06/15/2026
I’m writing this after seeing a recent 1-star review criticizing Ali’s Bar & Grill for supporting Madeira Pride. That review may have been intended to hurt this business, but for me it did the opposite. It reminded me exactly why Ali’s deserves support.
A 1-star restaurant review should be about the food, the service, the atmosphere, or an actual customer experience. Leaving a 1-star review because a business supports an inclusive community event is not a real review. It is a smear…its defamation….its slander. It can cause real reputational and financial harm to a small business while saying absolutely nothing about the quality of the food, the staff, the service, or the way people are treated inside.
That review was not about burgers, wings, drinks, service, or hospitality. It was about someone being offended that other people are welcome.
And that is exactly why Ali’s matters.
When you walk into Ali’s, you are not judged by who you love, what you wear, what religion you practice, what team you cheer for, what drink you order, what side of town you live on, what high school you went to, or who you voted for. You walk in and you are treated like a person. That should not be controversial. That should be the bare minimum of a decent community.
Yes, Ali supports Pride. She has for years. She also supports schools, youth sports, music programs, community fundraisers, local nonprofits, the Madeira Chamber of Commerce, the Madeira Women’s Club, Madeira Police Department community initiatives, Toys for Tots, Ronald McDonald House, domestic violence survivor programs, veterans, small businesses, families, neighbors, and students pursuing healthcare careers through the Tyson Guy Memorial Scholarship Fund.
That is the part the 1-star review completely missed. Ali’s support has never been about excluding anyone. It has always been about making sure more people feel included.
Ali has taken her own grief, her own story, and the memory of her son Tyson and turned it into scholarships, fundraisers, donations, and real community impact. She is being recognized and nominated for the kind of work that actually builds a community instead of tearing one down.
So if a rainbow on a flyer is enough to ruin someone’s appetite, the problem was never the menu.
If supporting the whole community costs Ali one star from someone who only supports community when it looks exactly like them, then she just earned five more from me.
And if someone wants to boycott every Madeira business that supports people from all walks of life, their dining options are going to get very small, very fast. (I hope this guy likes gas station stale roller dogs...and I hope they are out of ketchup)
Great food. Great people. Great heart. Great community partner. Ali’s is exactly the kind of local business Madeira should be proud to stand behind.
Please, support Ali’s and go in and get a GREAT burger, have a GREAT time, and if you have a moment…go on any of the local review sites (Google Maps, Google Reviews, Facebook, Yelp….show some love)
