Last night we went to The Birchmere in Arlington to see an acapella group competition. Boyfriend's sister was in one of the competing groups. All in all the night was a lot of fun. All of the groups were good (except one that basically sounded like N*SYNC), and I got to see a barbershop quartet perform. They were definitely the highlight of the evening, winning both the competition and audience favorite. Boyfriend's sister was really good, too. They won a prize for best original arrangement.
The venue seemed great. It was general admission seating, but there wasn't really a bad seat in the house. We got there at 5 (for a 7:30 show) and had a pitcher of beer while we waited for the doors to open. We ate dinner during the show ($15 for chicken tenders) and shared several more pitchers of beer.
After the show, I went in search of water. Six hours and all that beer had left me rather dehydrated and I was starting to get a headache. I made my way to the bathrooms, because that's where the drinking fountains live. Except there wasn't one. So I asked an usher to point me to the drinking fountain. She told me there wasn't one on the premises.
Confused, parched, and with a sinking feeling, I made my way to the bar. "Can I have a glass of water?" I asked the bartender.
"We only have bottled"
"I just want some tap water."
"Sorry, I can't give you any."
Does this seem strange to anyone else? Like possibly bordering on illegal? Between my ticket, food, and beer I had spent nearly $100 at this place and they were refusing to give me a glass of water.
I ended up in the bathroom drinking from the tap.
And so, despite a great show at a mostly awesome venue, I really don't think I'll be going back to the Birchmere. The lack of water completely ruined it.
PS They won't let you bring your own water, either.
That's definitely illegal in CA... I would assume nation-wide. Restaurants must provide water free of charge. I guess maybe the bathroom tap counts, but really? Urgh.
ReplyDeleteSo happy to hear about Boyfriend's sister kicking butt, haha!
Are you planning to call and talk to a manager/did you get the bartenders name? I would complain heartily to the establishment, perhaps after some research into the laws surrounding water at restaurants.
ReplyDeleteThere were multiple people who refused to serve me tap water. I got the impression that it was company policy. As such, I'm not sure complaining to the manager would do anything. And Virginia doesn't appear to have any laws requiring bars/restaurants to provide water free of charge. My plan is to just complain on the internet and never, ever go back there. It's a shame because it was a fun venue, but being denied water was a complete deal breaker
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