Glebe restaurant sign sparks ire

A Glebe restaurant says the “nature of Centretown” has forced it to bar non-customers from using its bathrooms. Keith Loiselle, owner of the FarmTeam Cookhouse & Bar, said he put up a sign restricting washrooms to patrons after several incidents at the Bank Street restaurant.

“We just had a lot of traffic early in the opening hours where a mix of people would come in and leave our facility a mess. This was both in the bathrooms and the restaurant floors,” Loiselle said in an emailed response. He said people were bathing in the sinks and stealing rolls of toilet paper.

“Not sure who or what, but in high-traffic areas you have lots of people. It really looked bad on us by the time of the lunch rush on most days,” he said. The sign has caused a stir on social media, with many calling it offensive and condescending to Centretown residents.

“Can you imagine how up in arms Glebe-ites would be if it said ‘due to the nature of the Glebe’?” one person wrote on Reddit. Others questioned whether the sign was making specific reference to homeless people. Loiselle said he did not think the sign was offensive.

“I made it myself. I am just being descriptive,” he said. This is not the first time Loiselle has ruffled feathers with a self-made sign. In the summer of 2013, he erected a sign outside of FarmTeam that read: “City & BIA sanctioned food truck location is stealing from our family.”

At the time, a Red Roaster food truck had been given curb space about 60 metres from FarmTeam. Loiselle was frustrated by what he said was a lack of consultation with business owners.