 3 years in the ownership before The Cabin took over, we never had a single complaint. All the offensive signs had been removed since that day. We used to have a lot of quirky signs like that. We had one on the sidewalk that people would stop and take pictures with, but I took them all down in fear of being misinterpreted.”

Cinka said the Facebook comments were written by an affiliate of the company who later went on the record and apologized. Cinka said he didn’t agree with the sign and that he felt bad Newman had been mistreated.

Cinka said he does not take lightly any accusations of promoting rape culture and mentioned he's especially sensitive due to domestic violence in his upbringing. He said he has donated to several local charities and plans to host a benefit concert for a women’s shelter.

“I’m not saying in any way that the situation was lighthearted,” Cinka said. “In no way am I insensitive to rape or date rape,” he said. “We have more women in our bar than men on a daily basis. We are unbiased and we are completely not discriminatory.”

Newman said she was glad the sign was down, but said she had been told in an apology statement that the person responsible had been fired, which she said she doesn’t believe is true.

“I think an honest apology from the owner would really go a long way to stem the tide of the bad press they are getting from their poor decisions," she said. "Not only putting the sign in the window, but also their continued poor decisions and how they handled the situation. Park City is a beautiful place and it’s really disappointing to see something so ugly there.”

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Faith Heaton Jolley

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