Cracker Barrel in Waldorf, Maryland, came under fire last week for rejecting a group of special needs students. 11 students and 7 working staff, all from Charles County Public Schools, visited the restaurant to take part in a life-skills learning program.
The initiative was part of a community-based instruction, and the restaurant was contacted ahead of time and informed that the group would be arriving. However, they were told that it was walk-in only. When they showed up, they were declined service, and a restaurant employee asked them to remove it from the list of businesses willing to engage in the community-based instruction program.
Cracker Barrel draws the ire of the parents of seven: read more
Per NBC Washington, CCPS Superintendent Maria Navarro informed Cracker Barrell of all the people arriving on Tuesday, as well as their purpose. All the students have developmental and learning disabilities and were denied ordering takeaway as well. Per USA Today, the group was told that Cracker Barrel could not "cannot accommodate to your group."
Charles County Public Schools special education teacher Katie Schneider wrote to the children's parents in an email, notifying them that the students were mistreated by the staff. She penned:
"Refusing to serve them, (staff) did not even ask if our students wanted a drink or anything. Our students were so well behaved and sat at the tables patiently, which you know can be hard, waiting for their food and drinks to-go."
Dustin Reed, the father of a 7-year-old nonverbal girl, told the outlet:
"It broke my heart. Pushed off to the side, and just not even paid attention to. Only thing they wanted to go in there to do was eat some food and enjoy their time there and learn from it.”
In a statement to USA Today, the father added:
"I can't put into words how I felt − anger, sadness and worry. I've spent more time crying over her and praying she never has to experience this again."
In a statement to the outlet, however, Cracker Barrel explained that they had a "staffing challenge" at the time, prompting them to deby service. They also referred to the situation as a "confusion."
"At Cracker Barrel, we strive to create a welcoming environment for all our guests, and we understand that a recent visit by this group to our Waldorf location fell short of those expectations," Cracker Barrel said in the statement. "We take this matter seriously and are working directly with the group’s leadership to better understand what happened, extend our apologies and make things right."
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A protest is slated against the restaurant on December 15 at the Waldorf outlet. A Facebook page has been launched for the same, titled #CanWeEatNow, and over 45 people have responded.
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