A Montreal bar has apologized after it turned away a group of soldiers in uniform last weekend.
"We sincerely apologize for the unpleasant events that occurred early Sunday morning at Furco," the bar wrote on its Facebook page Tuesday.
The reservists from the Canadian Grenadier Guards, who were in full dress uniform after leaving an annual ball, told the Montreal Gazette that bar staff turned them away Sunday. They said they were told their uniforms were “bad for business.”
They had arrived at the bar in two groups around 1 a.m., but while staff seated the first group, the second, which arrived shortly after, weren't allowed in.
“One of my friends was told … that they weren't at capacity, it’s that having military personnel there is bad for business as women might not mind, but the men buying drinks would get intimidated,” one group member told the Gazette.
The bar disputes that version of events in their Facebook post.
According to their version, the manager had already let in a group of soldiers less than an hour before closing time, and couldn't bring in another big group when the bar was already at capacity.
"We feel it is important to clarify that the decision to deny a group access to our premises was taken for operational reasons and not as a means of discrimination against members of the military," the post said.
A few of the reservists told CJAD 800 that the bar apologized to them in person.
Management also explained it would train staff to be more sensitive and respectful of customers' expectations.
"We at Furco have nothing but the greatest respect for all members of the Canadian Armed Forces and we are proud to count them as some of our regular patrons," they said.
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