Portland pizzeria renames '->-bleeped-<- stix' after response from transgender community
By Michael Russell, The Oregonian
on March 20, 2013 at 6:26 PMhttp://www.oregonlive.com/dining/index.ssf/2013/03/portland_pizzeria_renames_tran.html(UPDATE: I just spoke with Lonesome's Pizza co-owner Noah Antieau over the phone. See his comments at the bottom of the post.)
A Portland pizzeria has apologized and altered the name of a menu item after complaints from the transgender community.
On Sunday, Planetransgender, a transgender-focused blog, wrote a post about Lonesome's Pizza, calling out the restaurant for naming their bread sticks "->-bleeped-<- stix." A link on the restaurant's sci-fi themed menu page sent viewers to a photo of co-owner Nic Reddy dressed in drag.
Lonesome's Pizza, which delivers to most of Portland from their corner location inside Dante's club, 350 W. Burnside, is known for their fancifully named pizzas -- a cheese pie goes by "1. Lee Majors vs. a barracuda with a bowie knife" -- their kaleidoscopic pizzas and colorfully decorated boxes.
In a comment on the post, Lonesome's co-owner Noah Antieau apologized, writing that he and his business partners had decided to change the name.
"The absolute last thing we ever want to do is upset somebody who's already got a rough road," Antieau wrote. "The idea of doing that makes us all feel pretty horrible. So, if you're transgender, we're all apologies. ... Long story short, we'll come up with some other sophomoric, hopefully inoffensive name (anybody with an idea for a breadstick name is more then invited to throw something out)."
"We're dumb, no question, but we're learning."
Reached by phone Wednesday, Antieau said they named the bread sticks and posted the photo of Reddy for a laugh, not intending to hurt anyone.
