Heavily Tattooed Man Claims He Was Denied Service Due to His Ink

A Houston man alleges that he was reentry refused service at a local Mexican restaurant because of his tattoos. According to the Houston Chronicle, Bradford Patterson — a local bar owner — tried to get lunch at Pico's Mex-Mex restaurant earlier this week. He says that "two hostesses told him to leave" before he and his female friend could even sit down. Patterson believes that he was turned away because of how he looks — particularly, the amount of ink he has. At the time he was wearing a sleeveless shirt that revealed his heavily-tattooed arms.

Jerry Ramirez, the manager of Pico's Mex-Mex, says that he cannot speak about the incident because he was not at the restaurant when it occurred. However, he notes that the restaurant "would never turn away anyone that had tattoos." It supposedly has a "casual dress code that prohibits sleeveless muscle shirts on men." Ramirez claims that "a lot of people don't like to eat somewhere with people reaching over with their armpits exposed," so the restaurant created a dress code. Ramirez adds that the restaurant offers customers the option of wearing a Pico's Mex-Mex shirt if they don't meet the dress code.

Patterson argues that the restaurant does not have a posted dress code. He firmly believes he was turned away because of his tattoos: "Had I not had any tattoos I think they would have let it slide."

In March, another Houston-area restaurant made headlines for kicking out a customer over his tattoos. 27-year-old Erik Leighton says that he was escorted out of a Bombshells location by a police officer and was told that "individuals with facial tattoos weren't allowed inside."