“No, it’s not anything like that at all.” You’re not gay, you cannot come in,'” said another woman. “There’s no, ‘Oh, you’re gay, you can come in. “And the food is great,” said her daughter. It’s a wonderful place everyone’s super, super nice,” said. It’s family-friendly, and we’ve gone there several times,” said a woman, “so I don’t think it’s an issue I think it’s a great thing.”Īnother woman said she routinely takes her young daughter to Rosie’s. “Some things have been referred to the police department, not necessarily direct threats but things that should happen to us.”Īrea residents who spoke with 7News said this is a non-issue. “Many, many phone calls and emails today that we’ve been fielding from people that are not even from Florida, that have never been here,” said Zieba. On the most recent trip, children got the chance to color pumpkins.īut Zieba said the social media attention has led to a hate-filled reaction, he said, and he has since reached out to Wilton Manors Police.
BROWARD FIELD TRIP TO GAY BAR HOW TO
They talk about what they’re eating and how to order and how they want their food - if they want something on the side, so it’s a great experience for them.” “You can just see that they’re just enjoying themselves. “It’s really such a cool experience to see the kids’ faces light up, and how excited they are when their food comes, or when they get the bill,” said Zieba.
They also learn how to pay the bill and tip the server. Zieba said the children learn a little about the restaurant business and order from a kid-friendly menu.
“It’s a really nice event,” said Rosie’s co-owner John Zieba. That description ignited an online debate as to whether such a trip was appropriate for young children, even with parental permission. One of Rosie’s regular, Scott Travis, took to Facebook to express disgust at how the story was being reported by some of the more right-leaning media outlets.But when Broward County School Board Member Sarah Leonardi, who chaperoned the group during this week’s trip, posted about it on Facebook, it led to an online story that called Rosie’s a “gay bar.” No different than a field trip to Outback! ?️?įrom what I’ve gathered, the bar and grill isn’t a typical “bar” – they have special kid-friendly menus and coloring pages. ? If I could have went on a field trip like this at that age, it would have been literally life changing. Because me thinks the issue isn’t that there was a bar at the grille. Just making sure you’ve never brought children to Applebee’s, TGIF Friday’s, Outback, or chili’s. However, some of the responses have been supportive. You just can’t trust many teachers or schools anymore thanks for continuing to prove our points Please tell me they will all get fired for this. The fact that you’ll joyfully promote a elementary school activity that has nothing to do with your core mission as an educator of this vulnerable age group, just confirms many parent’s fears of how broader cultural issues are being taken out of parents hands, w/o their consent. I’m gay and think elementary school students going on a field trip to a gay bar is ridiculous. This is just wrong on so many levels! Then telling the world that you did it! It is an indicator of just how much reform is needed in schools and school boards. It’s safe to say, most came from people with no connection to Wilton Manors. Here are just a few examples of the tweets. Related: Florida u-turns and now allows local bridge to be lit in rainbows for Pride month The field trip has taken place for around the last ten years. Of course, the kids were not shown that, having their own age-appropriate menu instead. Some picked up on the fact that the menu for adults offers such dishes as the ‘Rhoda Cowboy’ and ‘Ivana Hooker’ burgers. The majority are from people outraged at the idea of a school arranging a field trip to an gay-friendly restaurant.
School Board Member Sarah Leonardi October 27, 2021Īt a time when school board meetings have become a friction point over mask mandates and LGBTQ-inclusive lessons, the posting has prompted over 2,000 comments on Twitter and hundreds on Facebook. I was SO honored to be invited to chaperone field trip to the incredible Rosie’s! The students and I had a fun walk over and learned a lot about our community! A huge thank you to for hosting this special field trip every year! /A3rpMbyUJP