CRACKER Barrel is facing a boycott after the store refused to seat a group of disabled students – but management says staff are to blame.
The restaurant chain has apologized after school children were denied service.
A group of students and educators from Charles County Public Schools in Maryland recently traveled to Waldorf, a town located 23 miles southeast of Washington DC, on December 3rd.
The purpose of their visit was to participate in a community-based instruction program (CBI) designed to assist students with disabilities in practicing and utilizing skills learned in the classroom within real-world environments.
But when they arrived, teachers say they were treated rudely by servers and declined service inside.
During the outing, a parent named Stacey Campbell shared a message on social media from her child’s teacher, expressing disappointment in the poor treatment they received at a local Cracker Barrel establishment. The teacher mentioned encountering unfriendly behavior from the restaurant’s servers and hosts towards the group of visitors.
Superintendent Maria Navarro said in a letter that the district had given the Cracker Barrel location prior notice of their planned visit, including the purpose of the trip and the number of attendees.
But restaurant staff reportedly said a reservation wasn’t needed to eat at the establishment.
“Upon arrival, the students and staff were declined service and asked to no longer include the restaurant on its CBI list,” Navarro wrote, as reported by local NBC affiliate WFLA.
“Our students and staff are our No. 1 priority, and we are disheartened to learn about the alleged treatment they received while participating in an activity designed to educate our students using real-world applications,” she continued.
Campbell, whose son has autism, slammed the reported behavior of Cracker Barrel staff, telling WDCW in an interview, “What is the leadership going to do, and how are they going to ensure that their discriminatory practices are no longer happening?”
Cracker Barrel has responded to the incident, putting it down to a staffing issue.
A company spokesperson said in a statement that the closure of part of a dining room on the day had left to “confusion.”
They added that they were extending their “apologies” to the teachers and students, and were trying to “make things right.”
Cracker Barrel did not respond immediately to The U.S. Sun’s requests for comment.
But furious parents and other community members said the statement doesn’t go far enough.
A rally and boycott of the restaurant is planned for December 15.
CRACKER BARREL STATEMENT
FOLLOWING news a group of teachers and disabled students were turned away from a Cracker Barrel in Waldorf, Maryland, a spokesperson for the store issued the follwing statement:
“A staffing challenge that day led to the closure of part of our second dining room, creating confusion that impacted the group’s experience.
“We take this matter seriously and are working directly with the group’s leadership to better understand what happened, extend our apologies, and make things right.”
Cracker Barrel, a family restaurant chain, is known for serving Southern food, as well as its gift store offerings.
Founded in 1969 in Lebanon, Tennessee, today the chain has 658 locations in 45 different states across the US.
Each location is designed to resemble a traditional general store, complete with a front porch lined with wooden rocking chairs and a stone fireplace.
It often partners with country music performers.
The name comes from the barrels of soda crackers that were found for sale in small-town stores across the southern United States around the turn of the 20th century.
