This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Salt Lake City bar owner has apologized after one of his employees refused to serve two Polynesian men because of their ethnicity.
Willie's Lounge owner Geremy Cloyd said Wednesday that he has an informal rule that allows bartenders to turn away people who look like they could make trouble.
Cloyd acknowledges that he included all Polynesian people in that category due to past problems with some, but says it was wrong to turn away patron Frank Maea and his friend from the bar on Tuesday night.
Maea tells Salt Lake City's KUTV he was shocked at the treatment and posted a cellphone video of the encounter online. Maea says he's speaking out to prevent something like it from happening again.
He says he'll accept the apology, but he won't go back.