17 June 8 - 14, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents ‘Excited but Hesitant’ With Hate on the rise, restaurants, bars and bakeries prepare for Pride Month. BY TYLER HICKS L ee Daugherty has noticed a change the last few years. The owner of the bar Alexandre’s, an Oak Lawn staple, saw Facebook friends who were once “moder- ately liberal” now talking openly about po- lice oppression and the Stonewall riots. “I think there’s a renewed energy,” he says. “More people are standing up for what’s right, and with some of the recent rhetoric and laws, I think Pride will resonate more than ever this year.” He is referring to legislation like Senate Bill 12, which aims to prohibit “sexually ori- ented performances,” as well as the onslaught of bigotry faced by drag shows all year. There’s also the recent backlash against brands like Bud Light, Target and Chick-fil-A. While he finds some humor in conserva- tives who are mad that the chain restaurant hired a diversity, equity and inclusion leader — “Conservatives are going after Chick-fil- A! I love this timeline?” — he is ultimately “excited, but hesitant” about hosting Pride celebrations at his famed establishment. Excited because of the great energy he’s seeing from friends old and new; hesitant because Pride protesters reportedly already have plans to camp out roughly 100 feet from his bar. Amid a rise in anti-LGBTQ+ actions and legislation, restaurateurs and business own- ers like Daugherty are busy making plans to both celebrate Pride and keep their staff safe. “Some of my people have been with me 12 to 15 years, and I warn them, ‘Fascists and Christian nationalists are going to show up,’” he says. “We have internal discussions about what’s going on and how to stay safe; we track the bills.” His goal is to strike a balance between staff comfort and a joyful celebration. “If you drastically change your behavior, that’s how terrorism wins. You can’t uproot your life in fear. That’s counter to Pride. That’s counterrevolutionary,” Daugherty says. Reports from the Department of Home- land Security and the Armed Conflict Loca- tion and Event Data Project (ACLED) show threats and hate crimes against the LGBTQ community are on the rise both nationally and in Texas. So are demonstrations. In fact, ACLED data show only one state, California, with more anti-LGBTQ protests than Texas thus far this year. The number of protests is likely to increase as Dallas for- mally celebrates Pride the first weekend of June and businesses host their own festivi- ties throughout the month. The revered national chain Hamburger Mary’s, a favorite for drag fans, opened the doors of its new Oak Lawn location at 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 1. The restaurant and bar had several drag shows and brunches planned for the first weekend. Additionally, every Sunday the Dallas location will host drag bingo, with proceeds benefiting a dif- ferent charity each week. Tanner Roberts is the food and beverage director of the Dallas Hamburger Mary’s. Af- ter the Houston location experienced hun- dreds of protesters and counter-protesters at its opening, he and his team are preparing for a similar possibility. Protect Texas Kids, a nonprofit dedicated to taking “a stand in pro- tecting kids from the toxic, indoctrinating agenda of the left,” posted plans for a protest via social media, even though the venue is re- stricted to ages 21 and older. Roberts’ approach to Pride Month is sim- ilar to Daugherty’s. “We’re really excited about this location, and we’re also taking plenty of precautions,” he says. “We just want everyone to be safe.” Those precautions include contact with the Dallas Police Department and a private security company. While Roberts wants to keep the details of his security plan close to his vest, he says that Hamburger Mary’s will have two armed security guards in atten- dance on both Thursday and Friday. After that, he says they’ll “see what hap- pens,” referring to ongoing security needs. Meanwhile, in the suburbs, Haley Popp continues to manage the hatred that has be- come a daily occurrence for her team at Hive Bakery. The award-winning Flower Mound bakery is often the object of vitriol thanks to Popp’s outspoken social media stance on matters of civil and trans rights, such as a photo of cake with My Body, My Choice writ- ten in pink fondant across the top. “Transgender people are on our mind here at Hive Bakery,” she says. “I have people who ask all the time, ‘What is posting on your social gonna do?’ The reality is we’re sticking up for the people who don’t have the platform.” Popp will sell Pride-themed cookies throughout June, with half of all proceeds going to organizations supporting transgen- der rights. The baker and her team will also be ready for any hate that comes their way during the month. Popp says messages usually arrive via so- cial media, with some people saying things like, “I wish your whole store would burn down.” But occasionally people make com- ments in person, too. “People tell us some variation of, ‘You go woke, you’ll go broke,’” Popp says. “We usu- ally just say, ‘Have a good day, stop in for cin- namon rolls whenever you feel like!’ “They do come back,” she continues, “be- cause they can’t stay away from the product. We literally have people say the shittiest stuff imaginable and come back three weeks later to buy a cake for their kid.” Popp is proud of her staff, including a manager she calls “fiery as fuck” and a team she calls “fearless.” Still, she emphasizes that she is always there to handle the more prickly interactions. “I live and die in that fucking bakery,” she says. “I’m in that place 365 days a year. If anyone has anything going on with a cus- tomer, they’re always instructed to come back and get me. I don’t want them taking the brunt. I’m the one putting it out there, so I should deal with it.” On one occasion, she went toe-to-toe with a customer who started recording Popp, seem- ingly in an attempt to embarrass the baker and goad her into a fight about the bakery’s values. “I pulled out my phone, too, and I told her, ‘I have 80,000 followers. How many do you have?’” Like Daugherty, Popp sees the support. She knows there are many people out there who share her love for the LGBTQ commu- nity, and this month — and every month — she wants them to spread that love as much as they can. “I could live in Colorado or Oregon, but we’re living in the thick of it,” she says. “There are so many LGBTQ people here in Dallas, and not everyone can leave. They come into our bakery in tears and thank us for being a safe haven.” “That’s why we do it,” she adds. “To let you know you’re not fucking alone.” ▼ FAST FOOD OH, THE HUMANITY CHILI’S CHANGES ITS BELOVED CHICKEN CRISPERS. FANS CRUSHED. BY NICK REYNOLDS O ut of a converted post office on Greenville Avenue in the Vickery Meadows neighborhood of Dallas, the Chili’s restaurant brand was born in 1975. From those humble beginnings, Chili’s went on to become a household name, booming to over 1,500 locations worldwide with headquarters is in Coppell. Over the years, the Southwest-themed chain has spawned a number of menu hits. One of those successes is the fan-favorite chicken crispers. But the decision to revamp that recipe has left many loyal customers baffled. Late last year, Chili’s decided to scrap the old crispers, which were tempura- battered chicken tenders, and introduced an “improved,” crispier batter. Naturally, there has been blowback. A pe- tition was even started (to no avail). The Twitter outrage on the subject has been pal- pable — well, as palpable as anger over chicken tenders can be, anyway. “This might be the worst day of my life,” tweeted one person, according to USA Today. We’re guessing that person’s nickname is some- thing like “Lucky.” With an eye to giving the chicken crispers version 2.0 an open-minded shot, we placed a curbside order through Chili’s website. First, let’s get the sides that came with the crispers out of the way. A lifeless white cheddar mac and cheese was in a tiny con- tainer, barely half-full, and an order of Texas cheese fries (we upgraded from regular fries) came with our crispers. The fries were covered in melted shredded cheese, jalape- ños and green onions and, like the mac and cheese, were uninspiring. Obviously, these would have been better eaten tableside as soon as they came out of the kitchen. Alas, they couldn’t survive a less-than-10-minute ride away. By the time we pulled the fries out, the melted shredded cheese had melded the fries into a unified object we could’ve played catch with in the yard. But one doesn’t order crispers for the mac and cheese or fries. The new crispers, which will set you back $14.39 for five, come with two dipping sauces of your choice (choose from Buffalo ranch, Buffalo, barbe- cue, honey mustard and sweet chili zing) and a mandatory side of ranch. You can also select from either regular or honey chipotle crispers. We went with regular. As far as chicken tenders go, they weren’t bad. They were indeed crispy, and we always give credit when a place doesn’t overcook the chicken, which this Chili’s location did not. The crispers came semi-moderately juicy enough, and the sweet chili zing sauce en- hanced these tenders from merely serviceable to borderline good. But among the sea of chicken tenders that exists out there on menus everywhere from coast to coast, does Chili’s new chicken crispers stand out? Nah. Ade- quate but unremarkable. @OGCrispers on Twitter (yes, there’s an account dedicated solely to fighting the tragic demise of Chili’s old chicken Hive Bakery Hive Bakery is Flower Mound will celebrate Pride Month. | CITY OF ATE | ▼ Dish >> p18