80-year-old Marti Warren thought she was doing a good thing a little over a month ago when she booked a local Olive Garden restaurant in Oxford, Alabama, to host a Kiwanis club awards banquet. The chapter president got a rude awakening the night of the gathering, however, when restaurant staff refused to allow her to bring an American flag inside the restaurant.
Warren, who lived through World War II and was later part of her local desegregation movement, said, “This is not my country. This is not my country I grew up with.”
The justly outraged Warren told WBRC-TV, “I was so angry. I felt like I had been slapped in the face”:
That slap came from the Oxford Olive Garden. One hour before the Golden K Kiwanis club‘s awards banquet the restaurant manager told Warren she couldn’t bring in their banner or even an American flag. “I said having known this earlier you can bet we never would have eaten here. And I said if we had time we would have gone to McDonald’s because we know they are American all the way through,” said Warren
In response, Olive Garden’s parent company, Orlando-based Darden Restaurants, said in a statement:
“Like all Americans we have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for the American flag and everything it symbolizes. In fact, we periodically provide American flag collar pins to our employees to wear while serving our guests. We understand and appreciate the way some people have reacted to the situation in Oxford and we’re very sorry if this decision has caused them any concern. The Oxford Olive Garden does not have a private dining area. To be fair to everyone and avoid disrupting the dining experience for all other guests, they’re unable to accommodate flags or banners of any type in the dining room.”
c/o-http://www.theblaze.com/stories/olive-garden-american-flag-display-would-disrupt-the-dining-experience/
Saturday, November 29, 2008 10:16
The movie “Tapped” Has shocked me into prompting a boycott against the water bottling industry, specifically, Nestle. It’s not just the intrusiveness of these companies but also the chemicals found in independent lab tests, specifically “bisphenol A” (BPA), that made me realize that we are basically being poisoned by some companies who claim to provide [...]
Saturday, November 29, 2008 10:16
IT HAS TO STOP! The time is NOW! Most people complain and complain about the economy, job loss etc. etc. but don’t do anything about it. Well… this is easy: BOYCOTT YOUR LOCAL COMPANIES WHO HIRE ILLEGALS! There you have it, nice and easy. It is not hard to find out who hires illegals. Most [...]
Saturday, November 29, 2008 10:16
BoycottRelief.com is coming back with a new look, feel and fresh content to fight about! We are looking forward to a smooth transition to a spam, junk and pop-up free experience. We are sure you (and our host) will be very pleased! See you soon!
