Mavericks Beach Club in San Diego's Pacific Beach is facing backlash after being accused of sexual harassment by a customer.
Janae Peterson has accused employees of Mavericks Beach Club of harassing her after she was mistook for a man when she entered the women's restroom during a visit to the popular bar & restaurant. Peterson states she was there to have dinner with her wife and friends on May 4 when the situation occured.
"On May 4th, 2021 I went to eat at Mavericks Beach Club in Pacific Beach," reads the
Change.org petition posted by Janae Peterson. "After eating food I went to the bathroom where it was completely empty and to my knowledge I was alone. As I entered into the stall and started to use the bathroom, I heard 2 women yelling 'Men are not allowed in here, if you’re a man you can not be in the women’s restroom.' I initially was quiet, as a woman, there was no thought in my mind that they would be speaking to me. As I continued to use the bathroom I saw 2 women approach my stall. These two women, which I later found out, was 2 employees from Mavericks, a bartender and a security guard. The bartender put her hands on the top of my door and started to jump up to see over the stall. Once I saw her jumping I quickly yelled, 'I am not a man.' In which she got quiet and I saw her enter the stall on my right. After pleading to them that I was a woman, the security guard went into the stall on my left climbed over the toilet and began examining me and my private areas as I was wiping myself."
Following Peterson going public with the incident, she
spoke to San Diego's CBS8 and stated that Maverick's staffers apologized, as well as offered free drinks and a comped bill, but this did not make the humiliation go away. Peterson is reportedly asking that Mavericks to change its policies, issue a public apology, terminate all employees involved with the occurrence, and add a gender neutral restroom for the LGBTQ community. Mavericks Beach Club issued the below statement in response to SanDiegoVille's request for comment:
"Mavericks is an inclusive establishment that strictly prohibits discrimination of any kind, including on the basis of gender or sexual orientation," wrote Krista Marcheschi, Maverick's Events & Marketing Manager We are aware that one of our employees engaged in conduct that made Ms. Peterson feel otherwise. Our goal is to provide a welcoming experience to every patron that walks through our doors, and we regret that we were unable to provide that experience to Ms. Peterson. The employee that was involved in the events involving Ms. Peterson has been suspended while we undertake a complete investigation. We are also taking this opportunity to reiterate our commitment to inclusivity and to ensure that all staff continue to adhere to the highest standards that we demand from all of our employees. We are sorry that Ms. Peterson did not have the experience that she expected and deserves, and we hope that she will return to Mavericks again soon to experience the top notch service that we have to offer, which is only made possible by caring employees who strive to provide the highest quality service to all patrons who pass through the doors."
Eric Lingenfelder and Mark Cirillo of the
Verant Group and David Cohen (formerly of West Coast Tavern and co-owner of Uptown Tavern)
opened Mavericks Beach Club in February 2018. The Verant Goup is responsible for developing many popular San Diego establishments such as barleymash, Sandbar, Tavern at the Beach, West Coast Tavern, Uptown Tavern, True North, and The Smoking Gun.
"Thank you for posting the story," wrote Peterson to SanDiegoVille's Instagram account following the publication of this post. "If I were able to add anything, I would just say that they have cut off communication with me as well as disabling any mentions, and comments. I wanted to work with the owners and requested a public apology from the owners and they agreed and never issued the apology. The statement you received was a text message sent to me."
Mavericks Beach Club is located at 860 Garnet Avenue in San Diego's Pacific Beach. For more information, visit
maverickssd.com
