Restaurant kicks out Gov. Huckabee-Sanders, workers felt "threatened" says manager

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A Little Rock restaurant has responded after the office of Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she was told to leave from the establishment.

Sanders said on Friday, March 13, that she joined a group for lunch with two people at The Croissanterie and was accompanied by her State Police Executive Protection Detail, according to a statement provided by the governor's office.

The Croissanterie explained in a written statement that when they were made aware of the governor's presence inside the restaurant, they were "surprised and uncertain how best to respond." They said that since she and her staff were already seated and eating, they chose not to interrupt.

Sanders said that after being seated in the restaurant for over an hour and fifteen minutes and food already paid for, the owner of The Croissanterie approached a member of the protective detail and allegedly asked her to leave because her presence was supposedly “making employees threatened and uncomfortable because of her political views."

The Croissanterie denies any statements "indicating that anyone felt threatened."

Croissanterie staff say that as the presence of the governor and her security detail became more widely noticed by guests and employees alike, questions were raised about them remaining in the building. "As business owners and members of this community, we recognized that any course of action carried consequences."

In the restaurant's statement, they said that allowing her to stay "risked being perceived as a lack of support for the community that makes up" their staff, but also asking Sanders and her team to leave "could be viewed as denying service based on differing beliefs."

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