(Photo from Grills Facebook page)
Grills Seafood Deck and Tiki Bar, a restaurant with locations in Cape Canaveral, Melbourne and Orlando, defended itself online April 17 against social media posts that stated the company threw out its supply of Bud Light with a manager reportedly making a homophobic statement.
The story first appeared on the The Space Coast Rocket website which reported that several social media posts began popping up April 14 that said they were being refused to be served Bud Light at Grills’ Cape Canaveral and Melbourne locations.
A post from the Rockledge, Florida Community Updates & News Facebook group, which was shared on Grills’ Facebook page, stated that an individual eye witnessed employees at Grills “throwing every Bud Light bottle/Keg in the trash.” The post goes on to say that they overheard the manager tell bar staff “We don’t serve faggot beer,” adding that the bar staff was embarrassed and was apologizing for the manager’s actions.
Grills responded on its Facebook with a statement, writing “I can assure you, our patrons and employees, many who know me personally and followed the Grills story, this post is not true and not remotely characteristic of who we are or what our reputation in the community has been for over 25 years. Myself, management and our employees are devastated by the fact that this post deeply hurt members of the gay community and our employees that we have cared about and treated with the same non-judgmental respect we have given everyone for over 25 years.”
Grills post then goes on to address the recent Bud Light controversy over the beer company partnering with social media influencer and trans activist Dylan Mulvaney.
“It is true we made the decision to remove Bud Light because of their support of something that is in direct opposition to our Biblical faith,” Grills wrote. “There is no judgement in our heart concerning those who believe in these rapidly changing social values. But there is a lie being levied that we and other Christians hate Dylan Mulvaney and the gay community. Nothing could be further from the truth in our hearts and minds.”
The statement goes on to state “we believe transgenderism is a social experiment causing irreversible damage to a growing population of younger and younger children. We will not align with it in any way.”
The statement is signed by Joe Penovich, owner of Grills Restaurants.
This isn’t the first time Grills has made headlines involving social issues. The Bungalower reported back in 2021, Penovich would not get the COVID-19 vaccine, or require any of his employees to get it, because God told him not to get it.
