[UPDATE] Patrons Report Being ‘Roofied’ at Silver Lake Bar

SILVER LAKE—A June tweet by stand-up comedian Kate Berlant was cause for concern for many patrons of Silver Lake’s Tenants of the Trees, an 8-month-old cocktail bar, which replaced neighborhood gay bar MJ’s on Hyperion Avenue.

“ATTN WOMEN OF LA,” read the tweet, which was retweeted more than 2,400 times. “I know of at least 7 women who have been roofied at Tenants of the Trees in Silver [L]ake. BE VIGILANT.”

Berlant’s tweet came on the heels of several other social media reports of women being “roofied”—or unwittingly dosed with a “date rape drug” such as Rohypnol or GHB added to their drinks without their knowledge—at Hollywood bars, including the Parlor and the Abbey.

Although initial attempts to contact bar management by phone and email were unsuccessful, co-owner Reza Fahim reached out to the Ledger via email after publication.

In the email, Fahim said the bar had reached out to Kate Berlant for more information about the incidents, but that “Berlant has refused to respond to us or provide us any information.”

One former Tenants of the Trees employee, who asked to remain anonymous, cited the frequency of such incidents as one of the reasons she quit.

“It’s a trend,” she told the Ledger. “It doesn’t just happen once in a while.”

According to the former employee, the last straw for her was when a friend was roofied while visiting her at work.

The former employee said she and other bartenders had noticed a man who was a regular customer of the bar acting strangely around her friend shortly before the incident.

Later, she said, after her friend appeared to have been drugged, she saw them making out in the corner of the bar.

After the incident, “I told security and management. I pointed out the guy. And they just let him come back whenever,” she said. “I don’t think he’s the only one. I think it’s a scene.”

In an email received after publication, Fahim said he knew which employee we interviewed, and said she “did not quit, but was fired and we believe that she made these statements…in an effort to retaliate against the bar.”

One woman, who frequents the bar, said her boyfriend was mistakenly dosed with what she believes was a roofie meant for her at Tenants of the Trees last month.

“[My boyfriend] pushed his beer closer to me so I could watch it while he was in the bathroom,” she said. “It looked like it was my drink.”

According to the woman, her boyfriend was “dripping sweat,” nauseous, “had the spins” and “couldn’t even stand up”—all common symptoms of GHB use—within six minutes of finishing his drink.

“There were times I was looking away [from the drink],” the woman said, “but I never walked away.”

A different woman, who also asked to remain anonymous, said she believes her boyfriend was also the victim of a roofie intended for someone else, when he mistakenly finished someone else’s drink that was next to his in a communal area.

Shortly after, she said, “He could barely keep his eyes open. He told our friends he was leaving…and he woke up at 3 a.m. sitting in the alley by the bar, no memory, no phone, zero recollection of the night after dinner.”

“It’s unfortunate,” she said, because “I really like the bar. It’s a great place, but it seems like someone’s about to ruin that.”

In an Instagram post, which has since been deleted, Tenants of the Trees addressed the rumors, saying they were “unaware of the specifics of the alleged druggings” and “were engaged in various measures,” none of which were specified, to prevent such incidents in the future.

However, in his email, Fahim said the bar had reached out to police, held staff meetings to increase awareness of such incidents and instructed their staff “to immediately remove all unattended drinks.”

Additionally, he said, the bar has “reached out to our patrons and those in the online community who are discussing this matter” to get more information about the alleged incidents so they can investigate and review video tape when possible.

“We need anyone who feels that they have been a victim of drugging at Tenants of the Trees, or for that matter any bar, to immediately report the activity to the bar and to the police,” Fahim wrote. “The more information that can be provided and the sooner that it is provided will greatly enhance our ability to help and the authorities’ ability to catch anyone that is engaged in this type of criminal activity.”

In May, a viral Facebook post—which detailed three women foiling an attempted rape when they witnessed a stranger’s date slip something into her drink while she was in the bathroom at a Santa Monica restaurant—was picked up by the Los Angeles Times, and even Pitch Perfect star Rebel Wilson reported having her drink drugged while out at a club.

“I had one drink last night at a trendy club which I believe may have been spiked with something,” Wilson said via Twitter in March. “I got home safely, but woke up this morning feeling like I’d been hit by a truck. I never thought that would happen to me[.]”

Posted June 30, 2016 at 6:00 a.m.

This post was updated July 7, 2016 at 9:45 a.m. to include comments from Tenants of the Trees received after publication.