The Lighthouse

Reviews about The Lighthouse

• 1 / 5

  By Lauren Scott
  The bartender was rude, music was terrible, we were told we couldn't play the jukebox, he overcharged us for our drinks and told us the price had changed from the menu. Awful, never going back.
  February 27, 2017
• 1 / 5

  By Ang Buxton
  As a Ludlow resident, I thought I found a spot I could chill at comfortably: close to home, craft beer, pool tables...Unfortunately, the last (third overall) time I visited this bar, I experienced what can only be described as overt discrimination.
  When we (my girlfriend and I) arrived, it was about as full as I've seen it: there were a few couples at the bar, some rogue dudes, a table of teachers (represent!), with 1 bartender on and this middle aged white man who was identified as the owner by the bartender. My girlfriend (the only person of color in the bar) was able to get us drinks fairly quickly.
  After a game of pool, I went up to get a drink. I waited at the bar for 5 minutes. The bar tender and the owner were both busy around me, serving the few couples on the other end. However, when these 2 white women from the teacher table (ironic because I'm a teacher myself) came up RIGHT next to me, they were served instantly by the female bar tender! I tried to order but she flew away after serving them. Another 2 minutes passed. Then, these two beefy white dudes across the bar from me were offered another round by the owner dude before they were even finished with what they had, and I still hadn't been asked if I was good!
  At nearly ten minutes of sitting there, I gestured my girlfriend back over, figuring since she was able to get serviced so quickly before, maybe it would work a second time. Both the bar tender and the owner were in our vicinity twice more before I finally decided to say something. In an even tone, I gestured to the owner, "Hey, may I order a drink?" He literally started screaming at me. "CANT YOU SEE THAT IM SERVING SOMEONE ELSE. YOU NEED TO WAIT. I CANT JUST SERVE YOU WHENEVER YOU WANT."
  Now, as a teacher, this I can tell you that this was a tone more harsh than I would ever care to use with a student. Dude really flipped out on me. I sat in literal shock. I did not respond. My girlfriend's reaction was "let's just leave." Mine was of utter disgust. As a queer, non-binary female, I take a lot of subtle crap from people in the service industry, and maybe even more from women in restrooms at chain restaurants. This was probably the best example of targeted, unprovoked disrespect I've ever experienced.
  Shortly after the owner's blow up, two things happened:
  1. I watched him talking to three separate groups of beefy-looking dudes, all of which would correspondingly glance over at us. I thought about that kid who got jumped by cops coming out of Nathan Bill's recently and instantly felt panic. Why? Because I had done nothing to deserve being so disrespected to begin with besides wait patiently and silently. This was not my first rodeo at an almost dead bar. and
  2. The female bar tender decided to notice me (us?). She said, "Are you guys all set?" to which I replied, "We're leaving. But...So... who is that man?" She answered that it was the owner but that "he's not a bar tender so he's not serving anyone." Even as she said this, he was pulling beers from a cooler and pouring drafts. I said, "Well, he just literally screamed at me for asking if I could order."
  Her reply? "Yeah...So guys are all set then?" She didn't even wait for the reply. She just walked off.
  
  I don't want to continue trekking out to Northampton to avert being treated like a second-class citizen. But I will. However, the owner can rest assured that he accomplished his mission of making this particular couple of mixed queers feel so unwelcome, that we, and hopefully everyone in our lives who love us, will never give this place a piece of our hard-earned teacher salary again.
  October 27, 2016