A Little Rock restaurant is responding after Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office said she was told to leave the restaurant.
Sanders said on Friday, March 13, that she had lunch with the two men at the Croissanterie and was accompanied by a state police executive protection officer, according to a statement provided by the governor’s office.
Croissanterie explained in a written statement that they were “surprised and unsure how to best respond” when they learned of the governor’s presence at the restaurant. They said since she and her staff were already seated to eat, they chose not to intrude.
After sitting in the restaurant for more than an hour and fifteen minutes, with the food paid for, the owner of The Croissanterie approached a protection officer and allegedly asked her to leave because her presence allegedly “made employees feel threatened and uncomfortable because of her political views,” Sanders said.
Croissanterie denies any suggestion “that anyone felt threatened”.
Croissanterie staff said as guests and staff became increasingly aware of the governor and his security detail’s presence, questions were raised about whether they remained in the building. “As business owners and members of this community, we recognize that any action has consequences.”
In the restaurant’s statement, they said allowing her to stay “could be viewed as a lack of support for the community that makes up their staff” but asking Sanders and her team to leave “could be viewed as a denial of service based on a different belief.”
About an hour into the visit, a staff member approached security and “asked for encouragement” to leave the governor “as she had finished her meal,” the statement said.
Since the restaurant has a 90 minute dining time limit, we again contacted the security staff and asked them to leave approximately 10 minutes before that time limit.
The governor’s staff said that as they were leaving, a man allegedly yelled “it’s time to go” and then made a rude gesture in the governor’s direction. Croissanterie would say that this person is a customer, not an employee.
“Arkansans are known for their hospitality, and while that restaurant certainly didn’t live up to that standard, my administration will continue to focus on lifting up Arkansans rather than holding others down through discrimination and hatred,” Sanders concluded in the statement.
“We regret to be put in this position and have to make a difficult decision,” The Croissanterie said in a statement. “However, we stand by our choice and support our employees and guests.”
Both the Sanders administration and The Croissanterie issued statements commenting on the incident. You can find them below:
In response to the incident, Governor Sanders issued the following statement:
“Last week, I was having lunch at a restaurant with two other moms and the owner approached a member of the State Police Protective SWAT team and said my presence made their employees feel threatened and asked us to leave. Arkansans are known for their hospitality, and while that restaurant certainly didn’t live up to that standard, my administration will continue to work to uplift Arkansans instead of using discrimination and hatred to hold others down.”
Croissanterie also issued the following statement regarding the incident:
“When we learned that the governor had arrived at the restaurant, we were surprised and unsure how best to respond. When we entered the restaurant, she had already sat down to eat. At that point, we chose not to interrupt, hoping everyone would finish their meal and leave without incident.
However, as her security staff’s presence became increasingly publicized by staff and guests, questions arose about their presence at the restaurant. As business owners and members of this community, we recognize that any action has consequences. For her to stay would have been perceived as a lack of support for the community and their families and friends who make up the majority of our team. Conversely, asking her to leave could be viewed as a denial of service based on a different belief.
Ultimately, we decided to support those employees and guests who said they felt uncomfortable. To be clear, we don’t recall any statements suggesting anyone felt threatened.
About an hour into the visit, a security guard was quietly approached and asked the governor to encourage her to end the visit because she had finished her meal. Drinks were provided for the party on the road. Nearly 30 minutes later, the group was still at the scene.
As the 90 minute table seating limit approached, security staff contacted again and advised that approximately 10 minutes remained. Around this time, another customer tried to intervene but was asked to leave.
After reviewing the camera footage, we confirmed that a security officer did send a message to the governor as requested in the original request; however, it was not seen at the time. After receiving the news, she and her group left safely.
It is also important to note that many guests in the main restaurant were unaware of the situation and did not applaud or disrupt as suggested. Additionally, the person who made the inappropriate gesture was a customer, not an employee, and the matter was resolved.
We regret to be put in this position and have to make difficult decisions. However, we stand by our choice and support our employees and guests. “