This past summer the local direct outreach group Turl Street Homeless Action (TSHA) raised attention to an incident in which the Oxford-based cafe chain Taylors refused to allow two rough sleepers to consume their beverages on the premises, instead demanding that they leave upon receiving their orders. In subsequent communications between the cafe, TSHA, and the victims, Taylors stated that the decision had been made on the basis of an “odour” supposedly deterring other customers from their food. Taylors eventually issued a private apology for “miscommunication”, but nonetheless failed to apologize for ejecting the customers in the first place and refused to give assurance that this kind of decision would not occur again. In fact, they reiterated that company policy encourages staff to act along these lines preemptively of customer complaints, allowing for ejection on essentially arbitrary standards. The victims were understandably left hurt, and Taylors management indicated no intention of altering the policies in question. To this end, we are requesting that customers boycott all Taylors cafes until they accede to the list of demands given below.

This said, the situation certainly goes beyond Taylors. Indeed, unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident, and patterns of exclusion against Oxford’s homeless community are common within the city. There are a number of ways that cafes and restaurants in particular can contribute to this abuse, not only in interactions with homeless customers but also in treatment of those sleeping rough near their premises… under the Vagrancy Act of 1824, a barbaric law which persists today, begging and rough sleeping themselves are illegal, so businesses have a legal basis for essentially any conduct against the homeless.

Conversely, cafes and restaurants are in a position to provide important services to rough sleepers beyond being somewhere to purchase food. Oxford, dominated as it is by the colleges and university, has a significant dearth of public indoor spaces, and in conditions of extreme weather – rain, cold, or heat – there are few options for those rough sleepers not officially registered with local services. Cafes and restaurants offer a possible refuge. They also give a venue in which to engage with society more broadly and confront prevalent stigmas surrounding homelessness.

In light of the above, we demand that Oxford’s local businesses agree to the following five commitments in a public statement or post:

1. Not to eject customers who have not displayed harmful behavior, including on the basis of other customers’ complaints
2. Likewise not to deny service at entry or force customers who have not displayed harmful behavior to purchase items only for takeaway
3. Not to enforce time limits if there are sufficient tables free for new customers
4. Not to displace, evict, or otherwise harass nearby rough sleepers who have not displayed harmful behavior
5. In general, not to apply different treatment to rough sleepers than to others

In particular, we also request that consumers cease purchasing goods from any Taylors shop until management have agreed to these demands and have issued a public apology for their conduct this past summer.