‘So do they deny people who come in while it’s raining?’: Man says restaurant nearly didn’t let him in due to wet hair
This man was taken aback when the hostess at a beach town restaurant almost wouldn't let him in because of his wet hair. Apparently, it's the restaurant's policy.
As seen during the pandemic with mask policies, businesses have the right to implement their own rules on how people show up to their establishment.
And even before this, you may have noticed signs stating “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service." This specific policy came about in the 1960s and 70s to keep out a particular group of people—hippies, the Journal reported.
There are no federal or state laws upholding this. Still, it's become a widespread saying and norm for businesses and restaurants. And aside from the hippie discrimination, it's understandable why a business wouldn't want to risk any liabilities, like a having a customer get hurt for not having a shirt or shoes on.
But “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Wet Hair, No Service." That's new.
Getting denied over wet hair?
Popular TikToker Sean Lans (@seanlans) said he was nearly denied entry to a restaurant because his hair was a bit wet.
In his video, Lans says he was at the beach all day. And prior to heading to his family's restaurant reservation, he had to wash his hair. He says he was trying to avoid damage since his hair is both bleached and curly.
While his hair took a while to dry, he says it was about halfway dry by the time they made it to the restaurant. Based on the picture he showed, his hair looked slightly damp.
"It almost could be like if someone put a lot of oil or gel in their hair," Lans says.
But as soon as the hostess looked at him, he says she said that it's "usually against restaurant etiquette for guests to have wet hair. But I'll allow it this time."
"My entire family was too stunned to speak," Lans says.
He adds that his sister's hair was also wet, but the hostess was locked in on him.
Lans says he was further confused because aside from his hair not being all that wet, the restaurant isn't all that upscale. And, he adds, they're in a beach town, so wet hair likely isn't a new thing they're dealing with.
"I've been to a million restaurants with wet hair before, and it's never been an issue," Lans says.
And after all that weirdness about his hair, the food wasn't even that good, Lans adds.
@seanlans I would get it if my hair was dripping wet or something but it really didn’t seem inappropriate for a restaurant #greenscreen #wethair #restaurant #etiquette #curlyhair #beach #blonde ♬ original sound - seanlans
Possible explanations
Several people in the comments section provided possible explanations.
One person said that it may have been the person's attempt at a joke or flirting. Others explained that in beach towns, some places have this policy because hair with salt water gets "all over the place" and can damage fabrics, metals, and wood.
Others had their own opinions and observations.
"So do they deny people who come in while it’s raining?" a person questioned.
"So many restaurants act like this when they are basically a step above a chilis," a commenter wrote.
"It looks like a style," another said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Lans for comment via email.
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