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State forces McGuire’s to remove 'joke' restroom signs
NW Florida Daily News ^ | 5-16-2008 | PATRICK McDERMOTT

Posted on 05/18/2007 7:11:44 AM PDT by Cagey

DESTIN — Like the dollar bills hanging from the ceiling or the signature drink the Irish Wake, the craftily worded signs on the bathroom doors are part of the charm of McGuires’s Irish Pub.

It takes some careful attention to the fine print to end up in right bathroom, but it’s all in good fun, said General Manager Billy Martin.

“We’re not trying to be malicious,” Martin said. “It’s an Irish joke kind of thing.”

For those who haven’t seen them, the gist is the men’s room sign has large print that reads “Ladies” and smaller text clarifying they shouldn’t go in there because it’s the men’s room — vice-versa for the other bathroom.

But not everyone sees the humor, and the signs have been removed by order of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

The agency threatened McGuire’s with closure for a six-word violation — “Lack of signage properly designating bathrooms.”

The signs have been up for 10 years without a problem and for 30 years in the Pensacola restaurant, but a complaint filed last month forced them down in Destin.

“We’re not doing it because we want to, it’s what we’re required to do,” Martin said.

The signs are still up in Pensacola, but they might also have to come down, Martin said.

The complaint came from a father who said a college-age man walked in on his 15-year-old daughter.

The man said in his complaint that his daughter was embarrassed and left the restaurant crying.

“I personally cannot sit back and let this happen to other people’s children and wives any longer,” the complaint read.

The man lists his address as a condominium in Destin, but he was unable to be reached because the unit is rented out this week. Because he could not be reached for comment and the matter involves his 15-year-old child, the Daily News did not identify him.

Martin pointed out that if people choose the wrong door, there are clear signs on the inside wall directing patrons to the right restroom.

Faced with closure, there was no choice but to take the signs down.

But McGuire’s isn’t giving up. Petitions to bring the signs back now hang on the doors and other petitions circulate around the restaurant.

So far, there are more than 3,000 names, but Martin doesn’t know if it will change anything.

“This is just something we’re going to try and do,” he said. “Our hands our tied right now.”


TOPICS: Government; US: Florida
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1 posted on 05/18/2007 7:11:47 AM PDT by Cagey
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....and the signs have been removed by order of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Next to visit this Pub will be the Ministry of Silly Walks. I've seen a lot of unauthorized silly walking going on in Irish Pubs.

2 posted on 05/18/2007 7:14:19 AM PDT by Cagey
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To: Cagey

Gay bar?


3 posted on 05/18/2007 7:16:25 AM PDT by BenLurkin
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To: Cagey

There’s nothing as foolish and destructive as a dumb a$$ bureaucrat with too much time on his/her hands.


4 posted on 05/18/2007 7:18:02 AM PDT by Banjoguy
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To: Cagey
The complaint came from a father who said a college-age man walked in on his 15-year-old daughter.

What's the legal drinking age in Florida. What is a 15 year old girl doing in a bar bathroom?

5 posted on 05/18/2007 7:18:07 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (Are there any men left in Washington? Or are there only cowards? Ahmad Shah Massoud)
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To: Cagey

It’s like going to a boxing match and being upset to see grown men fighting.

It’s a pub. If bawdy behavior bothers you, then don’t enter.


6 posted on 05/18/2007 7:18:11 AM PDT by Stark_GOP
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To: Cagey
I can see this will cause a lot of confusion to our new spanish languaged citizens.
7 posted on 05/18/2007 7:19:08 AM PDT by stevio ((NRA))
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To: Cagey
The complaint came from a father who said a college-age man walked in on his 15-year-old daughter.

The man said in his complaint that his daughter was embarrassed and left the restaurant crying.


If it is a typical ladies' room, the daughter was in a stall, so the guy didn't see anything.

If it's a one-person ladies' room, the daughter didn't lock the door behind her, and deserved to be walked in on.

At any rate, crying from embarrassment? Grow a spine, girlie, or the sorority chicks at your college of choice are gonna eat you alive.
8 posted on 05/18/2007 7:19:51 AM PDT by Xenalyte (You have to defile a mummy completely, or they come back to life. You know that.)
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To: Cagey
The man lists his address as a condominium in Destin, but he was unable to be reached because the unit is rented out this week
9 posted on 05/18/2007 7:21:36 AM PDT by Thrownatbirth (.....when the sidewalks are safe for the little guy.)
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To: BenLurkin

Not a gay bar. Great food and micro brewery. The best entertainment is getting a table in the room accross from the rest rooms (seperated by glass) and watch the reactions. Will the state now make them put it in spanishican?


10 posted on 05/18/2007 7:22:14 AM PDT by BigDaddyTX (Don't Mex with Texas)
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To: Xenalyte

I once walked into the ladies room in an office complex because I wasn’t wearing my glasses.

It’s completely different world in there.

No wonder they’re always leaving the table at the restaurant.

I caught myself, luckilly, before I took a leak on the wall.

The plush carpet and perfumed air freshener should have been dead giveaways.


11 posted on 05/18/2007 7:23:49 AM PDT by joeystoy
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To: Cagey

The Florida Department For Killing Every Bit of Fun would have hated the signs from a bar near a local college. One sign was “Pointers” and the other was “Setters”. It’s a lot of fun when you’re sober, but try figuring it out after a few beers (for large values of “a few”).


12 posted on 05/18/2007 7:24:55 AM PDT by KarlInOhio (Parker v. DC: the best court decision of the year.)
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To: Xenalyte

Maybe she was frustrated at her repeated failed attempts to use the urinal?


13 posted on 05/18/2007 7:25:48 AM PDT by Hegewisch Dupa
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To: Vigilanteman

The “pub” is also a restaurant, which is true of many Irish pubs in the US.


14 posted on 05/18/2007 7:28:59 AM PDT by elc (Guns kill people the same way the spoon made Rosie O'Donnell fat.)
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To: joeystoy
I once walked into the ladies room in an office complex because I wasn’t wearing my glasses.

I walked into the Womens' restroom at an airport several years ago. I saw the janitor coming out and thought it was the Mens' restroom and just walked in after he had gone down the asile toward the actual Mens' room. I saw the "WET FLOOR" sign and noticed there were no urinals, just stalls. I did an about face and a very quick exit.

15 posted on 05/18/2007 7:31:42 AM PDT by Arrowhead1952 (Guns don't kill people. None of my guns ever left the house at night and killed anyone.)
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To: Thrownatbirth

Probably a friggin’ snowbird or timeshare turista...don’t like where they live so the SOBs come down here and try to make it as much like the liberal ruled hell holes they left.


16 posted on 05/18/2007 7:36:07 AM PDT by skepsel
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To: Cagey
Boy, that IS confusing! They should switch to these:


17 posted on 05/18/2007 7:41:27 AM PDT by robertpaulsen
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To: Cagey

Not only do the signs tell you which bathroom is which (if you read closely), my last visit the waitress even asked if we needed an explanation for the restrooms (which seemed foolish when ordering, but after a few beers, I understood why).


18 posted on 05/18/2007 7:43:10 AM PDT by Kegger
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To: Banjoguy

Behind the pasty face of every bureaucrat is a petty little tyrant itching for the chance to control those who would otherwise contently ignore him.


19 posted on 05/18/2007 7:53:58 AM PDT by andy58-in-nh
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To: joeystoy
It’s completely different world in there.

Ticks me off how they keep leaving the seat down.
20 posted on 05/18/2007 7:55:58 AM PDT by P-40 (Al Qaeda was working in Iraq. They were just undocumented.)
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