Management at The Cheesecake Factory in Tacoma, Washington, turned away a group of Washington State Corrections Officers who were carrying guns, then later apologized for their actions.
The corrections officers were going to have lunch and exchange gifts at The Cheescake Factory at Tacoma Mall when they were approached by two managers who told them they wouldn’t be served because they were armed, KOMO News reported.
“We had to leave because we were armed in their building,” officer Miriam Nichols told KOMO. Nichols said she doesn’t often disarm during her shift because of the risk someone might steal her firearm.
The group of officers left to find another restaurant where their firearms would not be an issue, but Nichols posted her experience to the restaurant’s Facebook page Tuesday night where it was shared hundreds of times and provoked outrage by commenters.
By Wednesday morning, The Cheescake Factory corporate office had reached out to the officers to apologize for the mistake. They said the shift manager misunderstood the policy and that law enforcement was welcome on the premises when armed with service weapons.
“It was a misunderstanding, and they’re rectifying that situation,” DOC spokesman Jeremy Barclay said, The News Tribune reported. “They actually support law enforcement officers being in their restaurant and having their service weapons on them.”
Nichols thanked the restaurant “for reaching out and making it right” in a Facebook post Wednesday.
The Tacoma Mall location had recently opened on Dec. 6.