TACOMA, WA (WCMH) — A popular restaurant is apologizing after it prevented a group of Washington state corrections officers from eating there.
Miriam Nichols is one of the officers who was turned away from eating at the Cheesecake Factory location in Tacoma, Washington. She says she and her fellow officers were let in the front door, but then were asked to leave as soon as they made it to their table.
The problem? They had their service weapons with them.
“Two people in suits actually who later we found out were management were talking to my three co-workers saying that we had to leave because we were armed in their building,” Nicohols told KOMO-TV.
The employees told them it was company policy that anyone with a gun, even if they’re a police officer, has to go.
“They kept apologizing saying it’s policy, it’s policy, we’re sorry but we have to ask you to leave,” Nichols said.
KOMO-TV reached out to the Cheesecake Factory’s corporate headquarters who said this isn’t a company policy. A statement said the employees of the Tacoma location didn’t fully understand the company’s firearms policy.
“Our policy is to allow uniformed and identified law enforcement officials to possess their service weapons on our premises. To the extent that there was a miscommunication of our policy, we sincerely apologize,” a statement read.
Corporate officials with the Cheesecake Factory say they’ve reached out to all of the officers who were turned away and have asked them to come back. The officers have all agreed to do so.