From The Villager
Gay bar bans patrons under age 25
By: Jennifer Jensen
November 29, 2000
Night owls old enough to buy a drink, but too young to rent a car will soon find themselves unwelcome at the Two Potato bar in Greenwich Village.
A sign posted on the door of the popular gay bar at the corner of Christopher and Greenwich Sts. reads that, effective Jan. 1, patrons will have to be at least 25 years old to enter the bar. That's four years past the legal drinking age.
Two Potato owner Eugene Buford said problems with young, and often underage, people loitering outside of the bar - and sometimes sneaking inside - prompted his decision to raise the age of admittance to 25. Buford said that in the past when bouncers and bartenders asked loiterers to leave, they often said that they were waiting for friends inside the bar.
"I'm trying to stop them hanging around," he said.
Complaints from area business owners and residents about young people loitering around the bar prompted Two Potato to change its policy.
"I'm trying to find some equilibrium between the customers and the community," said Buford, who posted the sign this month to give his patrons time to adjust to the change. "Most of the customers like the idea."
©The Villager 2003
