Man With 'Large Necklace' Asked To Leave Restaurant Because Of Dress Code

A man in Indiana claimed a restaurant had asked him to leave because of the size of his jewelry and now he plans to protest the establishment.

Jerry Bond went out to eat with his minister and some friends in Indianapolis on May 19 when he said he was unfairly targeted by a bouncer at a Kilroy’s Bar N’ Grill who asked him to remove his jewelry or exit the eatery.

"They said, ‘well, you got to remove your necklace' … because they said it's a large necklace. We're going to ask you to either tuck your necklace, remove it or you have to leave," Bond told WXIN, a Fox affiliate in Indiana.

The jewelry Bond wore that night was a necklace with a cross hanging from it, which for him is an important symbol of his Christian faith.

"The bouncer comes back over, really bad attitude, [and says] ‘We’re going to ask you to either tuck your necklace, remove it or you have to leave, " Bond told the news outlet. "I’m not going to tuck my cross in because of my beliefs. I believe in wearing this cross and what it represents."

After the incident, Bond said he decided to leave the restaurant rather than remove his cross.

"It was a horrible situation and I mean it was embarrassing just to go somewhere and try to enjoy friends and company and get embarrassed like this for no reason," Bond said. "It’s like I was just singled out for no reason."

Kilroy’s has a dress code posted at the entrance which specifies, "no large chains outside of shirt."

Minister David Latimore, Bond’s friend, stayed behind and asked the manager why the necklace caused an issue. He added that he saw other patrons wearing larger pieces of jewelry.

"So, I asked him, 'what is a large necklace? What does that mean? What size is large?' He couldn't tell me," he said.

Latimore, looking for more answers, said he asked the restaurant via email about their policy and why his friend was at fault. But he hasn’t yet received a reply.

Meanwhile, the group of friends said they planned to protest the establishment.

"If you have business in this city you should treat your customers a certain way and for us to turn a blind eye to it and continue to treat customers this way it’s just not right," the pastor said. "It’s something I won’t stand for."