Sarah Sanders had a hard time getting dinner in the D.C. area on Friday. She and her family were asked to leave the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Va.
Jaike Foley-Schultz, who says he is a waiter at the Red Hen, shared a post on Facebook that said his boss kicked out the press secretary and her party.
The post went viral when the director of Clean Virginia, a left-leaning energy nonprofit, shared the post on Twitter, along with a handwritten note, purportedly from the restaurant, with the note: “86 — Sara Huckabee Sanders.”
.@PressSec got kicked out of the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Va tonight. Apparently the owner didn’t want to serve her and her party out of moral conviction. pic.twitter.com/jr3bfiY3XY
— Brennan Gilmore (@brennanmgilmore) 23 June 2018
The term “86” is restaurant shorthand for cutting people off, asking them to leave, or throwing them out.
Sanders confirmed that she was asked to leave in a tweet this morning.
“Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for [President Trump] and I politely left,” Sanders tweeted.
She also got in a dig, noting that being asked to leave said more about the owner than her.
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
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) 23 June 2018
As has become common when a business stirs up controversy, the restaurant’s Yelp and Facebook pages have been flooded by reviewers weighing in on Sanders being given the boot.
On Yelp, one person from Texas wrote, “Decides who can and who cannot dine based on their employment or political affiliations. What a despicable business model! Poor decision by owners and management.”
Another, from California wrote, “I was dining at the Red Hen and witnessed them rudely refuse service to Sarah Huckabee Sanders. I was disgusted and appalled by the incident. I will never eat at this establishment again.”
Facebook was not much different.