eating out?

Restaurant forced to close after man accuses owner of hosting a “full blown” gay sex party

Sack Joulavong, Stephen Montgomery, Belfast, Bai Tong Thai restaurant, ireland, gay orgy, rumor, claim

A former restaurant owner claims he had to close up shop and relocate after a spiteful customer spread false rumors about his eatery hosting a gay orgy.

42-year-old Sack Joulavong ran the Bai Tong Thai restaurant in the north Belfast neighborhood of Ardoyne in Northern Ireland.

In August, a man named Stephen Montgomery allegedly wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post that “some fella on Grindr” asked him to come to a place in the Ardoyne shopping district.

Montgomery allegedly claimed he rode a taxi over to the area when “a shutter of one of the chineses [sic] opened,” apparently mistaking Bai Tong for a Chinese eatery.

“I went in the shutter closes behind me and when I tell you there was a full blown orgy going on in this Chinese I’m not even messing,” his claim continued. “Sheets on the floor the lot.”

“To say I’m traumatized is an understatement,” he allegedly added. “I was so uncomfortable & I was literally touched for a few times to which I told them to stop. I was called boring, stupid and a ‘waste of time’ all because I didn’t wanna be involved.”

Montgomery wrote that he was finally asked to leave before concluding “the moral of the story is if you find a hair in your salted chili chicken, that is infact a PUBE x.”

Oh, but it gets even cringier.

Montgomery reportedly stood by his claims in a series of follow-up posts, including one that contained a video of him supposedly leaving the restaurant while repeating the word “orgy.”

Joulavong denied the claims, and his version of events was much less scandalous and, frankly, a lot more believable.

He explained that last August, he renovated his restaurant for an upcoming health inspection, and so he invited a few friends to enjoy beers while the place was closed. One of his friends reportedly invited Montgomery, but Joulavong asked him to leave soon after he arrived since they were wrapping up drinks anyway.

“I don’t even know him, but I think he was a bit annoyed when I asked him to leave along with everyone else. I’m sorry if he was upset by that,” Joulavong said.

The restaurant owner has since said that he and his staff became overwhelmed by homophobic abuse as the hateful rumor spread.

People began calling the business asking about the claim and requesting oral sex. Joulavong tried keeping the business open, but he said customers started avoiding his eatery as the rumor gained traction, costing him thousands in sales.

He eventually closed the store and moved to be with his sister in London. He said customers still call his business’ old number to see if it’s still open.

“I have to keep telling them we’re closed, but maybe I’ll come back one day,” he told the Belfast Telegraph. “Why would I let people have sex in my shop? This is my business. That would be really stupid.”

“It’s very sad, but I think it was best for me to get away for a bit after what happened.”

Joulavong and Montgomery both reported the claim to the police. Investigations into the matter are ongoing.

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