Blind musicians, denied service by bartender, are seeing red

Tuesday, March 7, 2000 | 11:16 a.m.

Members of a visiting singing trio say the bartender of a Las Vegas restaurant owned by a public defender refused to serve them beer because they are blind.

Eli Del Rio of the group Outasight says he and his fellow singers were refused beer service at the Mariachi Cafe because owner Elena Martinez said she didn't want to face the liability.

"The owner said, 'No way, because you can't see what I'm pouring in your cup.' I told her this isn't a Third World country. This is America. You can't go around doing this to people," Del Rio said. "My buddies were hurt. I was hurt to get treated like this."

Martinez, a deputy public defender, said she did not tell Del Rio his group could not have the beer. The mistake, she said, was made by the establishment's bartender.

"She thought, under some mistaken impression, she couldn't sell to blind people because they were alone," Martinez said Monday. "She said he became aggressive about it, and we told her to wait until we got there."

Outasight arrived in Las Vegas Feb. 27 for a week of private engagements and local television appearances. Del Rio said they visited the Las Vegas Blind Center Wednesday, where they sang and encouraged others with impaired vision to pursue their goals.

Thursday evening the trio went to the restaurant at 545 E. Sahara Ave. with their manager, who is sighted. Del Rio says the bartender refused to serve them beer after telling them she had called Martinez, who said to refrain from serving them alcohol.

Martinez said she told the bartender to hold off serving the beer until she and her husband arrived because Del Rio had become angry and she didn't want angry patrons consuming alcohol on the premises.

"We were there within 15 minutes," Martinez said. "I said, 'She probably thinks you might think she's putting something in there.' It was her mistaken belief."

Martinez said they offered to serve the men free dinner and drinks, but they refused.

Del Rio said he refused because the damage was done.

"He thought by offering us a beer and some tacos we were going to forget this," the singer said.

Martinez said Del Rio called her husband the next day and asked "for $5,000 to forget this whole thing." Martinez said they told Del Rio to wait until 2 p.m. because they wanted to talk with their lawyer first. They said Del Rio never called them back.

Del Rio said he didn't ask for money when he called to talk with Martinez about the incident Friday. He said he made a flippant remark when Martinez's husband again offered a free meal.

"I said, 'It ain't like you're offering us $5,000 or $10,000 to forget the whole thing. And it's not like that would erase it.' " Del Rio said Monday. "She still doesn't get it."

Gary Peck, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union's Las Vegas office, said the group had been in touch with his office for help in finding a lawyer.

"Their story is extremely disturbing," Peck said. "It illustrates a degree of insensitivity that is quite astonishing."

Tina Shaffer, ACLU office manager and a wheelchair-user, said able-bodied people often have no idea what those with disabilities are capable of doing.

"It's based on fear," Shaffer said. "But getting to that restaurant and enjoying a glass of beer is a huge accomplishment. To get to that point and have someone say, 'I'm sorry. I can't serve you' is an insult. It's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of."

Del Rio said the group had such a good experience performing here they were thinking of relocating -- until dinner last Thursday.

"It's a great place, and we have a following," he said. "But we want to know if Las Vegas is really like this. We'd rather be broke without jobs than to be discriminated against."