A war veteran has welcomed the rebranding of a Vietnam War-themed bar after its owners apologised for offending the community.
Rickshaw Bar in Victoria came under fire for uploading images on Instagram of the Vietnam War, military dog tags and a photo of beer with bullets in the bottom of a glass.
Some social media users claimed the bar’s orange theme hinted at Agent Orange - a toxic herbicide that the US used in the Vietnam War. The Feed was unable to verify this claim.
The bar is based in Richmond, an area with a large Vietnamese population.
Several social media posts were deleted from the bar's Instagram page. Source: Instagram
Since receiving a wave of criticism, Rickshaw Bar’s social media has been scraped of all its images. The owners have apologised to anyone they “offended” on Instagram.
“We have revised our tone and are working hard to make this right. Sorry for any distress caused – it was never our intent,” they wrote.
The bar did not respond to The Feed’s requests for comment but told the Herald Sun, “the business is currently closed and working hard to remove the things that have caused offence.”
Its owners they would not be making any further comment at this time.
Rickshaw bar also used images of military dog tags to promote the bar. Source: Instagram
Veteran, Dinh Nguyen, spent five years fighting against the communist forces in Vietnam until he was captured in 1975.
After spending six-and-a-half years in a concentration camp he arrived in Australia as a political refugee in 1983, weighing just 35 kilograms.
Mr Nguyen told The Feed he waited six years to be reunited with his wife - who had been pregnant with his child when she was arrested by communist police.
Rickshaw bar told the Herald Sun it's closed its doors to rebrand the business. Source: Instagram
Now 72, Mr Nguyen said he is pleased by the bar’s apology and said its wartime aesthetic had brought back painful memories.
“As a Vietnamese veteran, looking at the photos by the bar makes me remember about the communist invasion, the concentration camps, economic zones, the killing of innocent Vietnamese (sic),” he told The Feed.
“[It was] disrespectful not only to the Vietnamese community but also to the Vietnam veterans.”
Bon Nguyen, the president of the Vietnamese Community in Australia (VCA) said he’s thankful the owners removed the images from their social media.
Bon Nguyen, president of the Vietnamese Community in Australia. Source: Supplied
“I saw that the content has been removed, which I can say with confidence, I appreciate that.”
If you open up a business in the city where many of your friends are Vietnamese, talk to them and consult with them. Maybe by accident, you could hurt someone else."
