Word: pamplona
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...Despite an apparent partiality towards male waiters at Cafe Pamplona, legal repercussions probably aren't looming in the Pamp's future. Equal Opportunity Employment laws have loopholes for theme restaurants...
Established in the late 1940s, Cafe Pamplona has been an arty haven for tortured souls of Cambridge for over 50 years. Offering authentic southern Spanish cuisine and potent coffee concoctions, the Pamp, as the regulars affectionately say, brings cultural flair to Cambridge. Flaunting a pastiche of old world southern Spanish design and industrial chic, the one-room subterranean establishment boasts cement walls accented by hot water pipes suspended from the ceiling. Small black lacquered tables clutter the single-roomed cafe as tortured writers sit enraptured in their favorite author's prose. In the back kitchen, two or three waify waiters...
...reasoning for the all-male crew may lie behind Spanish tradition and cultural constructs. "It is true that there has never been a female worker here--except for maybe a woman who washed the dishes and helped to cook in the kitchen. It is because when Josephina [Cafe Pamplona's owner] came to America in 1947 from Pamplona, Spain, there were no female waitresses in all of Pamplona. So it is strictly a cultural thing. Cafe Pamplona is somewhat of a theme restaurant, and Josephina wants to make it as authentic as possible...
...process of preserving cultural authenticity, the cafe's owner is offending the American spirit of equal opportunity. Amanda L. Burnham '01, a frequent patron of Cafe Pamplona (and a Crimson executive too), became privy to this bias first-hand while looking for a job last spring. Burnham attempted to apply for the serving position advertised in the cafe's window. Though she did not talk with the owner herself, the waiter that Burnham spoke with told her that she shouldn't even bother applying...
...According to recent Let's Go researcher-writer, Holly E. Fling '01, there is indeed an overwhelming percentage of male wait staff in current day Pamplona. However during her travails, Fling did patronize a small, privately owned, vegetarian restaurant where a woman took her order and brought her food. So it seems as though even the city of Pamplona has made exceptions to the rule. Josephina, take notice...