‘Doesn’t align with our core values.’ Texas city wanted to prevent drag show, records say

Roanoke is known across the state for its unique dining scene.

On the city website, the 10,000-person town boasts about its “friendly small town charm and the amenities of a big city.” The Texas House dubbed the city “The Unique Dining Capital of Texas” in 2009.

But when a newly opened downtown distillery planned a family-friendly drag show in August 2022, Roanoke officials had a clear stance: The city may pride itself on uniqueness, but a family-friendly drag show is too far.

When protests and controversy brewed around the event, city officials scrambled to distance themselves from the drag show and their newest local eatery, according to emails obtained by the Star-Telegram.

The then-city manager sought advice from the city attorney on whether officials had the authority to shut down the show. One council member called the event “a stain on the city,” and the mayor said the distillery owner had made a bad business decision. Two days after the event, several city officials discussed ways the city could limit future drag shows in Roanoke.

“We will do whatever it takes, working with our county and state partners, to maintain a culture of respect for families and in defense of our children,” Mayor Scooter Gierisch said in the city’s official statement two days after the drag show. “Having heard from our residents, rest assured that the City is investigating the incident and is pursuing all options to ensure our children are protected, and the safety of our community is not compromised.”

City leaders declined to participate in an interview with the Star-Telegram. Instead, Roanoke’s communications and public engagement officer Diane B. Rice sent a statement on behalf of the city. The statement reiterated that the city was not affiliated with the Anderson Distillery drag event and said in preparation for protesters, the “Roanoke Public Safety teams developed a plan, which included additional staff, resources, and mutual aid if necessary.”

“The City of Roanoke’s top priority was, and will continue to be, public safety services to all who live in, and visit, our community,” the statement said.

The Star-Telegram was not able to reach the owners of Anderson Distillery.

Backlash begins

In the last year, protest groups have increasingly targeted all-ages drag events across the country. Roanoke became one of the Dallas-Fort Worth area’s first clashes in the groups’ campaign against drag events where parents are allowed to bring their children.

Anderson Distillery and Grill opened in June 2022. According to its website, Jay Anderson and Andrew Frank became friends when their sons joined the same Boy Scout troop, and the men bonded over their love of cooking. They developed a coffee-infused spice rub, which became popular at local markets. That momentum eventually turned into the red-brick restaurant and bar in downtown Roanoke, just steps from City Hall.

A month after their grand opening, Anderson and Frank planned an all-ages drag show. “Barrel Babes Drag Brunch” would be hosted by Anderson’s son, a longtime drag performer known as Trisha Delish, and feature several other drag queens, including Kiba Walker, who is from Fort Worth and performs as Salem Moon.

When Protect Texas Kids, an anti-drag nonprofit headed by Kelly Neidert of Little Elm, got wind of the drag brunch, Neidert called for a protest.

“The Left has waged a war on our kids,” said a Protect Texas Kids Facebook post on Aug. 25. “They won’t stop at exposing children to gender ideology and sexually explicit material.”

After the Texas Scorecard wrote about the upcoming drag brunch, Roanoke city leaders were inundated with calls and emails demanding that they stop the event from happening or shut down Anderson Distillery.

“Please help keep the City of Roanoke free from this type of ‘in‐your‐face’ presentation of people’s sexual preferences and associated behaviors,” one person wrote.

“I want to know what can be done to insure (sic) this sick, deceitful and sexualization of our children stops,” an emailer who identified himself as Benjamin Ballard with “This is Texas Freedom Force” wrote. “This type of behavior is running rampant much like cancer and needs to be stopped and put to rest immediately.”

The Star-Telegram was not able to reach Ballard for comment.

According to records obtained by the Star-Telegram, the city manager, mayor and police chief received 33 emails from Aug. 23 to Sept. 6 about the drag show. Six of those who condemned the drag brunch identified themselves as Roanoke residents. Most of the emailers said they did not live in the town but visited sometimes. A sergeant with the Roanoke Police Department told the city manager in an email that she reviewed 20 emails and voicemails on Aug. 30, and “only about 4 were Roanoke residents.”

Some of the emails were directed at Anderson Distillery and included city officials.

“You have declared WAR against us,” a real estate agent wrote in an email to the distillery owners.

On social media, Anderson Distillery tried to quell the vitriol aimed at its business. In a Facebook post, the owners said the show would not contain explicit or sexual content and would be appropriate for children.

“We completely understand if a patron does not want to support or attend the event; we simply ask for compassion and understanding for those who do,” the post said.

‘Doesn’t align with our core values.’

City officials scrambled to deal with the objections.

In emails, council members, the mayor and a former city manager discussed whether they could legally shut down the drag brunch.

“Have y’all seen this? What are your thoughts?” Councilman Bryan Moyers wrote to his fellow council members on Aug. 17. “I don’t like it at all. Doesn’t align with our core values.”

On Aug. 25, then-city manager Scott Campbell wrote to the council members and said he discussed the event with the city attorney and “he agrees there is nothing in the ordinance that prevents Anderson’s from hosting this event.”

Campbell noted in the email that if there were nudity at the show, the city could take the position that Anderson Distillery could be defined as an adult cabaret, which would violate the city’s zoning ordinances.

City leaders also discussed removing Anderson Distillery as a sponsor of the city’s upcoming annual event “Celebrate Roanoke” after a petition circulated online.

“Roanoke is a conservative, God-fearing city and events of this kind are not welcomed nor appreciated,” the petition on Roanoke Republicans’ website said.

In an email about the decision, one city official said the distillery should absolutely still be allowed to participate, but others disagreed.

On Aug. 30, two days after the drag brunch, Anderson emailed the city and said the distillery was withdrawing as a main sponsor of Celebrate Roanoke; he said the decision seemed like “it would be in everyone’s best interest.”

“I am sorry this comes with such short notice, but I am sure all of you are receiving a ton of flack for something you could not control. I hope it will be received as the first step in trying to heal,” he wrote in the email.

Protest

On Aug. 28, Roanoke’s usually quaint Oak Street was filled with protesters, counterprotesters, police officers, Anderson Distillery patrons and armed members of the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club, a club that describes itself as “promoting and assisting marginalized communities” in defense against white supremacy and fascism.

Reporters at the event, such as Steven Monacelli with The Texas Observer, identified Neidert and at least one member of the Proud Boys in the crowd. Ballard, the “This is Texas Freedom Force” member who emailed the mayor, stood among the protesters and carried a barbed-wire wrapped baseball bat. As the groups mingled, tense arguments broke out.

At the drag brunch itself, the distillery was filled to capacity and a waitlist formed for people to get inside. On social media, Anderson Distillery posted that every table was full before the business officially opened. Anderson Distillery noted in the Facebook post that the business did not hire or request the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club’s presence; the club showed up on its own to “peacefully make sure our patrons and performers remained safe from protesters, who attempted to destroy property and threatened violence.”

“Yes, we ran out of food. Yes, we passed the ‘no sexual content’ inspection from the Texas Comptroller’s Office,” Anderson Distillery said in a Facebook post. “And, yes, love won today.”

‘Cannot be allowed to happen again’

After the event, city leaders continued to receive complaints.

In a reply to one angry email, Mayor Gierisch said the “situation was, by law, out of our hands” unless Anderson Distillery had violated city ordinances. The city sent “undercover staff” to the drag brunch, Gierisch said in the email, to monitor it for that purpose.

“The city didn’t support this event, it was not city sponsored, it was a single private business doing so,” Gierisch wrote. “One business, in my opinion, made a bad decision and some want to penalize all other businesses.”

Moyers, Campbell and Gierisch discussed ways to keep Anderson Distillery from hosting another drag event, according to records.

Moyers suggested in an email that city leaders revisit the sexually oriented businesses ordinance to “see if there are any new ideas that can be brought to the table to perhaps strengthen our resolve to not allow an event like this to take place in our city ever again.”

Moyers wrote that the event “put a stain on our city” and it “cannot be allowed to happen again.”

According to records obtained by the Star-Telegram, Campbell wrote in a text to an unspecified person that the city could classify future drag shows at Anderson’s as a special event; according to city event rules, businesses can only have four special events per year.

In an email to the mayor on Aug. 30, Anderson apologized that the drag event “went way beyond the small group of our patrons that I originally intended, and obviously it blew way out of proportion.”

“I do want to express my utmost gratitude for the way the Roanoke Police Department responded. They were amazingly fast to respond, and seemed to diffuse the hostile protesters quickly. I am very grateful for their service,” the email said. “I would also ask each of you to think of any ways we could help in the healing process. I do not want to sound like we are pandering, but we honestly want to support where we can when we are needed and are open to any suggestions.”

Since Aug. 28, Anderson Distillery has not hosted any other drag events.