The Station Tapas and Wine — Restaurant in Gibsons

While walking around the Gibsons town area before our dinner reservation, our bachelorette group from the Valley had an extremely upsetting experience.

The bride in our group needed to quickly use a washroom to change her tampon. She politely asked a woman at the front — who appeared to be a server — if she could use the facilities. The server, although reluctant, gave her permission. However, as the bride was about to use the washroom, a man — who we later realized was the owner — barged in, physically blocked her, and began disassembling the toilet right in front of her, stating the bathroom was “no longer in service.”

Shaken and close to tears, the bride returned outside to join the rest of us. Naturally, we were concerned and began discussing what had happened near the entrance. Suddenly, the owner stormed out of the building, aggressively getting in the bride’s face and yelling, “You think you have the right in this day and age to use a bathroom as a non-paying customer? Are you out of your minds? Do you even know what businesses go through these days?!”

Despite us calmly explaining that she had received permission and simply needed to change a tampon, the owner refused to listen. His behavior was belligerent, hostile, and shockingly misogynistic. He spoke down to our entire group in a completely inappropriate and disrespectful manner.

Based on this experience, I would not recommend this business to anyone. No one deserves to be treated the way we were — especially over something as basic and human as using a washroom in...

I was the bride-to-be, and while I was supposedly the only one given permission to use the washroom, that wasn’t true. All four of us who initially entered were told we could use it. I was able to go in the first time to pee without issue. However, when I realized I had gotten my period and asked a friend outside the washroom if I could go back in to change into a pad, the owner suddenly barged into the washroom and blocked me from re-entering. Moments later, he came out claiming the toilet was “out of service” and had begun taking it apart.

The fact that you’re now publicly responding to our group with false claims says a lot about your character and the way you run your business. This experience left me humiliated and extremely uncomfortable. When we mentioned it at a nearby business, the owner there even said this kind of behavior is typical of The Station’s owner, but that “he’s not so bad once you get to know him.” That alone speaks volumes.

You’ve since claimed that we’re trying to tear down a small business, and I’m genuinely sorry if that’s how it feels. But this was never about targeting a small business, it’s about how you, as the owner, chose to treat a group of women and how you continue to respond: not with accountability, but with rudeness, defensiveness, and accusations. At no point have you apologized or made any effort to address what happened with grace or empathy. That’s what this is...

We came at 6:30 and were told the wait would be about 15 minutes and that we’d receive a call. After waiting 40 minutes with no call, we returned to the restaurant only to watch the hostess give our table away to the party who just walked in, she specifically told them “I haven’t called the party who should be here first so I’ll just you guys in.” We were about to leave but not much else was open so we stayed. After another 15 minutes, we were finally told the only option was outdoor seating—which wasn’t true, since we had just seen empty tables inside. We were sat outside in the cold, and no one came to check on us for 15 minutes. At that point, we asked to move inside, and thankfully they allowed it.

By then it was already 8:00 pm. We immediately placed our drink and food orders because we were starving. Drinks took 30 minutes to arrive, and oddly, the food came out before the drinks did. For how expensive it was, the food was very disappointing: the lamb was overcooked, the octopus was burnt, and while the salmon and blini were okay, nothing stood out.

We’re from Vancouver and came in with high hopes, but sadly the experience fell flat. The server was kind, but it was clear the restaurant was understaffed and disorganized, which made for a...