Goodness, it's been quite an enthralling day, hasn't it? The tale of the cheap patrons versus the cranky House of Shield bartender got many of us hot and bothered. And in an effort to pour fuel on that fire -- oh, you're welcome - we contacted both the House of Shields' owner, the awesomely-named Schlomo Rabinowitz, and the anonymous bar patron who spent much of last night digging glass out of her foot.
While the patron preferred not to go on record with her name or story, we did ask Rabinowitz what went down and what he heard from the bartender in question. He tells us that "the customer in question refused to tip for a $200 bar tab," which then prompted the unidentified bartender to slam "a glass down on the side of the bar," smashing it and sending shards down to the ground.
In the end, you know, these things happen. Working with the public is difficult; working with an inebriated one is next to impossible. Then again, it was the servers job to rope the crowd in, so...group hug, ladies. (On a personal note, we're biased since we deeply love House of Shields and their bartenders. They place has a very low staff turnover rate, many of whom have been there for several years.)
Rabinowitz left us by saying, "If someone doesn't want to tip, then they shouldn't come to House of Shields."
Update: Bridges gave been built, folks. Rabinowitz tells SFist that he's throwing a personal party for the patron in question to mend fences. Aw. Life really is like a Judds song!
Altered image credit: Kenn Christ