EL CAJON (NEWS 8) – The Grand in El Cajon hosts good and fun times, but there are rules that need to be followed like the 'no weapons' policy its owner implanted nine months ago.
Jeffrey Dilallo is The Grand’s owner. “The vast majority of our guests comply. It’s no issue. If they walk in accidentally with a pocket knife they give it to us. We keep it, then give it back to them.
It’s a policy that seems to have backfired.
Dilallo said that despite the 'no weapons' policy being implemented nine months ago, there are groups of customers that routinely test the rule and give staff trouble over it. According to him, many of them were members of specific motorcycle gangs known for criminal activity.
Dilallo banned them from The Grand.
The ban on weapons at the bar was first. It was followed by a ban on certain motorcycle gangs. Now, that has led to an online boycott that Dilallo feels misidentifies his inspiration.
“I just want to operate a bar where everyone is welcome. It's not about not liking an individual or a club that they belong to. It's about the safety of the people who come here to have a good time,” he said.
Unfortunately the last call for gangs may have backfired. The Grand is in the midst of an online boycott. On Facebook and Yelp there are dozens of reviews like the one in which a user writes in part: “I can’t recommend an establishment that discriminates against a class of people.”
Another reviewer wrote the owner is discriminating against certain clubs, yet allowing others.
“My hope was that others who perhaps were in the community at large would understand they were not the target of this policy,” said Dilallo.
Despite the potential drought of business, Dilallo said he is keeping the ban. Eventually, he believes the community will see this is just meant to bar gangs not every day motorcycle clubs. “I don’t care if you come here on an alpaca and I don’t care if you are a doctor or you wear a leather vest – just be a decent person.”
Jeff Dilallo said he is not sure if the online boycott has hurt his business, but he said he just focused on the safety of his employees.