Restaurant told man with facial disfigurement to leave for ‘scaring customers’


Restaurant told man with facial disfigurement to leave for ‘scaring customers’

26 September 2024 4:46pm A man with a facial disfigurement was told to leave a restaurant because he was “scaring customers”. Oliver Bromley, 42, went for lunch at the eatery, which has not been named, in Camberwell, south-east London, in August, while having treatment at the nearby King’s College Hospital. But he was turned away by a waiter, who told him he had upset other attendees and would not be served. Mr Bromley has Neurofibromatosis Type 1, a genetic condition that causes benign, non-cancerous tumours to grow on his nerves. He was undergoing treatment at the hospital when he went to a nearby restaurant. “I decided to take myself for lunch,” recalled Mr Bromley, who works for an NHS mental health crisis helpline. “The food looked good when I looked in one window, and I went inside. “They said they were cash-only, so I took some money out and went to place my order. The gentleman behind the counter told me there had been complaints about me, and for me to please leave. “I asked him to repeat himself, and he said I was scaring customers.” Mr Bromley, who lives in Reigate, Surrey, said he was “incredulous” at what happened because he had hardly been in the restaurant long enough for someone to complain about his presence. “I hadn’t even sat down,” he said. “I went to place my order and they asked me to leave. Perhaps they had seen me browsing, perhaps they didn’t want me in there.”