ITSURWIENER Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Clemson

I had an extremely upsetting experience at Itsurwiener during my senior bar crawl, a day that was supposed to be one of celebration. The bar was packed, and while some of my friends were able to get drinks and go downstairs, I stood at the bar for what felt like an hour, never once being acknowledged or served.

Eventually, the owner who is an older man known as “Mr. Wien” came over and picked up an empty can of Mom Water Seltzer that I had placed on the bar. Instead of calmly addressing it, he immediately demanded I leave, claiming they didn’t sell that brand. I tried to explain that it was empty, I didn’t realize it was an issue, and that I had been waiting patiently to be served. I was calm and respectful. He told me to come around the bar so I complied. Immediately when I began speaking to him he was aggressive and hostile while I was nothing but calm, respectful, and apologetic. He began yelling at me in front of other patrons, pointing at a sign that says “outside alcohol prohibited” (as if that excuses his treatment). Instead of listening and speaking to me like a human, he further escalated it by continuing to yell at me and accuse me of sneaking it in, and ultimately threatening to call the police if I didn’t leave. Completely unnecessary.

Let me be clear: This was never about the can. This was about how I was disrespected, talked down on and ultimately humiliated by a grown man who chose to exert power over a 5’4”, 110-pound 21-year-old girl who posed no threat and was doing nothing wrong. I left in tears, not because I was bitter I “got kicked out,” but because I was publicly aggressively confronted and degraded for a small and honest mistake that could’ve been resolved with one sentence.

If you value being treated with basic respect or if you’re a young woman who doesn’t want to be deliberately singled out and screamed at by a man three times your age...

So I have put this off for a while now hoping that the behavior would change. Sadly it has not.

I have been paying close attention to the city council meetings the past two years as they discuss issues around the Covid pandemic. At least twice have I heard one of the owners of Itsurwiener (the guy) call in to whine and lampoon mask mandates and social distancing requirements at the height of the covid pandemic. The fact that they are willing to sacrifice the health and well-being of college students so they can exploit the poor decisions of young people is in a word... pathetic.

Are they popular? Yeah sure. It's a college town and they sell alcohol. Why wouldn't it be popular?

Are the owners puerile anti-maskers who think they can do no wrong? Also yes. Just look at their responses to negative reviews.

They have been closed down publicly at least once for violating health and safety protocols, and sadly, despite all this they still have a liquor license so college kids are still going to go there. They won't require masks and are happy to sell students booze, so +4 star reviews I guess.

Incoming childish response and lifetime ban. . . in 3... 2... ?

Edit: I knew they were petty, but damn not waiting 8 months and then...

I was minding my business admiring the foosball table when a man informed me that I can’t touch the table with a drink in my hand. I informed him that I wouldn’t spill anything on the table and moved aside so he could pass. He then told me in an aggressive tone that there was a sign not to put down drinks on the foosball table. Being that the bar was full, with nowhere to put our drinks, we were restricted to a corner with a 2x4 piece of wood nailed to the wall to put our drinks. Even still, I wouldn’t have set my drinks on the foosball table because it looked nice and I didn’t want to risk spilling anything. Despite this, this man insulted me in front of my friends and had an attitude every time he came by and told us unnecessarily to move away from the table. I used to not like Itsurweiner because it lets underage people in to drink. But now I don’t like it because the owner who has a large white mustache is disdain in his actions and crass in his attitude. We eventually got kicked out of the section near the foosball table just for...