Red Hen owner reveals she allowed employees to vote on booting Huckabee Sanders out of restaurant...

[DonViejo]

Red Hen owner reveals she allowed employees to vote on booting Huckabee Sanders out of restaurant — and Sarah lost

BOB BRIGHAM
23 JUN 2018 AT 15:54 ET

The owner of the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia explained why she ejected White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders from the establishment on Friday evening.

Speaking with The Washington Post, owner Stephanie Wilkinson acknowledged that she may have threatened the economic health of her small business with her principled stand, but said she would do it again.

“I’m not a huge fan of confrontation,” Wilkinson said. “I have a business, and I want the business to thrive. This feels like the moment in our democracy when people have to make uncomfortable actions and decisions to uphold their morals.”

Wilkinson recounted how she was at home when she got a call informing her that Sanders was dining at the Red Hen, under a reservation made in her husband’s name. She raced to the business to investigate.

Wilkinson explained that she queried her employees about what to do, knowing several employees were gay and all the staff had all watched the press secretary evade questions while defending Trump’s border separation policy.

“Tell me what you want me to do. I can ask her to leave,” she told her employees. “They said yes.”

The owner politely asked Sanders to step out on the patio “for a word.”

more
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/06/red-hen-owner-reveals-allowed-employees-vote-booting-huckbee-sanders-restaurant-sarah-lost/

[canetoad]

1. K&R

Democracy in action.

[marble falls]

3. A co-operative! Commies!

[treestar]

2. Good for them and

if in that area, that is the restaurant I will go to!

[gibraltar72]

4. Democracy is a beautiful thing when it works.

[Cha]

5. That is beautiful Democracy at Work! The owner, Stephanie Wilkinson,

sounds like a brilliant caring person.

I hope her business thrives!

[sharedvalues]

6. Let's support them.

Link to tweet

[lsewpershad]

7. Bless you

I will eat at your place anytime..... even more so now.

[llmart]

8. I sincerely hope...

that people will now flock to her establishment because of the stand she took. She deserves to have a thriving business. Principled people are hard to come by these days.

[SunSeeker]

9. Sneaky Sarah: "under a reservation made in her husband's name."

She knows how much she's hated. That's why she didn't use her name for the reservation! Everyone in the Trump administration is hated, some more than others. Pruitt said that the public's objection to him is why he needs to fly first class, LOL.

[JNelson6563]

10. Now I like her even more.

[jaxind]

11. Patio

Wish I could have been a fly on the wall on that patio for that conversation!!!!

[peggysue2]

12. Good one on Ms. Wilkinson

As a business owner, I'm sure that was not an easy call. But she took a vote, stood up and did the right thing.

Btw, for the Trumpsters to call this The Night of the Brown Shirts is beyond ironic. Social shaming was once considered quite legitimate and effective. In the Age of the Trump, it's a principled stand that may need to be resurrected.

Curious that dear Ms. Sarah made the reservation in her husband's name, eh?

[cubbies01]

13. This should be our new motto

“This feels like the moment in our democracy when people have to make uncomfortable actions and decisions to uphold their morals”

[KPN]

17. YES! In fact, it should be our rallying cry.

I actually copied that sentence to paste it in my reaction to this article/OP.

[malaise]

14. Defend the kidnapping of children

Fuck you and yours.

[Soph0571]

15. K&R

[paleotn]

16. This will probably be a boon for her business....

And rightly so. From what I've gathered, it's not the kind of place dumpster types frequent.

[KPN]

18. "This feels like the moment in our democracy

when people have to make uncomfortable actions and decisions to uphold their morals.”

This feels like our new rally cry.

[Dem_4_Life]

19. So proud of her!

[Nitram]

20. I love it! Democracy in action!

[The Wizard]

21. Wondering if there's a picture

of the Huckabeast clutching her pearls.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

22. A true American citizen!

No flag waving or political dogma, just doing what's right. I admire her for supporting her employees and standing behind them.

....... ............

[ailsagirl]

27. "Just doing what's right"

Amen!!

[yardwork]

23. This story gets better and better.

[lunamagica]

24. K&R.

[FakeNoose]

25. I think the owner recognizes that her employees' opinions really matter

This is a small locally-owned family restaurant with a small staff and regular clientele - that means the waitstaff are her partners in business. When the owner/manager recognizes how important her employees are in keeping the business going, then naturally she would want to know what they think.

Small business owners should do this more often, and it's not always about politics either. It's about valuing your employees and caring what they think. Sanders and her group were only there for less than one hour, but these workers accept a big responsibility in keeping customers happy and coming back.

[ailsagirl]

26. Perfect!!

The democratic way

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

28. Sounds to me like they covered the relevant bases, when the voted......

It's the American Way.

[asiliveandbreathe]

29. Message at Yelp - Active Cleanup Alert -

This business recently made waves in the news, which often means that people come to this page to post their views on the news.

While we don’t take a stand one way or the other when it comes to these news events, we do work to remove both positive and negative posts that appear to be motivated more by the news coverage itself than the reviewer’s personal consumer experience with the business.

As a result, your posts to this page may be removed as part of our cleanup process beginning Saturday, June 23, 2018, but you should feel free to post your thoughts about the recent media coverage for this business on Yelp Talk at any time.

[roamer65]

30. This is what democracy looks like.

[Pacifist Patriot]

31. I have to say from personal experience this is an excellent restaurant.

I have dined there several times. The locally sourced ingredients, skillfully prepared dishes, and impeccable service make it a wonderful dining experience.

I have been recommending the Red Hen for years before this incident.

Thrilled beyond belief to learn of the owner's political and ethical perspective.

[GulfCoast66]

32. I guess the Sanders Klan will be dining at the Trump hotel in the future. nt

[Tarheel_Dem]

33. I think all Democratic office holders in the area should make a point of visiting and supporting....

Ms. Wilkinson. If SHS can visit, it must be close enough for the CBC, the Progressive Caucus, and Dem Senate members and their staffs.

[kacekwl]

34. How voting works

when it's not corrupted .

[Nimrod900]

35. "Forcibly Separated From Her Meal"

Appears to me that SHS could afford to skip a meal or two anyway.

[Soxfan58]

36. Thank you Ms Wilkinson

Now Sara (racist and tall) knows how the gay couple feels when they get told no wedding cake.