Cracker Barrel employees were fired for dismissing a group of special needs students who were on a field trip to a store location in Waldorf, Maryland.
The outing was arranged as part of its ACHIEVE and SOAR programs, designed for young students with "significant cognitive disabilities" and autism, which help students to socialize and engage with the public outside of class.
When the Cracker Barrel location refused service to the kids, it sparked community outrage resulting in protests and an online boycott from frustrated parents.
Charles County Public Schools District Superintendent Maria Navarro recounted the incident in a statement, explaining that 11 students and 7 staff members were "refused service" at Cracker Barrel after the school notified the establishment of the group's size and purpose for the trip in advance.
They were also told no reservations were needed, according to Navarro's letter.
Special education teacher Katie Schneider emailed parents, explaining that the restaurant said it couldn't accommodate the group and asked for its location to be removed from the approved list of businesses to visit through the life-skills learning program.
Stacey Campbell, whose nine-year-old son with autism has benefitted in the past from the ACHIEVE program, was outraged over Cracker Barrel's poor treatment of the students.
Campbell shared screenshots of the letter she received from the school.
It described how rude the restaurant staff was to students before allowing them to order their food to go instead of eating inside the restaurant.
"I wanted to share my son's ACHIEVE CBI trip to the Cracker Barrel in Waldorf experience that his teacher sent details regarding how discriminatory the entire staff was towards the group," Campbell wrote.
"To say I'm beyond disappointed would be an understatement. Though I would go there from time to time, I will never spend another cent in that establishment."
Here are screenshots of the letter parents received that Campbell shared on the Charles County Matters Facebook page.
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Social media users expressed frustration and boycotted the restaurant location.
A spokesperson for Waldorf Cracker Barrel issued a statement in response to Navarro's letter.
The statement read:
"Poor communication on our part led us to fall well short of our service standards that day. This is unacceptable."
"We strive to create a welcoming environment and great experience for guests of all abilities, and we have a zero-tolerance policy against any form of discrimination."
The statement announced the firing of the employees and opened an internal investigation interviewing guests and employees.
On Tuesday, Yelp disabled the reviews section for the Waldorf Cracker Barrel after its page was slammed with negative reviews following the news headline.
A protest was planned for December 15 by Dustin Reed, whose daughter went on that field trip as part of the SOAR program.
"There is no room for discrimination in our world," Redd wrote on Facebook for the #CanWeEatNow Cracker Barrel protest page.
He added:
"Come help these children’s voice be heard. Come make a stand against discrimination!"
As of Thursday, 214 have responded to the page.
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