The “Unique Dining Capitol of Texas” said farewell to the restaurant that hosted a “family-friendly” drag show, which captured national headlines when armed Antifa showed up to “protect” the restaurant from protestors less than a year ago.
On Aug. 13, Anderson Distillery Grill in downtown Roanoke, Texas, closed permanently after receiving backlash from residents in the small town best known for its picturesque downtown that draws visitors from all over the Lone Star state. City leaders had reached out to the restaurant owner, Jay Anderson, after learning about the scheduled event urging him to reconsider his plans for the community of about 10,000, but to no avail.
“I hate to see any business in Roanoke fail,” Roanoke City Councilman Bryan Moyers told The Epoch Times. “We all reached out to Jay Anderson before the event took place. I had one conversation with him by phone and tried to convince him that this was a bad idea, just from a pure business standpoint—this is a bad idea. But he didn’t listen to anybody.”
The restaurant announced its closing on social media just five days before it shuttered.
Anderson also said it plans to open a new location in Denton, about 20 miles north of Roanoke.
“This is not the end of our journey. We’ve got more barrels of fun in the future! We’re thrilled to announce we will be RELOCATING to the vibrant town of Denton. Stay tuned for more updates on our next adventure. Before we say our goodbyes, we would be HONORED to see our valued customers one last time! Let’s raise a glass together this week and reminisce about the countless memories we’ve shared over spirits,” the social media post continued.
News Spreads Quickly in a Small Town
Anderson Distillery and Grill opened its doors on Oak Street in July 2022.The tree-lined street is planked by a host of restaurants, bakeries, gift shops, and even an old-fashioned candy store called “Hey, Sugar.”
But shortly after Anderson Distillery’s opening, the restaurant advertised its plans to host a drag event on Aug. 28, 2022. The event, dubbed “Barrel Babes Drag Brunch,” starred the restaurant owner’s son, Bailey Anderson, aka Trish Delish, a drag queen from Denton, Texas.
News spreads quickly in a small town.
Mr. Moyers said outraged residents started contacting city leaders, urging them to block the event, while others said they supported the event as a right to free speech.
But the city found there were no local, county, or state laws in place at the time to prevent the event from taking place.
Protestors Were Met by Armed Antifa
Dozens of protestors carrying signs stood across the street from the restaurant while members of the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club clad in black, wearing masks over their faces and carrying rifles, lined the sidewalk in front of the building. It is legal to carry a rifle in public in the state of Texas.“The event attracted protestors and groups carrying rifles who indicated they were there in support of the private business. Both of these groups have the right to assemble under the [First] Amendment,” the city of Roanoke said in a Facebook post.
Mr. Moyers, who was watching from a nearby location, said there was “a lot of yelling back and forth” between the protestors and the Antifa group, but things heated up when the drag queens “spilled outside the doors of Anderson’s.”
“That’s when I think it started to set a lot of people off and really upset a lot of people around town,” said Mr. Moyers, who has lived in Roanoke for 10 years.
Numerous videos from the event were shared across social media sites.
About midway through the video, a woman who had attended the event with her young son, pulled up in front of the restaurant in a minivan and started screaming expletives at the protestors. Then, the woman pulled up her shirt, flashed her breasts at them, and drove off.
Following the event, the mayor pledged to do “whatever it takes to maintain a culture of respect and in defense of our children.”
“We are saddened that families were subjected to conduct that resulted in the presence of armed protestors, and we believe this behavior was irresponsible, dangerous, and intolerable — our City will continue to investigate the incident,” Roanoke Mayor Carl “Scooter” Giersch said in a statement two days after the drag show.
Mr. Anderson told the Cross Timbers Gazette that the event was a success.
“Yes, every table was full before we officially opened,” he said, adding that the restaurant ran out of food and that it passed the “no sexual content” inspection by the Texas State Comptroller.
But, nearly a year later, the one-time event appears to have put a bad taste in the mouth of many local patrons.
“Know where you are and understand your audience,” Mr. Moyers said. “It really is a testament to the power of the people and their pocketbooks. Because you know, had they not done that [drag show], I think Anderson Distillery would have been very successful on Oak Street.”
