Oliver Bromley’s recent visit to a South London restaurant allegedly took a disheartening turn when the staff asked him to leave because he was “scaring the customers.”
As he lives with Neurofibromatosis Type 1, the British man revealed that it was a “horrible thing to happen,” and he took it “very personally.”
Neurofibromatosis Type 1 is a genetic condition that can lead to tumors (usually non-cancerous) developing on the nerves, which can consequently alter one’s appearance.
Oliver was receiving treatment from the King’s College Hospital when the August incident took place. He said he wasn’t in the mood for hospital food and was looking for a simple meal when he went to the restaurant in Camberwell.
Oliver Bromley was asked to leave a South London restaurant because the staff claimed he was “scaring the customers”
Upon entering the establishment, he encountered a cash-only sign, prompting him to step outside to withdraw money. However, upon returning to place his order, he reportedly faced a shocking rejection.
“After entering I noticed a cash-only sign, so went straight back outside to withdraw my money,” he told BBC. “I went back into the restaurant to place an order, and they told me to ‘please leave,’ because in their words I was ‘scaring the customers‘, and there had been complaints about me.”
“There had not been enough time between the time I had been there first, and the time I went back, for anyone to have made a complaint about me so obviously the restaurant staff were not happy with the way I looked,” he continued.
Following the incident, Oliver lodged a formal complaint but received no response from the restaurant.
This led him to report the matter to the police, who described the incident as a hate crime but said they were “unlikely” to further pursue the matter.
“It’s a horrible thing to happen. I took it very personally on the day,” he said about the August incident
Nerve Tumours UK—an organization that provides crucial medical and non-medical support to individuals and families affected by Neurofibromatosis—said they wrote to the restaurant in question but received no response.
“We were extremely disappointed to hear news of the dreadful, but sadly not uncommon, incident that Oliver Bromley experienced whilst attempting to purchase lunch,” Karen Cockburn, Charity Director of Nerve Tumours UK, told Bored Panda via email.
She explained that Oliver has the option to take legal action if he felt “discriminated against.”
“We work tirelessly to raise both the profile of the condition and the work that we do to help patients; and also to educate the wider public about the condition,” she added. “If Oliver felt that he had been discriminated against, there is the option that he could have a case under the 2010 Equalities Act, in which ‘severe disfigurement’ is a protected characteristic.”
Although the organization received no response from the restaurant, Karen noted that UK Hospitality (the trade body for hospitality in the country) agreed to work with Nerve Tumours UK to raise awareness.
Despite the emotional toll, Oliver said the incident is allowing him to “create awareness around people with facial deformities, facial differences.”
“We have written to both the restaurant concerned, and to UK Hospitality, the trade association body,” she said. Whilst we have not received any response from the restaurant, I am delighted to say that UK Hospitality has offered to work with us to raise awareness of the condition amongst the hospitality sector, and I am meeting with them shortly to kick start this joint venture.”
Despite the toll the incident took on Oliver and his family, he said the incident is allowing him to “create awareness around people with facial deformities, facial differences.”
“It’s not about me. It’s never been about me,” he added. “I don’t want retribution.”
He also noted that it could have been the restaurant staff’s lack of knowledge about the medical condition that led to their actions.
“They probably thought having tumors was contagious or something,” he told the outlet.
Netizens agreed that it was “awful” that the restaurant would turn him away because of his facial differences
