Notorious Auckland hospitality figure Leo Molloy is at it again, poking fun at those who live a vegan lifestyle in a bizarre Facebook post.
The owner of viaduct bar HeadQuarters has gained a reputation for his posts and messages from the establishment's official Facebook page, often targeting people who eat a diet free from animal products.
On Monday, Molloy posted an image from a 2017 Dutch news story about a woman who died from believing she could live on light alone.
He went on a bizarre rant in the caption of the post, pretending his bar was sponsoring the "NZ vegan eating championships" and their team consisted of the family in the photo.
"Their combined IQ is just a little less than two potatoes," he wrote.
"They live a plant-based life in Grey Lynn and of course, they vote Labour.
"Two of the girls work for MediaWorks, the other's a dung recycler for the Green Party."
The post was shared into a popular local vegan Facebook group, where members expressed disgust and outrage at the "horrible" and "vile" post.
Many group members reported the post to Facebook, leading to its removal.
Newshub spoke to a member of the group, who says he believes Molloy "has long had a bunch of issues".
"I think it's called 'Wannabe Big Man Syndrome'," he added.
"The sad truth is this vegan here could walk further than him in a day, then run further than him in the same day, then bike further than him that evening. And it's not even a competition."
He also pointed out the strangeness of Molloy's staunch anti-vegan stance, given that when he went there at the end of 2019, HeadQuarters staff were more than willing to make him a plant-based pizza.
It's not the first time Molloy has mocked the vegan community. Last year he insulted a potential diner who messaged the Headquarters Viaduct Facebook page inquiring if they served vegan options.
"We do a very nice line of water, a small glass as an entree, a jug for a main (frozen if you like solids) with a gorgeous H2O sauce," the page replied, according to screenshots shared with Newshub.
"Other than that we can offer the menu, it's cardboard, should taste like 97 percent of vegan food. You could eat that maybe."
Molloy has also come under fire from other bar owners for his "puerile and provocative behaviour" after he called Peter Gordon's fine dining eatery The Sugar Club a "god awful restaurant".
