More Gay-Unfriendly Accusations Against Maple & Motor (Update! With Comments From Jack Perkins)

File this one under Controversies Associated With Maple & Motor's Jack Perkins, easily one of the mouthiest restaurateurs in town. But considering the crazy-popular burger joint's proximity to Oak Lawn, the fact that some have accused Perkins and staff of being LGBT-unfriendly in the past is particularly, well, a thing. Now, the accusations continue. "I just received the following email," wrote Perkins on Facebook last night:

We find out you and your staff continue treating your gay & lesbian, etc... customers in a rude fashion. We have been there numerous times as well as our friends. If you the owner, counter person continue with your poor service, then we will have no choice to take this to the next step. I'll give you a hint.... I/we are in Media. We have and will continue having our "shoppers" go there to see if you have taken this advice into consideration. Best of Luck....

Signed: "Regards," with a first name--which we'll print if we can track down the sender. We've asked Perkins for his take on the e-mail hope to get an earful (inboxful?).

In the meantime, Maple & Motor commenters are supportive: "Take this to the media: jack and his staff are incredibly friendly to ALL their eager patrons." Done and done.

UPDATE: Perkins gave Eater Dallas a call just now and says it's "unfortunate" that this kind of thing keeps happening since "we're so accepting and so understanding." So, why not just ignore the e-mail in the first place and keep it under wraps? He figured he'd get out in front of the e-mail, himself. "I think the way to do this is to drag it out in the light rather than to cower or be scared," says Perkins.

On why these kinds of complaints keep coming up: "We don't get that from people who are in the majority because they don't have an axe to grind. We really don't get it from any other group except the LGBT group." Perkins says "we understand that people have been oppressed and have been mistreated, and that's the lens through which people view this." But in Maple & Motor's case, says Perkins, the only discrimination that happens is against people who aren't nice. "We're not particularly accomodating to everybody. When people are snotty and rude or whatever, we don't do what most people do: we don't react by kowtowing."

· Maple & Motor [Facebook]
· Customer Accuses Maple & Motor of Discrimination On Facebook [PegasusNews]
· All Jack Perkins Coverage on Eater Dallas [-EDFW-]

[Photo: Maple & Motor/Facebook]