At Baltimore?s Lexington Market, cold beer is poured fresh from the tap ? but there?s a catch.
To buy a cup of suds, patrons must also purchase food ? a policy some customers call a “rip-off” and the NAACP alleges is “possible discrimination.”
“I think it?s extortion,” said Rodney Orange, the fifth past president of the Baltimore branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. “Why should someone have to buy food if all they want is a cup of beer?”
Orange said he believes the policy might be discriminatory because Lexington Market is visited predominantly by black patrons ? while other markets in town, frequented mainly by white customers, have no such policy.
Robert Thomas, an assistant general manager at Lexington Market, said the six-year-old policy is simple: Vendors aren?t allowed to serve a customer more than two beers, and require the beer-drinker to purchase food.
“We don?t want it to seem like it?s a bar,” said Darlene Hudson, a market spokeswoman. “The beer is supposed to complement the food. It?s good to have a little beer with the oysters or steamed crabs.”
The controversy over the policy heightened last week. After conducting a voter registration drive, Orange saw some of his cousins and decided to catch up over a beer at the market, he said.
“The lady behind the counter showed me a sign, if you?re purchasing beer, you have to purchase some food. She said, ?Buy a slice of pizza or just get a hard-boiled egg for 50 cents.? I said, ?I don?t want a hard-boiled egg. I just want to have a cup of beer and chat for a while,?” he recounted.
The NAACP branch president, Marvin “Doc” Cheatham, wrote to the city?s Liquor Board Chairman Stephan Fogleman, saying, “One of our Executive Committee members, this past week, experienced what we believe is discrimination and a possible liquor law violation.”
Fogleman said the market vendors have city licenses that allow them to sell beer without food ? but that the market?s food policy is outside the liquor board?s control.
Thomas defended the policy, citing “the non-family-friendly environment in pockets of the market where people just drank beer all day.”
“We?re getting lots of families coming through here as tourists,” he said. “If I?m coming here for tomatoes, why should I be harassed by someone who?s been drinking beer all day?”
Orange suggested another solution, such as hiring more security.
“I understand they may be trying to cut down on drunkenness, and I know they?ve had problems with people loitering and begging,” he said. “… But they should find another way to deal with it.”
