It’s like the Memories Pizza debacle of 2015 all over again.
Three years ago, partisan activists tried to destroy a rural Indiana pizzeria after its owner said he probably wouldn’t cater a same-sex wedding (he also said he’d never deny anyone service in his shop). Now, hyper-partisans are targeting a Lexington, Va., eatery after its owner booted White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
“Reminds me of how my ancestors were treated back in Eastern Europe under Nazi control. What I witnessed while dining there was despicable,” one supposed patron of the Red Hen wrote on Yelp on June 24. “Oh, I can’t comment on the food because I was so repulsed by how the owners treated a fellow patron that I lost my appetite.”
Another supposed customer said in a June 23 Yelp review, “Nothing but Races liberals democratic socialist idiots do not eat here.”
President Trump himself tweeted Monday, “The Red Hen Restaurant should focus more on cleaning its filthy canopies, doors and windows (badly needs a paint job) rather than refusing to serve a fine person like Sarah Huckabee Sanders. I always had a rule, if a restaurant is dirty on the outside, it is dirty on the inside!”
There are now 15,247 Yelp reviews for a rural Virginia restaurant that can seat only 26 people at a time, giving it a total rating of just one-and-half stars out of five. Most of the negative reviews were written in the last 48 hours.
The owner of the Red Hen, Stephanie Wilkinson, told the Washington Post that she asked Sanders to leave because she believes the press secretary works for an “inhumane and unethical” administration.
“This feels like the moment in our democracy when people have to make uncomfortable actions and decisions to uphold their morals,” Wilkinson said. “I explained that the restaurant has certain standards that I feel it has to uphold, such as honesty, and compassion, and cooperation.”
Wilkinson stressed in her remarks to the Post that the staff didn’t refuse Sanders service on sight. The restaurateur also stressed that she was careful to make the distinction between turning away a public official versus “not just a customer with whom she disagreed.”
Sanders herself said of the incident in a tweet on June 23, “Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for @POTUS and I politely left. Her actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so.”
Though Wilkinson claimed the interaction between herself and the press secretary was civil, the response from partisan activists has been anything but. In fact, the reaction has been such that the business rating and reviews sites TripAdvisor and Yelp have locked down their respective pages for the Red Hen until they can clean up what are obviously bogus one-star reviews.
“Any establishment that acts like this deserves to go out of business. How pathetic to refuse service based on your own beliefs. You should be embarrassed,” wrote one Yelp reviewer. “2.5 stars now and 8000+ reviews. THE PEOPLE have spoken.”
Another added, “Disgusting, ignorant and intolerant behavior and service!!! DO NOT EAT HERE!!!”
“Close the doors, close the business permanently. Don’t go there to eat ever!” said yet another reviewer on June 25.
For those playing at home, this is all MAGA-speak for “bake the cake.”
